FINAL: The growth of girl’s hockey programs

According to a recent survey conducted by Southern States Skate, 64.3 percent found girl’s hockey has grown in the southeast because more girl’s hockey programs have been established.

Washington Pride Head Coach Kush Sidhu - courtesy of Pride Hockey Association.

Washington Pride Head Coach Kush Sidhu can be held accountable for this progress in the growth of girl’s programs in the southeast.  Sidhu is most notable for forming the first ‘travel’ girl’s ice hockey program, the Washington Little Capitals, in the Washington, D.C. area in 1993.  The team, now called the Washington Pride, is part of the Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL), which Kush co-founded in 2007-08.

The JWHL is the first known ‘Junior’ style hockey league for females.  The Washington Pride is the only team from the southeast in the league.  Other teams include North American Hockey Academy, National Sports Academy Mountaineers, Boston Shamrocks, Colorado Selects, Balmoral Hall School Blazers, Warner School Warriors, Edge School Mountaineers, Minnesota Thoroughbreds, and Pacific Steelers.  The Washington Pride competes against these teams in both the United States and Canada.

“Over the years, it seems that the number of girl’s teams at the U-19 level has dropped to just a handful in the Southeastern District, although there do seem to be a lot of girls playing,” says Sidhu.

The Washington Pride has two girls programs, the Pride College Prep U-19 and the Jr. Pride U-16.  The Pride College Prep team is “for juniors or seniors in high school or post-graduate or ‘Gap Year’ players who would like to spend a year in the DC area before heading off to play collegiate hockey,” according to the Pride Hockey Association.  The Jr. Pride team is for freshman and sophomores in high school from the Washington DC-Baltimore metropolitan area who are tracking towards playing collegiate level hockey,” according to the Pride Hockey Association.

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The Washington Pride College Prep team has endured daily practicing and training as they play in top competition in the JWHL.  The team also plays in intense local competition against boy’s teams in the Washington, D.C. area.

The Washington Jr. Pride team has one practice and one off-ice session a week with the College Prep team.  The team competes in a 20-game schedule in the JWHL U-17 Division.  The Jr. Pride players are future prospects for the College Prep team.

Nearly every Pride alumnae has been offered to play hockey on an NCAA Varsity program, Division I and Division III.

This map shows the Division I colleges where Washington Pride alumni from the southeast have gone.

Jessica Lutz, a member of the University of Connecticut’s women’s ice hockey team, is a Washington Pride alumna who has gone to a Division I women’s college hockey program.

Sacred Heart University sophomore defenseman Jennifer Burroughs started playing hockey in Raleigh, N.C.  She played for the Carolina Junior Hurricanes and Wakefield High School.  Similar to Lutz, Burroughs has made it to the collegiate-level for hockey.

Burroughs and Lutz speak about girl’s programs in the southeast in this podcast.

The Washington Pride has helped several girls move on to Division I women’s college hockey programs, and it has contributed to the growth of girl’s hockey throughout the southeast.

“There do seem to be a lot of girls playing,” says Sidhu.  “There are still a lot of high-level girls playing for teams such as ours in the southeast.”

EXTRA CREDIT: Kyla Sanders

Fort Myers, Fla. native Kyla Sanders, a senior forward and assistant captain on the University of Wisconsin’s women’s ice hockey team, found difficulties and advantages playing hockey in Florida.

“The most difficult thing playing in the south would be traveling hours to practice,” says Sanders.  “An advantage for playing in the south is that we got to play boys teams.”

Sanders started out playing roller hockey.  She switched to ice hockey when she was 11 years old.

She played for both boys and girls teams. Sanders found boy’s hockey to be at a faster pace and more physical than girl’s hockey

“Boy’s hockey was so competitive and it helped me become a stronger player,” says Sanders.

Her first girls teams were  Team Florida and the Coyotes.

“There were no girls teams around me so my parents had to drive me three hours to the other coast to play for Team Florida and the Coyotes,” says Sanders.

Sanders’ father, Joe Sanders, started a girl’s program in Ellenton, Fla. called the Florida Eels.  Kyla Sanders played for U-16 Lady Eels her freshman and sophomore years of high school.

“It was nice to not drive three hours for practice, but we had to bus to places like North Carolina just to play against other girls teams,” says Sanders.  “We flew up to Connecticut every year during Christmas to play in the Polar Bear Tournament.”

The Lady Eels were district champions Sanders’ freshman and sophomore years.  Sanders registered 75 goals and 58 assists during her two years with the Lady Eels.

For Sanders’ junior year, she played for the U-19 Lady Eels registering 47 goals and 41 assists.

Sanders attended the North America Hockey Academy in Stowe, Vt.  for two years during her high school career.  She was named offensive player of the year at NAHA with 34 goals and 32 assists.

“When I was growing up, it was common for girls to go to prep school,” says Sanders. “Schools didn’t come down to Florida to watch us play. I attended prep school up north, hoping that I would get a Division I scholarship.”

During Sanders junior year of high school, University of Wisconsin recruited her.  Sanders visited the university her senior year.

“I loved the campus, the hockey program, as well as the academics,” says Sanders. “As soon as I finished my visit, I committed right away.”

At Wisconsin, Sanders completed her four-year career playing in 157 games tallying 77 points, 41 goals and 36 assists.

Photo courtesy of Kyla Sanders.

EXTRA CREDIT: Ansley LaHue

Goaltender Ansley LaHue, a native of Kennesaw, Ga., traveled all across the southeast playing on both wheels and blades before skating her way onto Yale University’s women’s ice hockey team.

“I started playing roller hockey for my sister’s team,” says LaHue.  “Their goalie didn’t show up, so I jumped in for them and I loved it.”

LaHue continued to play roller hockey after that.  In 2001, she slipped on a pair of ice skates and switched to ice hockey at the age of 14.

“I played boy’s travel hockey for the Kennesaw Lazers and girl’s travel hockey for Team South, Southern Stars, and Raleigh Storm,” says LaHue.

In addition to these teams, LaHue also played high school hockey.  She played three years of boy’s ice hockey for North Cobb High School, and Kennesaw Mountain High School.  She also played roller hockey for Norcross High School in 2003, Roswell High School 2003-04, and Milton High School in 2004.

“Lots of travel,” says LaHue.  “I loved it though.”

LaHue eventually left her hometown in Georgia to attend Phillips Academy Andover in Andover, Mass. for two years.

“It was tough transitioning between boy’s hockey and girl’s hockey,” says LaHue.  “It was a different speed, a lot slower.”

LaHue also played for the travel team, Chelmsford Lions, and led Chelmsford to the semi-finals in the Connecticut Polar Bears tournament in 2006.

Two Division I women’s ice hockey colleges, Dartmouth and Yale, looked to recruit LaHue during her high school career.

She graduated from Andover in 2006, and she decided to attend Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

LaHue played one season at Yale.  For the 2006-07 season at Yale, LaHue saw action in four games.

Photos courtesy of Ansley LaHue.

EXTRA CREDIT: Roxanne Gaudiel

From Venice, Fla. to Princeton, N.J., this 5-foot-4-inch goaltending instructor had an interesting journey to her coaching career at Princeton Sports Center.

Roxanne Gaudiel started skating when she was seven years old, along the sides of her twin brother and older sister.

“The rink had just opened up and my mom took the three of us kids skating,” says Gaudiel.

Gaudiel and her brother began playing hockey after that.

“In that first year, there weren’t even enough kids to field a team, so we all played forward,” says Gaudiel.  “The next season I went into the net.”

Like many girls from the southeast, Gaudiel started playing hockey with boys.  She started in 1990 as a Squirt playing for the Venice Sharks, a boy’s travel team in Venice, Fla.  Hockey in Florida was at the developing stage, even for boys.  Gaudiel says there were only seven travel teams in the entire state.

“I loved playing with the boys,” says Gaudiel.  “They were all my friends.  My brother was on the team, and it was fast, challenging.”

Hockey became time-consuming for Gaudiel.  “We drove at least two hours every weekend for games,” says Gaudiel.

She played for Team Florida, a boy’s PeeWee AAA team, in 1996, and the Venice Sharks until 1998.  In 1998-99, she was selected to attend the Dave Peterson National Goaltenders Camp by USA Hockey.

Gaudiel later played for the Washington Little Capitals and the Washington Pride in Washington, D.C. 2000-02.  She was also selected to attend the National Women’s festivals 200-02.  She also attended a the Elite Hockey Camp for women at Dartmouth College every summer along with statewide tournaments in Florida.

It seems that Gaudiel always wanted to play college hockey, but how would she get there being a girl from Florida?

“I did know that to get to college hockey or a national team, I’d have to leave the state,” says Gaudiel.  “No one would see me in Florida.”

While participating in the Dartmouth hockey camp, she was recruited to play hockey at the Berkshire School, a private, New England boarding school in Sheffield, Mass.

“That’s where I learned to play girl’s hockey,” says Gaudiel.  “It was slower but made me appreciate the game more.”

Several Division I women’s college ice hockey teams, including Dartmouth, Brown, and Princeton, looked to recruit Gaudiel during her preparatory school career.  She chose to go to Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.

At Princeton, Gaudiel varsity lettered four years in ice hockey 2002-06.  She was selected for the U.S. U-22 National Team in 2003.  She helped the Princeton Tigers reach the Eastern College Athletic Conference semi-finals in 2003 and 2006.  In 2006, the team won the Ivy League Championship while also reaching the NCAA quarter-finals.

She made the 2005 ECAC All-Academic Team, 2005 ECAC Second-Team, 2005 Ivy League First-Team, 2006 ECAC All-Academic Team, 2006 ECAC Third-Team, and 2006 Ivy League First-Team.  She was awarded the 2005 Princeton Women’s Hockey co-MVP.  She was also selected to the 2005 ECAC All-Star team that played the U.S. Women’s National team on the pre-Olympic tour.  She finished her career at Princeton with a .924 save percentage, a 1.70 goals-against average, and 12 shutouts.

In 2006-07, Gaudiel played for the Quebec Avalanche, a professional team in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the National Women’s Hockey League.

Gaudiel began coaching as the Director and Head Coach of the Team Florida U-16 Girls program.  She became an instructor at the Kuper and Webster Hockey Academy in Montreal and taught specific goaltending skills at a number of camps and clinics.  Gaudiel will entering her third season as a goaltending instructor for the New Jersey Stars Youth Hockey program for the 2010-11 season.

“Because there’s no career in women’s hockey, I made the choice to set me up for work after hockey,” says Gaudiel. “Best decision I ever made.”

Photo courtesy of Roxanne Gaudiel.

EXTRA CREDIT: Maxie Weisz

Severna Park, Md. native Maxie Weisz played on multiple hockey teams around the southeast before attending St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.  She currently is a senior goaltender for St. Lawrence’s women’s ice hockey team.

“I started playing hockey at age five, and started as the goalie right away,” says Weisz.

She began playing hockey on a boy’s team and continued to play with boys until high school.

“I played on an all boys team my whole life because girls hockey did not exist in Maryland when I started playing,” says Weisz.

In 1996, she started playing for the Washington Little Capitals, an all-girls team.  In 2004, she switched teams and played for the Washington Pride until she graduated high school.  In addition to playing for these teams, Weisz also played on her high school team, an all-boys team, in Severna Park.

“When I finally did switch to girl’s hockey, finding a high level of competition was difficult,” says Weisz.  “Weekends were usually meant for traveling to northern states such as New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada.”

Weisz says that Washington Pride Head Coach Kush Sidhu is the main factor that brought female hockey to the Washington, D.C. area.  “It gave girls the opportunity to play hockey at a high level,” says Weisz.

Weisz decided to play hockey at St. Lawrence because Sidhu had connections with Assistant Coach Jodi McKenna at the time.

“When I came in as a freshman, there were only a handful of teams that really competed with each other, but over the years the competition has evened out considerably,” says Weisz.  “I think it’s just a matter of time before the southern states recognize hockey as it does soccer, football or lacrosse.”

Photo courtesy of Maxie Weisz.

EXTRA CREDIT: Jenn Arms

Jenn Arms, a native of Chapin, S.C., is a senior forward on Boston University‘s women’s ice hockey team.

“It was hard to find hockey in the south, especially girls hockey,” says Arms.  “I grew up playing roller hockey on guys travel teams. When we got an ice rink my freshman year in high school, I switched over to ice.”

When Arms first laced up a pair of ice hockey skates, she played on both boys and girls travel teams.  She played on Raleigh Storm, Team Carolina, and Washington Little Capitals.

“I had to travel at least four hours to just play with girls,” says Arms. “It definitely took a lot of time and a big commitment.”

She played for Team Carolina in 2004-05, playing 31 games and tallying 16 goals and 19 assists.  For the 2005-06 season, she played for The Washington Little Capitals 19 and under team before attending Boston University in 2006. 

“Even though there was not very much girls hockey, I was still able to get to where I am today because of playing with the boys,” says Arms.  “I grew up with a great group of guys that continued to push me to make me the player that I am today.  When I got to play in the girls environment I was ready.”

At Boston University, Arms played an overall 105 games, registering four points, two goals and two assists.

“My dream was to play Division I college hockey, so I wanted to try my best to achieve my dream,” says Arms.  “Sometimes you just have to take the risk.”

Photos courtesy of Jenn Arms.

EXTRA CREDIT: Alyssa Gagliardi

Alyssa Gagliardi, a senior defenseman on Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep Hockey team, is from Raleigh, N.C.  She committed to play hockey at Cornell University last August and will be entering her freshman year this fall.

“Hockey was much more limited in the south,” says Gagliardi.

Gagliardi played for the Raleigh Youth Hockey Association (RYHA) growing up in North Carolina.  She played as goalie for a boy’s Squirt team.  She later played on the girls programs as a defenseman.

“I played for the Raleigh Storm girl’s team for two years,” says Gagliardi. “As my brother and I developed, we moved up a level and began playing for the East Coast Eagles organization.”

Gagliardi’s brother, Ryan, left home to play hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a preparatory school in Faribault, Minn.  “Growing up, I wanted to do whatever my brother did,” says Gagliardi.

She continued to follow in her brother’s footsteps as she too decided to attend Shattuck-St. Mary’s. “Just as I picked up hockey because my brother played, I too followed him to Shattuck the very next year,” says Gagliardi.  “If I wanted to play college hockey, I would need to get much more exposure by playing girls hockey.”

Gagliardi has been playing hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s for four years now.  “It has opened amazing doors for me,” says Gagliardi. “Without Shattuck and the coaching I received, I don’t think I would have had such a great opportunity to play Division I hockey.”

Gagliardi chose to attend Cornell because of the academics combined with the school’s drive to have a successful hockey program.

Photo courtesy of Alyssa Gagliardi.

EXTRA CREDIT: Jill Zelonis

Jill Zelonis, a senior goaltender for Niagara University’s women’s ice hockey team, is a native of Purcellville, Va.  She played on several different teams before attending Niagara.  Teams include the Reston Raiders, the Montgomery Blue Devils, and the Washington Pride.

Before Zelonis played girl’s hockey, she played boys hockey as many girls from the southeast tend to do.  “There were not many girls teams growing up so I always ended up playing with the boys,” says Zelonis. “Eventually I was able to get on a girls team in Reston, Va.”

She played for the Reston Raiders until she was 16.  “That was kind of a hike to drive an hour to Reston for practices, but my parents made the drive three times a week,” says Zelonis.

Traveling became a factor for Zelonis.

“It was also difficult to travel the distance to play,” says Zelonis. “There were not a lot of rinks around my house.  The closest rink to my house was thirty minutes away.”

After playing for the Reston Raiders, Zelonis played on the Montgomery Blue Devils 16 and under team.  Then, she decided to play for the Washington Pride.

“Making it to those practices was extremely difficult since the drive took about 2 1/2 hours during rush hour traffic in D.C.,” says Zelonis.

Zelonis endured more traveling as a member on the Washington Pride program.  Washington Pride is the only team from Washington, D.C. in the Junior Women’s Hockey League.  Zelonis had to travel to Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin a couple times a month.

Zelonis graduated from Purcellville High School in 2006 and decided to walk on the Division I women’s ice hockey team at Niagara University.

“All I wanted to do was play Division I hockey, and Niagara had a good program,” says Zelonis.

Photos courtesy of Jill Zelonis.

EXTRA CREDIT: Kate Marek

Kate Marek is from Alexandria, Va. and started playing hockey when she was five years old.  She played on an all-boys team for most of her youth.

“Playing hockey wasn’t very popular in Virginia at that time and it was almost unheard of for girls to play,” says Marek.

It was not difficult for Marek being the only girl on a boys team.  She seemed to fit in with her tomboy appearance and attitude.  As she got older, things started to change.  She moved up in age divisions.  She went from a Squirt to a Pee Wee.  The main difference between these age divisions is in Pee Wee, you can hit, and in Squirt, you cannot.  Marek struggled being the only girl on a boys team when checking was allowed.

“Even the guys on my team could be jerks at times,” says Marek.  “I don’t think they really gave me a lot of respect, and they even would go out of their way to hit me during practices.”

Marek started playing girls hockey when she was 13 and joined the Washington Little Capitals program.  She was recruited to play Division II preparatory hockey at The Gunnery in Washington, Conn. during her high school career.

“Prep school hockey was very good and it opened up the doors for college,” says Marek.

After graduating from The Gunnery in 2005, she went on to play Division III hockey and lacrosse at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.  She graduated from Hamilton in 2009.

Photo courtesy of Kate Marek.

EXTRA CREDIT: Erin Barley-Maloney

Erin Barley-Maloney grew up playing hockey in North Carolina. She started playing with boys because there were not many girls hockey programs in North Carolina. As she got older, new programs for girls emerged.

“I began playing for a new concept program, Team Carolina, which was based out of both North and South Carolina, ” says Barley-Maloney.

The team traveled to South Carolina every other weekend for practice. They also went to Texas, Florida, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and South Carolina for games. The team participated in tournaments in Colorado, Virginia, and Massachusetts.

Barley-Maloney played for both Team Carolina and a boys hockey team, along with a travel soccer team. “After two years of playing on two separate teams and trying to find time to play soccer as well, I finally decided to go to prep school,” says Barley-Maloney.

She attended The Taft School in Watertown, Conn. “My hope was earning an athletic scholarship to a Division I school.”

Barley-Maloney received an athletic scholarship to play hockey at University of Vermont. She finished the 2009-10 season playing in 19 games, registering eights points.

For Barley-Maloney, it was difficult playing hockey in the south, but she has managed to make it to the Division I level.

“At times it was a struggle playing hockey in the South where it is not very popular,” says Barley-Maloney.   “Hockey can take you far in life as long as you work hard, no matter where you’re from.”

Photos courtesy of Erin Barley-Maloney.