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Sarah Nurse goal powers Canada to 2-1 Winter Olympics win over the U.S.

15 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, Kia Nurse, Sarah Nurse, University of Connecticut, University of Wisconsin

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA Sarah Nurse went top shelf and her father went over the moon.

Forward Sarah Nurse scored her first Winter Olympics goal Thursday (Photo/Hockey Canada).

Nurse, a forward for the Canadian women’s hockey team, fired a wrist shot that bounced off United States goaltender Maddie Rooney’s right shoulder and found a small hole on the short side of the net. It proved to be the difference-maker in a 2-1 contest against the two best teams at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Nurse’s goal at 14:56 of the second period gave Canada a 2-0 lead. U.S. forward Kendall Coyne scored early in the  third period but Canadian goaltender Genevieve Lacasse withstood an onslaught of U.S. shots –  stopping 44 – to preserve the win.

“We played a full 60 minutes and I think we have some things to improve on, but we’re definitely confident in where we’re at and where we’re going,” Nurse told reporters after the game.

Nurse’s tally was her first Olympic goal. She was named to the Canadian team after she completed a collegiate career at the NCAA Division I University of Wisconsin where she tallied 76 goals and 61 assists in 150 games.

Embed from Getty Images

She’s the Badgers’ eighth all-time leading scorer, keeping company with the likes of U.S. stars Brianna Decker and Hilary Knight, who are also playing in PyeongChang seeking Olympic gold.

Her father was feeling somewhat anxious before Canada’s match against its arch-rival for international women’s hockey supremacy. He felt exalted when his daughter’s shot went in the net.

“I’m still trying to come down,” he told me between periods following the goal.

Michelle and Roger Nurse cheered on their daughter, Canadian women’s Olympic hockey player Sarah Nurse, at the Canada-U.S. game Thursday. Sarah Nurse scored her first Olympic goal in that contest (Photo/William Douglas/Color of Hockey).

For Roger and his wife, Michelle Nurse, watching their daughter represent Canada in Pyeongchang triggered memories of how it all began.

“We did a lot of long car rides (to tournaments), me and Sarah. At one point, we’re driving all over North America,” Roger Nurse told me. “For me and Sarah in the car, we laugh, tell a lot of jokes, trying to make the ride shorter. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing since she was 7 years old.”

Sarah reflected on her hockey journey, too. She posted a tweet prior to the Olympic hockey tournament thanking her dad for doing the things that enabled her to play the game.

Thank you for giving me every opportunity to reach me dreams. For driving all over North America & for working nonstop to put every penny into my hockey career.
To the one who put me on those double blades at 3 and never let me look back.. Dad, thank you ❤️#WeAllPlayForCanada pic.twitter.com/hVxWm1NaXx

— Sarah Nurse (@nursey16) February 10, 2018

But for all her success, Sarah and her parents never fully knew where she stood with Hockey Canada. Last year was Sarah’s first centralizaton – or tryout – camp with Canada’s national team from which the Olympic squad was picked.

“There are some kids who just smooth through – they’re the best player, they go to every camp, every event, every Four Nations (tournament), every worlds tournament,” Roger Nurse told me. “For Sarah, it was kind of a fight. No matter how good you thought she was, no matter how well you thought she was doing, it was a fight.”

“And, you, know, she’s still standing, and that’s a great testament to her ability to fight through it,” he added.

Part of that resilience comes from being part of a highly-competitive family. Sarah’s cousins are Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse and University of Connecticut women’s basketball point guard Kia Nurse, who played hoops for Canada at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Sarah’s younger brothers are hockey players: Issac Nurse  plays right wing for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League.  Elijah Nurse is a left wing for the Dundas Blues of Canada’s Provincial Junior Hockey League.

Sarah Nurse’s brother, Isaac Nurse, plays for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Her father was a renowned Canadian lacrosse player. Her uncle Richard Nurse – Darnell and Kia’s father – was a wide receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Former National Football League quarterback Donovan McNabb is an uncle.

Sarah Nurse told CBC Sports that she’s proud of her family’s athletic roots stressed that “I’m here to create my own path.”

It’s something that Roger Nurse’s children occasionally have to remind him of when he’s dispensing hockey advice.

“I’d say something to her about a game she’d play at Wisconsin, she’d look at me and say ‘Dad, you never played a game of NCAA hockey,'” Roger Nurse said. “And Issac would say to me ‘Dad, you never played one game in the Ontario Hockey League.’ Point taken.”

These days, Roger Nurse keeps his advice simple.

“‘Go have fun, step up, and do what you have to do,'” he tells them.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. Download the Color of Hockey podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

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Sarah Nurse named to Canada’s Olympic women’s hockey team

23 Saturday Dec 2017

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, Kia Nurse, Sarah Nurse, University of Connecticut, University of Wisconsin

Sarah Nurse is PyeongChang-bound.

The former University of Wisconsin forward was named to the Canadian women’s hockey team that will compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea in February.

Forward Sarah Nurse is headed to the 2018 WinterOlympics (Photo/Hockey Canada).

Nurse, the cousin of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse and University of Connecticut  basketball point guard Kia Nurse and niece of former National Football League quarterback Donovan McNabb, tallied 76 goals and 61 assists in 150 games for the Badgers from 2013-14 to 2016-17.

She was the Badgers’ second-leading scorer in her senior year with 25 goals and 28 assists in 39 games.

Nurse led NCAA Division I women’s hockey players with three hat tricks last season, including the first three-goal game by a Badgers player against the University of Minnesota last December. Nurse is the 22nd Wisconsin hockey player in program history to reach 100 career points.

Embed from Getty Images

The 5-foot-8 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, native brings a wealth of international experience to Team Canada. She was a member of the country’s gold medal-winning team at the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s Under-18 Championship in Helsinki, Finland, in 2013.

Congrats to my cousin @nursey16 !! Can’t wait to watch her represent our country! 🇨🇦 https://t.co/kgrfPT9p2O

— Darnell Nurse (@drtwofive) December 22, 2017

She also helped Canada capture gold at the 2015 Nation’s Cup in Germany and silver at the 2017 Four Nations Cup in Tampa, Florida. She has 3 goals and 1 assists in 11 international games.

The Olympics are becoming a Nurse family tradition. Cousin Kia represented Canada on its women’s basketball team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

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Sarah hits 100 – another Nurse family sports milestone

07 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, Kia Nurse, University of Connecticut, University of Wisconsin

U of Wisconsin and Team Canada forward Sarah Nurse (Photo/Hockey Canada).

U of Wisconsin and Team Canada forward Sarah Nurse (Photo/Hockey Canada).

Congratulations to University of Wisconsin women’s hockey forward Sarah Nurse for reaching the 100-point mark in her collegiate career.

She achieved the milestone on a third-period goal that helped cement the Badgers’ 6-0 win over Bemidji State University in Madison, Wis., Sunday. It was Nurse’s second goal of the game and her 11th of the 2016-17 season.

“It’s a pretty cool accomplishment, it was actually really cool that (Wisconsin senior forward Sydney McKibbon) made that pass out to me, I think that brought it all back to where it kind of all started, so I think that was really cool,” Nurse said after the game.”

Nurse, the Badgers’ leading scorer this season,  is the 22nd player in the university’s history to tally 100 points. While getting into the history books is nice, Nurse said there’s one achievement that matters more to her: winning an NCAA hockey championship.

Here's a look at @nursey16's second goal of the afternoon pic.twitter.com/axYXFJwCSq

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) November 6, 2016

“This is my last year, so I kind of wanted to come in and have a big impact on this team,” she said. “I want to ultimately win the big title at the end of the year. I came into this season with a lot of confidence.”

Nurse is the cousin of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse and Kia Nurse, a  star guard for the 2015 and 2016 NCAA champion University of Connecticut women’s basketball team and a member of Canada’s women’s hoops squad that competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

She’s also the niece of former National Football League quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Nurse was a co-captain for Canada’s U-22 squad that played a mini-series against the United States in August. The Hamilton, Ont., native led Wisconsin’s women’s team in scoring last season with 25 goals and 13 assists in 36 games.

.@adesbiens30 wasn't the only Badger to make history today!

Congrats to #Badgers @nursey16 on joining the 💯-point club! pic.twitter.com/IYNP4Z5K1k

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) November 6, 2016

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In Rio, Nurse family seeks more hardware

06 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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basketball, Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, Kia Nurse, University of Connecticut

The never-ending sports tour for the Nurse family – one of Canada’s most athletic and competitive clans – continues.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.

Kia Nurse, the sister of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, looks to up her bragging rights over her big bro by bringing home an Olympic medal from Rio de Janeiro as a member of Canada’s basketball team.

“Obviously we have the goal to go in there and get a medal,” she told Canada’s 570 News. “I think need to play really hard together and peak at the right time. So I see our success as playing our best basketball over the last four years at the Olympics.”

Kia’s one of the Great White North’s best basketball players and one of the best collegiate players in the United States. She helped guide the University of Connecticut’s storied women’s basketball team to NCAA championships last season and in 2015.

Olympian Overview: Kia Nurse (@KayNurse11)
Read: https://t.co/SlBIRdJaBS #weareteamcanada pic.twitter.com/ksOplavSQx

— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) August 6, 2016

She was the Most Valuable Player at the 2015 FIBA Americas Women’s Championship. Richard Nurse describes his tough-as-nails point guard daughter’s game with an almost hockey reverence.

“Besides being extremely skilled, she’s a nasty piece of business,” he once told me.

Darnell is no slouch in the championship department. He was a major factor in Team Canada winning the Gold Medal in the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

opening ceremony photoshoot ✅ #Rio2016 🇨🇦👊🏽😈 pic.twitter.com/O4uk0bGEH9

— Kia Nurse (@KayNurse11) August 5, 2016

Kia and Darnell come from a highly athletic family. Father Richard Nurse was a wide receiver for the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats; his wife, Cathy, was a stellar basketball player for Canada’s McMaster University.

With the games starting this weekend, couldn't be more proud of my little sister playing in her… https://t.co/c7oA0PmyA8

— Darnell Nurse (@drtwofive) August 5, 2016

Their older daughter, Tamika, played basketball at the University of Oregon and Bowling Green State University. Richard Nurse’s brother, Roger, was a standout lacrosse player in Canada. Their sister, Raquel, was a Syracuse University hoops standout and is married to former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Sarah Nurse, daughter of Roger Nurse and cousin of Kia and Darnell, is a forward on the University of Wisconsin’s women’s hockey team that played in the 2016 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four tournament.

 

 

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