Geraldine Heaney

Heaney first joined a girls' hockey team at age 10, playing against girls up to six years older than her.[5] She joined the Toronto Aeros in 1980 at the age of 13. It began a career with the organization in which she played over 1,000 games at the senior level and later the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).[6] She was a member of six provincial championship winning teams and named the Ontario Women's Hockey Association's top defenceman on three occasions: 1987–88, 1991–92 and 1992–93.[6]

While studying recreation facilities management at Seneca College in Toronto, Heaney was recruited to play volleyball, but immediately switched to hockey upon learning the school operated a women's team.[5] In 1987, she led Seneca to an Ontario Colleges Athletic Association championship and was named to both her league and the provincial championship all-star teams.[7]

Heaney was a member of four national championship teams with the Aeros.[5] The only player to appear in the Esso Women's National Hockey Championship every season between 1987 and 2001, Heaney was named the best defender of the tournament in 1993, 1997 and 2001 and was named most valuable player in 1992.[6] Three months pregnant with her first child, Heaney ended her club career in 2004 by scoring the overtime-winning goal to capture the national championship.[5] In recognition of her 27-year playing career, the Aeros retired her uniform number 91 in 2006.[3]

The first International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) sanctioned Women's World Championship was played in 1990, in Ottawa.[8] Heaney was selected for Team Canada, but as she was a landed immigrant, she had to rush the process of gaining citizenship before she could play.[9] Canada and the United States were the class of the tournament and met in the final.[8] Heaney scored the gold medal winning goal in dramatic fashion as she deked around two American defencemen before sliding the puck into the net as she tripped over the goaltender and flew through the air in a fashion reminiscent of Bobby Orr's Stanley Cup winning goal in 1969.[4] The goal, coupled with her skills as an offensive defenceman led to Heaney becoming known as the "Bobby Orr of women's hockey".[3]

The 1990 tournament marked the first of seven consecutive gold medal victories for Heaney, and she was the only player to appear in the first seven World Championships for Canada.[5] She received the Directorate Award as the tournament's best defenceman at the 1992 and 1994 tournaments,[10] and was named a tournament all-star in 1992.[11]

Women's hockey was added as a full-medal sport for the first time at the 1998 Nagano Games, and Heaney was named to the Canadian Olympic team.[12] While Canada had won every World Championship to that point, defeating the United States in the final each time, the Americans had begun to defeat Canada at other tournaments.[13] Heaney scored two goals and added four assists in six games;[1] however Canada lost the final to the United States, 3–1, and settled for the silver medal.[14]

Heaney planned on the 2002 Salt Lake Games being her final tournament.[9] She ended her international career with an Olympic gold medal after Canada defeated the United States 3–2 in the final.[15] The final was controversial as the American referee called 13 of the final 16 penalties in the game against Canada. Heaney described the feeling of the Canadian players following the game: "We got an unbelievable number of penalties. We never had any idea that could happen. [The officials] tried to give them the game, and we weren't going to let that happen."[16] In addition to celebrations in Canada, Heaney was recognized as a sporting hero in Northern Ireland.[9]

Heaney also played in two World Ball Hockey Championships. She won a gold medal in 1992 and silver in 1994.[5]