O Canada – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Oct. 7, 2006
by Courtney Walerius
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As a little girl, Tessa Bonhomme’s grandmother wanted her to focus on figure skating. She could not understand Bonhomme’s love for hockey. It must be about the black skates, her grandmother concluded. So she thought she would right the situation by buying a nice pair of shiny black figure skates for her granddaughter.
The skates were never worn. It was not about the black skates. It was about the game of hockey. Her granddaughter was a true-blue, born-and-bred rink rat – of the hockey kind. Little did her grandmother know the hockey-playing Bonhomme would develop into one of Canada’s top female hockey players with the opportunity to compete for a spot on the nation’s 2006 Winter Olympic roster.
In the summer of 2005, Bonhomme, a native of Sudbury, Ontario, was one of 27 players hand-picked by Hockey Canada to centralize for the 2006 Olympics. After completing her second season with the Ohio State women’s hockey team, it meant redshirting her third season and leaving school and her fellow Buckeyes for a season.
Bonhomme had proved herself to Hockey Canada after competing with the Canadian Women’s National Team in several events prior to the centralization, including a festival during Thanksgiving weekend in 2005 as well as the prestigious Four Nations Cup earlier that month. But this invitation was a whole new level. Representing Canada on the Olympic ice is the ultimate dream for any native hockey player.
“It’s hard not to smile,” Bonhomme said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but you dream of it as a kid. You never lose that feeling of representing your country. The buzz never dies, no matter how many years you’re on the team or how many times you may represent Canada – in the dressing room, the adrenaline, the intensity. You never get sick of it. I couldn’t imagine that.”
Centralization included moving to Calgary to train for five months. Bonhomme was one of eight defensemen, and Hockey Canada was planning on six making the official roster. Every day revolved around hockey. Six days a week it was practice in the morning, lifting in the afternoon and sometimes a second practice in the evening. The team competed in a Midget AAA hockey league, compiled of teams with boys ages 16-18 years old. Most every weekend the women were on the road playing, with the week filled with training. On the off days, as tired as Bonhomme and her teammates would be, the desire to get away from hockey for just a few hours was stronger.
“I liked focusing on just hockey at first, but then when the second month came, it wore on you,” Bonhomme said. “You just wanted a change of environment, so when you had your one day off, you’re almost too exhausted to do other things, yet you kind of wanted to just to switch things up. But I certainly didn’t mind playing hockey every day.”
The invitation to be part of the centralization program was a great honor, and one Bonhomme did not take lightly. She could not. The women there were to be teammates, but with limited numbers of spots, the competition was never-ending.
“Everybody’s your friend and you want everyone to do well, but at the same time you’re kind of hoping someone chokes because you know if that happens you kind of have an easier way,” Bonhomme said. “The level of competition was definitely high, whether it was at practice or in the weight room, everybody was constantly looking over their shoulder, making sure they were doing their best. It was a stressful time. I don’t think I realized that until it was over. I felt like I aged 20 years because of stress. It was fun, but it was hard to enjoy it at the same time because of everything that was going on.”
The cuts could happen at anytime between October and the end of December. When the first cut was made, Bonhomme, along with everyone else taking part in centralization, found a renewed focus on the task at hand. After all, the journey could be cut short at any time.
“The first cut was actually my best friend and roommate,” Bonhomme said. “It was in mid-October and the time she was cut it was a week too late for her to even return to school, so it made you take things more seriously and not for granted. It was a big eye-opener. That was really close to home.”
Bonhomme continued to participate in the centralization program until the final two cuts needed to be made Dec. 23. The Hockey Canada directors decided to take five defensemen instead of six and the road to the 2006 Olympics came to an early end for Bonhomme. While disappointed, Bonhomme continued to train in case someone on the roster was unable to compete. She also did not want to lose any of the edge she had gained through her intense preparation and training over the five months.
In the spring of 2006, Bonhomme returned to Ohio State to resume classes and practice with the women’s hockey team. With centralization behind her, it was time to return her focus to helping the Buckeyes prep for the 2006-07 season.
“Coming back, I definitely missed it,” Bonhomme said. “I missed the girls and I wanted to get back a lot. It’s definitely a change of pace. And you’re life is a lot more organized and has a sense of direction.”
Bonhomme still has her sights set on representing Canada in the Winter Olympics, and what better place to do it than in Vancouver in 2010. She has already been named to the Canadian Under-22 Team for the third time in her career and the next step would be a place on the World Championship roster in the spring of 2007. But right now, Bonhomme is ready to take advantage of playing against the best college women’s hockey teams in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and help lead the Buckeyes as a captain for the upcoming season. After all, as Bonhomme remarked, “Hockey is hockey, no matter what level you play it at.”
And it’s about much more than just the pretty black skates.
