Golden homecoming for Olympic defenceman Bell

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This article was published 22/02/2022 (1343 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Teresa and Tony Bell waited for their daughter Ashton to return from the Beijing Winter Olympics Monday night, the memories of a remarkable young athletic career flashed through Teresa’s mind.

Ashton, a 22-year-old blue-liner with the Canadian women’s hockey team, was coming home as an Olympic gold medallist. Tears streamed down her parents’ faces as she descended the escalator at Winnipeg’s James Richardson International Airport.

“I was thinking just how amazing the whole experience has been and (how we) are just so proud of her of course, and just the fact that that she did it, right?” said Teresa Bell by telephone Tuesday from the family farm near Deloraine. “She set that in her mind as a young player, as many do, and just the fact that, ‘Holy man, this really happened!’”

Ashton, who scored a goal and five points in seven games during the Olympic tournament, was an integral part of a youth movement on the national team over the past year. She was one of 10 Olympic rookies on Team Canada, a group that also included No. 3 goaltender Kristen Campbell of Brandon.

Meanwhile, first-pairing defender Jocelyne Larocque of Ste. Anne is now a three-time Olympian. She also won gold in 2014 (Sochi) to go with a silver earned in 2018 (PyeongChang). Larocque returned to her home base in Brantford, Ont., after the Games.

Ashton Bell relished her Olympic participation. Taking a year off from her college program at the University of Minnesota Duluth, she earned a spot the Canadian centralization roster last fall before making the grade for the Olympic team early last month.

“It was definitely an amazing experience all around and winning that gold medal means so much and being able to bring that gold medal home is pretty special, something that I remember forever,” said Ashton. “I think (the Olympics) exceeded my expectations. The whole aspect of the Olympics, the opening ceremonies were probably the most memorable thing for me. Just to walking down onto that stage behind (captain Marie-Phillip Poulin) who was carrying the flag. It was a moment we won’t forget.”

Bell said her team was supremely self-assured after winning a world championship in August, ending a nine-year gold-medal drought at the worlds.

“I think worlds definitely helped with the confidence of this group,” said Bell. “All these younger players felt so confident after that tournament and it started with the the veteran players leadership group. They made it feel so comfortable and welcoming and that we could make a difference to this team… I think all throughout centralization, we just kept building that confidence as a group and definitely has so much belief and that this was the team that was gonna bring home gold.”

The Canadians were so well-prepared that playing with medical masks during a preliminary game against the Russian Olympic Committee was no big deal.

“We were wearing masks for practice right when we got back (to Calgary) from Christmas, so we were kind of used to it and just anything that was thrown at us, we would attack it,” she said. ” Nothing really fazed this group.”

Canada went unbeaten in Beijing and beating the U.S., the defending gold medallists, was especially sweet.

“It’s hard to describe that feeling,” said Bell, who will return to Minnesota Duluth for her fifth and final season of NCAA eligibility in fall. “It’s the best by rivalry in women’s hockey or hockey in general and it was definitely a surreal feeling playing them in the prelims and then beating them… We were really confident and we knew we didn’t play our best there in the prelim game and then heading into that gold-medal game we were really confident. We knew that if we stuck to our way… and played as one that we could be successful.”

With road conditions making the nearly four-hour trip from Deloraine to Winnipeg treacherous Monday night, local supporters were unable to attend the arrival in large numbers. However, a celebration for fans in the Deloraine area is being planned and Teresa, Deloraine’s postmaster, and Tony, who farms in the area, and sons Tristan and Samuel are expected to be in attendance.

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“It was pretty exciting,” said Teresa Bell. “And if we weren’t so far away from Winnipeg we definitely would have had a whole entourage of people there… A lot of people were wishing that they could have been there at the airport to greet her but I think Tony and I, we kind of did our best to embarrass her maybe a little bit just to make sure that she was welcomed the way that she should be.”

It appears Ashton is only getting started. She could eventually add two or more Olympics to her resume.

“We’ve been grateful that she’s been given the opportunity to do this one and if she’s fortunate enough to get to others, that would just be amazing,” said Teresa. “And hopefully by then, if that’s the case, then we’re able to we’re able to participate and get there as well.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14

Mike Sawatzky
Reporter

Mike has been working on the Free Press sports desk since 2003.

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