Sami Jo Small

Sami Jo Small
Born	(1976-03-25) March 25, 1976 Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
CWHL team	Toronto Furies
National team	Canada
Playing career	1997–present
Medal record Representing  Canada Women's ice hockey Olympic games 2002 Salt Lake City Tournament 2006 Turin Tournament 1998 Nagano Tournament IIHF World Women's Championships 1999 Finland Tournament 2000 Canada Tournament 2001 United States Tournament 2004 Canada Tournament

Sami Jo Small

Sami Jo Small (born March 25, 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a women's ice hockey player.

Playing career

Small competed for Team Manitoba at the 1991 Canada Winter Games.^[1]

Hockey Canada

Small is a three time Olympian, acting as a third goaltender on the Canadian women's hockey team at Turin and Nagano.

CWHL

Small was a goaltender for the Mississauga Chiefs of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. After the CWHL contracted in 2010, she was claimed by the Toronto Furies. With Toronto, Small participated in the championship game of the 2011 Clarkson Cup. Despite losing to the Montreal Stars by a 5-0 tally, Small accumulated 46 saves in the championship.^[2] On February 9, 2014, a victory against the defending Clarkson Cup champion Boston Blades provided Furies goaltender Sami Jo Small with the 60 victory of her career. Of note, she becomes the first CWHL goaltender to reach the 60 wins plateau.^[3] In that same season, Small would win the 2014 Clarkson Cup, making her the third women's ice hockey goaltender to have won Winter Games gold, IIHF gold and the Clarkson.

Personal

Sami Jo Small is the current Vice-Chairman and one of the founders of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Small is a graduate of Collège Jeanne-Sauvé and attended Stanford University on a track and field scholarship to throw the discus and javelin where she also played on the men's club hockey team.^[4] At the 1997 Pacific-10 Track and Field championships,(held May 24–25, 1997), Small finished in fifth place in the Hammer Throw with a distance of 161.5 meters. In the discus throw, Small was seventh with a distance of 158.8 meters. ^[5] She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering - Product Design.

She is involved with Right to Play and has been an Athlete Ambassador since 2006^[6] Small is married to Billy Bridges, who played forward on the Canadian sledge hockey team for the 2010 Paralympic Games. ^[7]

Awards and honors

• Stanford University Men's Hockey, Pac-8 Conference (ACHA) MVP^[8]
• CWHL Second All-Star Team, 2008–09 and 2009–10
• Brampton Sports Hall of Fame^[9]
• Directorate Award, Best Goalie, 1999 Women's World Hockey Championships^[10]
• Directorate Award, Best Goalie, 2000 Women's World Hockey Championships^[11]
• Namesake, "Sami Jo Small Hockey Facility", Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba^[12]

References