http://www.duluthnews.com/today/dnt/sports/schmidgall.htm
 
From the Duluth News Tribune
 
F ormer United States Olympian Jenny Schmidgall saw eye-to-eye with former
Canadian Olympic  coach Shannon Miller last week.
 
They met for the first time Saturday. By Monday night, Schmidgall had faxed
her national letter of  intent to play for Miller on Minnesota-Duluth's
first women's varsity hockey team this fall.
 
Schmidgall, 20, a 5-foot-3 center from Eagan, Minn., left the University of
Minnesota program  this spring after one season and will be immediately
eligible through a one-time transfer rule.
 
``Her hockey philosophy and mine were the same, and she made an offer I
couldn't refuse,''  Schmidgall said Tuesday about Miller. ``She's looking
for the best players so that she can have the  best team possible right off
the bat.
 
``She wants to train her players to become Olympic players and her team
will be like a  national-caliber team.''
 
Miller has signed 19 players, including Swedish Olympic right winger Maria
Rooth, and expects  to complete her roster this week, including a second
Swedish Olympic player.
 
``Jenny very much liked the high-performance training that we'll use, which
involves physical,  mental and emotional development,'' said Miller. ``She
wasn't interested in how many games we're  going to win, but about players
helping each other to become the best players possible.''
 
Schmidgall had five points in six games in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
as the United States  ultimately beat Miller's Canadian team for the gold
medal. She was also named the outstanding  forward in the 1999 World
Championships in Finland with a tournament-leading 12 points in five  games
as the U.S. National Team finished second to Canada.
 
As a freshman last season, Schmidgall led the University of Minnesota in
scoring with 33 goals  and 38 assists for school-record 71 points, and was
a plus-52.
 
Coach Laura Halldorson's Gophers (28-4-3) finished third in the American
Women's College  Hockey Alliance Division I tournament.
 
``I just didn't fit into Minnesota's program. It wasn't for me,'' said
Schmidgall about leaving the  Gophers.
 
Schmidgall contacted four schools about transferring -- Wisconsin, New
Hampshire, St. Cloud  State and UMD. While Miller's roster is nearly
finalized, she said she definitely has room for an  Olympian, especially
one she ranked as the fastest skater on either the U.S. or Canadian team.
 
They met Saturday at a Bloomington, Minn., hotel, between sessions of a
coaching clinic Miller  was attending.
 
Schmidgall grew up in Edina, Minn., tried out for the Edina High School
boys junior varsity as a  sophomore and then played for the amateur
Minnesota Thoroughbreds for two years until  graduating in 1997. She was
with the U.S. Olympic team in 1997-98.
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.