LAKE PLACID — Nicole Stagg is a team player.

The 26-year-old Voorheesville native was a member of the Adirondack women’s ice hockey team that upset the traditional winner at the Empire State Games to bring home the gold medal.
"It was awesome," said Stagg on Sunday. "I was just glad to be a part of it."
The game was played in the Jack Shea arena, built for the 1932 Olympics, and named for a Lake Placid native who won two gold medals for speed skating and later became the town supervisor. It’s part of the same complex that houses the rink built for the 1980 Olympics where, in the midst of the Cold War, the United States beat the Russian team in what has become known as "The Miracle on Ice."

The crowd Sunday was wrapped up in its own miracle. The spectators stomped, rang bells, banged the boards, and roared as goals were scored first by one team and then the other.
"I’m not used to that many people watching. We usually get one or two, mostly somebody’s boyfriend," said Stagg who, along with six other Adirondack team members, regularly plays with the Hudson Valley Waves.

The Empire State medal winners were determined Sunday in the final game of 15 games played by six teams during the weekend. The Adirondack team squared off against the Western New York team in a closely matched, very physical game.

Powerhouse Western New York had won the gold for the last several years while the Adirondack team had won the silver medal.

The final score Sunday was tied — 3 to 3 — giving the undefeated Adirondack team first place.

The Adirondack team members skated into a joyous huddle when the final horn sounded, celebrating their gold medal.

Among them was Andrea Kilbourne, a native of Saranac Lake, who won a silver medal when she skated for the United States Women’s Hockey Team at Salt Lake City in 2002.
"She was definitely a leader," said Stagg of Kilbourne., a forward like Stagg. "She made that first line dynamic."

The 3 – 3 tie on Sunday gave

Adirondack first place with four wins and a tie. Central, with four wins and one loss, won the silver, and Western — with three wins, an upset loss to Central, and Sunday’s tie — won the bronze.

New York City was fourth; Long Island, fifth; and Hudson Valley, sixth.
"It was intense," said Stagg of the level of play at the Games. She, and those from other teams, too, noted that, across the state, women’s hockey is becoming more of a force.
"A lot of colleges have women’s ice hockey now," said Stagg. "It’s really growing."
She said of the matches at the Empire State Games, "Almost every game was really exciting and close."
Stagg also said, "I’m probably one of the least experienced. I was nervous about that." She was relieved she didn’t fall, Stagg said with a laugh, adding, in a serious tone, that her contribution was "just skating my hardest."
Although she played in the earlier games, Stagg didn’t see ice time in the final match. "I was there as a supporter," she said.
At the end of the game, she was touched when one of the leading players, forward Susan Duggan, said to her, "You had the hardest job of all."
Stagg’s parents were in the stands to cheer her on. When her mother, during Saturday’s game against Long Island, briefly talked to another onlooker, her father said urgently, "You’re missing your daughter; she’s on the ice!"
Nicole Stagg said later of the fast-paced play, "You’ve got to rely on your instincts and remember the main things about hockey you know."

Cliffhanger

In the final game, Adirondack scored the first goal with 3:18 left in the first period. Danielle Dillabough made the tally with an assist from Susan Duggan. The Western New York goalie was flat out on the ice but couldn’t stop the puck.

A minute later, with the crowd still cheering wildly, the Western goalie was successful at stopping another attempt.

Then, with just 1:97 left in the period, Western scored on a shot by Jennifer Skalski with an assist by Shawnee Oberholtzer.

At the end of the period, the teams huddled by the boards as they listened to their coaches.
The Adirondack players, altogether, yelled, "Go!" as they skated back to play.
"Western!" yelled their opponents.

The intense play continued in the second period. As skaters were knocked to the ice, they rebounded instantly. Then, with just over three minutes left in the period, an Adirondack player stayed down.

Silence fell over the arena. When she got up and skated off, with help, spectators for both teams applauded.

With 2:07 left in the period, the crowd erupted as Adirondack’s Suzanne Fiacco tallied, bringing the score to 2-1.

With the start of the third and final period, the play again was fast and furious. Adirondack’s goalie, Rachel Hutchenson, made a remarkable save just two minutes into the period, only to have Western score a minute later. Nicole Paulk made the tally, tying the score at 2-2.

Altogether, Hutchenson made 12 saves in the game and Western’s goalie made 24.

After Western scored, two Adirondack players — Melisa Hohman and Danielle Dillabough — circled by the goalie, Hutchenson, touching their stick or glove against her as a sign of support and encouragement.
"In women’s sports, generally there’s a lot more support," said Stagg later, when asked about the stick-touching encouragement. "Women back each other up," she said, hastening to add they can also play tough.

That, too, was evident in Sunday’s game, as the players checked each other squarely, time and time again, smashing into the boards.

Four minutes after their second goal, Western scored again with a tally by Julie Ruczula, putting the traditional powerhouse ahead, 3-2.

But then, two minutes later, with 6:37 left in the period, Adirondack’s Susan Fiacco scored again, with an assist by Kilbourne. Now the score was tied once more, 3-3.

As the clock ran down, the intensity increased.

Two minutes later, a Western player lay on the ice as several of her teammates huddled over her. Again, the crowd fell silent. A man hurried onto the ice to help her. The crowd cheered as she got to her knees, and then quieted again until, finally, she rose to her feet, and skated off, with help.

The play continued at a frantic pace until the final horn sounded. That’s when the Adirondack team skated to a group embrace.

As the medals were awarded — first the bronze, then the silver, and finally the gold — each player skated forward to cheers. Duggan had both her kids skating with her.
"It was a great game," said Stagg.

"A hard worker"

Stagg has always been a team player. At Voorheesville’s high school, she was the catcher for the softball team and then, at the State University of New York College at Oswego, she played varsity softball all four years.
Stagg majored in graphic arts and now works as a graphic designer for a Clifton Park publisher. "I’ve always been a little out of the mold," she said. "In college, I was about the only art student that did team sports."

Stagg had a minor in athletic coaching and, in the last season of her senior year, had to choose a sport to study as a coach. Her boyfriend at the time gave her a pair of skates for Christmas that year, so she chose ice hockey.

Many hockey players start skating as young kids; not Stagg.
"I had Rollerbladed, and I had skated a couple of times with friends, but that was it," she recalled.
Stagg said of her college introduction to ice hockey, "I really enjoyed it."

After graduating and moving back to Albany County, she started playing pick-up hockey with men and women at the BIG (Bethlehem Ice Group) arena.

Members of a women’s team, the Hudson Valley Waves, encouraged her to try out for their B team.
"I was hesitant," recalled Stagg. "It was competitive but supposed to be fun, so I gave it a try."
She played on the B team for two years and then tried out for the A team. "There were college players and women who had played from high school all the way up," said Stagg.
She felt intimidated at first, she said, but the coach, Steve Anderson, encouraged her to try out. "He thought I was a hard worker," said Stagg.

She made the team and has played with the Waves for three years.

Asked if she considered herself a pioneer in a sport that, a generation ago, didn’t exist for women, Stagg laughed and said no.
She went on to say, "A few people on the Waves team are real pioneers. They are older women who picked it up late in their college years."

The youngest member of the Waves team is 22, Stagg said, and the oldest members are in their mid-forties.

Stagg is inspired by her teammates.

One of the women who played for the Waves was Gretchen Ulion Silverman, a member of the United States Olympic team that won a gold medal in Nagano, Japan in1998.
Stagg recalled when the Waves played in Toronto. "We went to the Hockey Hall of Fame. As we were walking through, Gretchen said, ‘Wait a minute. That’s my jersey.’"

Stagg admires the way some of the players have fit in having a family with playing the sport.
"One of our captains — she’s in her late 20’s — she has what we call the nine-month flu," said Stagg, referring to her pregnancy. "She’ll be back," Stagg said, confident the captain will return to the game she loves.

Stagg liked the way the Adirondack team, after winning the gold medal Sunday, posed for photographers with the children of the players in the picture, too.

Seven of the 20 members of the Adirondack team are Waves — Andrea Poley, Andrea Pratt, Molly McMaster, Christina Beam, Susan Duggan, Jessica Spiak, and Stagg.

This was Stagg’s first time skating at the Empire State Games, a long-held goal. She tried out last year and was named an alternate. This year, she made the team.
"I was really excited to make the team, to be a part of it," she said.

After the two tryouts, the Adirondack team members had just one practice together.
"Quite a few play together yearly," said Stagg. "It’s kind of like a reunion."
She went on, "We had a team dinner after our practice Thursday, and rallied for the weekend."
Stagg said of her experience on the Adirondack team, "The great thing is you’ve got your teammates to help you through. It’s rewarding because you known you’re skating your hardest and contributing."
She concluded, "I’ve always been a team-sport person. I like the way everyone comes together for a common goal."
What will Stagg be doing the day after winning the gold"
"I have practice tomorrow," she said.