Whenever a player needed to use the bathroom, she knocked on the window, and the driver pulled over. There were not even trees to hide behind.

And at one point, the bus redirected onto a dirt path when the road stopped.

“It’s so hard to describe,” Sweet said. “We were in this town where there were no rules, really. You could do whatever you wanted in the road.”

But once the Canadian troop made it to Ust-Kamenogorsk, they found some pleasant surprises.

One night, the teams made plans to go to a sports bar, unsure of what to expect, since they had not seen a TV since their arrival.

Hoping for just a glimpse of world events, highlighted by the 2004 Olympics, the women were amazed by what they found.

In the middle of the bar was a mirage—half of a basketball court, bowling lanes, pool tables, and air hockey. After a heated basketball game, the lights came down to create a dance club complete with Russian techno music, Eminem, Will Smith and other relics of the early 90’s.

“If they bring this place to Boston, it’ll be the hottest place ever,” Sweet said.

“Nobody would have believed it,” Cahow said.

Like the sports bar, the recently renovated ice rink upon which the team played contrasted greatly with the rest of Ust-Kamenogorsk. The team took the ice at the former training site of the 1984 Soviet ice hockey team, who lost in the gold medal game to the upstart Americans.

“In the middle of this town, there was this immaculate rink,” Sweet said.

Yet some simple features were still missing. Despite pristine locker rooms and shower facilities, the rink lacked toilets. In lieu of western-style commodes, there were simple holes in the ground with treads on the side.

Getting Down to Business

Town simplicities and facility irregularities aside, the hockey was anything but primative. High caliber players from Russia, Kazakhstan and Canada faced off in the intense international tournament.

“It was supposed to be four teams, but China dropped out at the last minute because they thought we were the Canadian National team,” Sweet said. “So it was just three teams—us, Russia and Kazakhstan.”