Dana Antal (born April 19, 1977 in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
) is a women's
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
player. She won a gold medal with
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
at the
2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Prior to joining the Canadian national team, she played collegiate hockey for
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. In her first season, she was named the
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
Rookie of the Year, and was the team's leading scorer. Antal also played for the
Calgary Oval X-Treme
The Calgary Oval X-Treme were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL). The team played its home games at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Oval X-Treme were a member of the National Wome ...
in the
Western Women's Hockey League
The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) was a women's hockey league in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada (some former National Women's Hockey League teams) and one from the United States. The league offi ...
.
Playing career
Minor hockey
Growing up in
Esterhazy,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, Antal played
minor hockey
Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...
on local boys' teams until bantam (15 & under), as at the time, there were no girls' teams in the area.
College hockey
After completing her minor hockey career, Antal was offered a scholarship to play hockey at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
.
Club hockey
On March 22, 1998, Dana Antal scored at 5:31 of a 10-minute overtime period on a pass from Jennifer Botterill as Team Alberta (represented by the Calgary Oval X-Treme) defeated Team Ontario (represented by the Beatrice Aeros) by a 3-2 mark to win the Esso Nationals.
In the tournament, Antal scored two goals and added an assist at the games. She scored a goal in the 2003 Esso Women's National Hockey Championship to help Team Alberta win the
Abby Hoffman Cup
The first instances of organized women's ice hockey in Canada date back to the 1890s when it was played at the university level. The Women's Hockey Association claims that the city of Ottawa, Ontario hosted the first game in 1891. In 1920, Lad ...
.
International play
Antal was a member of the Canadian National Team that won gold at the Women’s World Hockey Championships in 2001. She was selected to the team in 2000 but was unable to play. She was a member of the Canadian Olympic Team that won a gold medal at the
2002 Winter Olympics in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
.
Awards and honours
*Most Sportsmanlike, 1998 Esso National championships
*Player of the game, 2003 Esso Women's National Hockey Championship
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antal, Dana
1977 births
Living people
Calgary Oval X-Treme players
Canadian women's ice hockey forwards
Cornell Big Red women's ice hockey players
Sportspeople from Saskatoon
Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Canada
Olympic ice hockey players of Canada
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan
People from Esterhazy, Saskatchewan