While Special Olympics Team USA Alaska athletes stretched their hamstrings and warmed up, fans filled the three bleachers of the "Field of Play" and lined the barriers in front.

It was standing room only Saturday at the Federal Express hangar, and even then people stood on tippy toes, stacked one behind the other, to see the field.

"You made it this far. Go all the way," one fan shouted.

For Team USA Alaska, a floor hockey team from Kodiak, it didn't seem overwhelming. The team, undefeated in seven games going into Saturday's medal-round competition, seemed

relaxed and even broke out in song.

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout," they sang in unison, stretching as they poured out the tea.

The team of 18 athletes qualified for the Special Olympics Winter World Games at last year's Pre-Games competition and is considered a unified team, meaning athletes play alongside "partners" who don't have mental retardation. They play as teammates, working together for overall success.

On Saturday, Team Alaska faced Germany in the A division.

"One for all, all for one," they chanted before the game started.

Nine three-minute periods later, the team earned itself a Special Olympics gold medal by beating the much smaller but faster Germans, 3-1.

But the game was much closer than the score reflected.

Athletes used their sticks, their feet, even their hands to ward off goals. Over and over, a Team Alaska athlete had the puck and was able to move it down the field by overpowering German players. On several occasions, German athletes ended up face first on the rubber floor, and were picked up and brushed off by their Alaska rivals.

Teams were divided into divisions based on their abilities. Team USA Alaska's division was considered advanced and athletes passed the puck through their legs and behind their backs.

Special Olympics floor hockey is an adaptation of ice hockey, without the skates, winged poles, hard pucks and inclement weather. Athletes use sticks to push a rubber-coated felt doughnut around the rink. About 800 athletes -- 35 percent of the 2,350 at the World Winter Games -- compete in the sport.

Following the game, USA athletes gave piggyback rides to German athletes, embraced each other in hugs and jumped up and down. The two teams posed for pictures and cheered together. Team USA collected the homemade banners made by fans.

"We never expected this," said Dan Canavan, who plays on Team USA Alaska with his 16-year-old daughter, Amy. The Canavans are one of two father-child partners on the team.

"I'm going to Disneyland," he said to a friend, joking.

After the game ended, fans moved to the awards area from Field of Play No. 3 -- one of six in the huge hangar, built to repair Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Almost an hour later, a team from Spain accepted the bronze medal. A few Spanish athletes were so overwhelmed that they wiped tears from their eyes as the crowd cheered. After Germany accepted the silver, Team USA Alaska received a standing ovation.

Reporter Molly Brown can be reached at mbrown@adn.com and 257-4343.