HARTFORD — She didn't have nearly enough clothes, and she didn't have her passport, for that matter. Helen Resor wasn't expecting a trip to Sweden as part of her week of training in April with the U.S. women's national hockey team. She was all but recovered from a foot injury, but as far as Resor was concerned, she was in Lake Placid just to help out. An extra pair of skates.

She was there to train and to help prepare the U.S. team for the International Ice Hockey Federation's 2005 Women's World Championships. When the week was over, the players would head for Sweden and Resor would head back to Yale University, where she was finishing up her freshman year.

Little did she know.

When the week came to an end, coach Ben Smith called Resor, a Greenwich native, into his office. Pack your bags, he said. You're coming with us.

"They had told us to bring our passports with us, but I thought, 'That's crazy, I'm not going,'" Resor said Saturday afternoon, standing outside the Team USA locker room at the Civic Center. "I was just there to help the team train. I was still recovering from an injury when the first tryouts took place in December, so I missed those and it was definitely a surprise when he put me on the team. I had to have my boyfriend find and sent me my passport."

If the trip was a surprise, the tournament itself had to be a thrill of a lifetime. Not only did the United States win the gold medal for the first time in the event's

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nine-year history, the team beat archrival Canada in the finals to make winning the gold extra special.

Since then, Resor has been setting her sights on earning another medal — an Olympic medal — as she skates with the U.S. national team toward a date in Turin, Italy, in February. In August, coach Smith selected Resor as part of the national team that is currently touring the country in preparation of the Winter Olympics.

On Saturday, the tour stopped in at the Civic Center where Team USA defeated Finland 5-3. And while Resor, playing regular shifts on defense, has more than held her own over the team's 15 games to date, until the final roster is announced on Dec. 27, she will continue to play as hard as she can and wait ... on pins and needles.

"It's definitely stressful but it's such an honor to play for this team, I'm just trying to concentrate on the positives and not think about the cut, because when you think about it, you play worse," Resor said. "I'm just trying to have fun out there."

At 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds, Resor is one of Team USA's biggest players, and that size and strength are one reason Smith brought her up to play with the national team.

"She's a big, strong kid and she plays with really high energy, high intensity," he said. "She's a great competitor and we have to make sure that energy is channeled. She's been a little bit behind because of her injury and she's playing the position that's probably the most difficult to step in and take that kind of responsibility, but she's doing a good job. She plays with so much energy that sometimes I have to tell my assistants to tell her to make sure she settles down, because we want that energy and that excitement and that competitiveness to be our ally and not be a negative."

That energy led Yale to a school-record 16 wins last season, as Resor scored seven goals and added 11 assists as the Bulldogs reached the East Coast Athletic Association Hockey League semifinals, losing to Harvard. With her commitment to the national team, Resor had to postpone her sophomore season at Yale — and playing with her cousins, junior Nina and freshman Carry — until next fall. But the international experience she is gaining will be invaluable when she returns to Ingalls Rink.

"I had so much time to play and watch the older players and see what they do," Resor said. "I want to play more than anything, so I try to play every game and practice like it's my last."

And if Resor doesn't make the final cut for the Olympics, that doesn't mean Turin is out of the question. Resor's parents have already bought tickets and have accommodations for Italy, and Helen would go along to cheer on her teammates, especially against the Canadians.

"That rivalry is unbelievable," Resor said. "Playing them (and beating them) at Worlds last year was such a great feeling."

Beating them in the Olympics would be even better.

Don't forget the passport, Helen.

Chris Elsberry is a sports columnist. He can be reached via e-mail at celsberry@ctpost.com