Jocelyne Lamoureux has a bunch of new friends.
She's even met some of them, like U.S. Olympic figure skating gold medalist Evan Lyacek and the entire American men's hockey team.
The others? They were captivated enough by her highlight-reel goal against China and outstanding play at the 2010 Winter Games to track her down and add her as a friend on Facebook -- about 70 of them by the time she got back to her living quarters after that game.
"It's pretty cool to see that type of reaction, because it tells you that women's hockey isn't being overlooked," she said. "It shows people are actually watching and it shows that they care about it."
A lot of people in the area will be tuned in this week. Jocelyne and her twin sister, Monique, along with Warroad, Minn., native Gigi Marvin will lead Team USA into a semifinal game against Sweden at 2 p.m. today (USA Network).
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One more win and the trio is guaranteed to bring home an Olympic medal. The Americans are shooting for gold, though.
They've been dominant early in the tournament, outscoring their three opponents by a combined score of 31-1, and appear to be on a collision course with Canada for the gold.
"Obviously our games have been pretty lopsided," Jocelyne said. "The next couple are going to be really good games, though. The semis against Sweden. . . we know they beat us last time in the semis (in the 2006 Turin Games), so we're all kind of ready for that and really focusing on that game."
The hockey part of the Olympics has gone as planned for the area girls. All three have been impact players. Monique is the third-leading scorer on the team. Jocelyne received national attention after her between-the-legs goal last week.
"My phone blew up and my Facebook was off the hook with requests," she said. "I didn't have many voicemails, but I had a lot of texts... some from people I didn't even know."
Away from the ice, the Olympic experience has been just as good.
The women's team had dinner with the men's team at a clubhouse in Vancouver on Friday and they typically run into other star athletes in the Olympic village or at the cafeteria. Proctor and Gamble has a house where all of the families can go, meet up and hang out.
The twins also took in a speed skating event last week.
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"Aside from hanging out in the village, we don't really do a whole lot," Jocelyne said. "Just going to an event can be kind of tiring, because the venues aren't that close. We do try to go out and support the other athletes, but we have to find a happy medium."
The best part so far?
"Getting to meet the different athletes, sit down and have lunch with them and then watch them go compete and win medals is really exciting," Jocelyne said.
It's about to get even more exciting for the women's hockey team.
The American squad took Friday off and returned to practice Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the Swedish game.
"It's nice to get the days off," Jocelyne said. "But we're excited to play."
Reach Schlossman at (701) 780-1129; (800) 477-6572, ext. 129; or send e-mail to bschlossman@gfherald.com .
