Saara Tuominen led her team to a national championship in 2006. Two years later she was one of the leading players as University of Minnesota-Duluth who won the National Collegiate Athletic Championship. In 2010, her target is to win a medal in Vancouver. Finland's last Olympic win was a bronze in 1998.
Q. How is this Olympic team different from ’06?
A. A few younger players have replaced the older players who retired after 2006. However, there is the same core in the Olympic team .Another notable difference is that this year many of the players are competing in different countries like USA for college hockey, Russia, and Denmark. In 2006 almost all of the Olympic players came from the Finnish league.
Q. What are you doing differently in your training for the Olympics?
A. There is a big difference in my training compared Olympics ’06. Four years ago I played in a Finnish league, trained well but I didn’t follow a consistent training program. Now I am a senior playing in a US college league and more experienced on many levels. I have learned what it takes to get myself into hockey shape, which improves my skating and brings my game to a new level. My skating has more power due to the longer and regular ice practices on a competitive team. I have also been taught more about the tactics of hockey and the huge role of mental preparation.
Q. What is your role on the team?
A. I have a big role in the team as an assistant captain and as a center who is expected to lead the team in five on five games as well as in the special teams.
Q. What are the main differences between US college hockey and Finnish hockey?
A. US college hockey is as close to professional hockey as it gets for women. I think the main differences are in budgets, ice time, and in the speed of the games. The Finnish hockey league is based on club teams and volunteer coaches, managers etc. Whereas in US college hockey most of the players have scholarships and the staff is paid. The level of the top Finnish hockey teams is good and players are doing hard work but there are just a few competitive teams in the league. While in the US college league there are more high-level teams.
Q. How do you see the future of Finnish women’s hockey?
A. I am looking forward to it! The women’s national team has been doing a great job the last couple of years in world tournaments not only bringing home bronze medals but also making a history winning vs the US. There are growing numbers of young female hockey players coming to the game in Finland every year. That speaks well for the vital work done by Finnish Hockey Federation. What is also a very important for the future of Finnish hockey is that the Under-18 women's national program started. Now the young talented players have goals and they get experience at the international level before the bigger step to the women’s senior national team.