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STOPs & STARTS 200 Club Lauds O USA HOCKEY NEWS & UPDATES Longevity And Talent ver the course of its 22-year history, the U.S. Women's National Team Program has featured a select group of 141 players. Even more special is the group of women who have reached the milestone of competing for their country 200 or more times. Those six members of the new 200 Club were honored during the gold-medal game at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship in Burlington, Vt. As it turns out, all six have not only won gold medals at previous IIHF World Championships, two of them, Jenny Potter and Julie Chu, could not take part in the cer- emony because they were once again compet- ing for their country. Joining Chu and Potter are Natalie Darwitz, Cammi Granato, Katie King and Angela Ruggiero. Darwitz, a three-time Olympian, recorded Julie Chu, Jenny Potter, Natalie Darwitz and Angela Ruggiero are part of a select group of U.S. players. 245 points (117-128) in 13 years with the U.S. Women's National Team, second all-time in the program. Granato, a two-time Olympian, played 205 games and is the program's all-time points leader with 343 (186-157). She was the captain of the gold-medal winning team at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. King, who was with the U.S. Women's National Team from 1997-2008, is a three- time Olympian and tallied 265 points (146 goals, 119 assists) in 210 games. Ruggiero, a four-time Olympian who retired in December, competed 16 years for the United States and has played more games (256) in a Team USA uniform than any other ice hockey player in the country's history. Chu, a three-time Olympian, is the cur- rent captain of the U.S. Women's National team. Competing in her eighth IIHF Women's World Championship, Chu has tallied 63 goals and 111 assists for 174 points in 214 games for Team USA. Potter, a four-time Olympian, is in her 15th year with Team USA and currently has recorded 241 points (102-139) in 208 games. Perani's Passion For The Game Was Never Questioned The hockey world lost a good friend and innovative pioneer when Bob Perani, founder of the hockey equipment superstore chain that bears his name, passed away while on an international flight from Detroit to Tokyo on April 15. He was 69 years old. The former pro hockey player and fan favorite with the Flint Generals, opened his first store in 1976 out of a converted auto repair shop with only two employees. After 31 years the business has become known as Perani's Hockey World. With 19 locations across the U.S. and Canada and more than 200 employees, it is one of the largest independent hockey retailers in the world. Perani's was a long-time supporter of youth hockey and an advertiser in USA Hockey Magazine. Over the years, Perani's built a loyal customer base that included Mike Modano, who bought his first pair of skates from the company's Lakeland Arena store, goaltender Ryan Miller and Brian Rolston. Hall of Fame player Pat Lafontaine even worked at one of the stores as a teenager. POND SPOTS PROMISE TO BE A HOT TICKET ITEM P 04 ond hockey may not be on most people's minds when July rolls around, but Ashley Bevan has a bit of advice for any teams thinking about participating in the 2013 Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Pond Hockey National Championships in Eagle River, Wis. "We encourage interested teams to register right away, as this event sells out very quickly," says Bevan, senior director of Adult Hockey for USA Hockey. Registrations for the eighth annual tournament will open on July 6, and if history is any indication, spots for the three-day tournament set for Feb. 8-10 will fill up fast. The 2012 event featured a record 2,000-plus players and 281 teams hailing from 31 states. A countdown clock has been placed on the Pond Hockey page of USAHockey.com. JUNE/JULY.2012 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOS COURTESY OF Getty Images; Kitty Sookochoff