Morning Sentinel
Girls hockey now at top level
BY BILL STEWART
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 11/21/2008

BY BILL STEWART

Staff Writer

Winslow High School senior Nikki Smiley just wanted what the boys already enjoyed.

More ice time. More practices. More games.

"I never thought that when I was in high school we would be MPA-sanctioned," Smiley, 17, said. "I've been playing since I was little, like 5. No one thought girls hockey would be anything."

It is something now -- the same as boys hockey.

A new era in high school athletics is here as girls varsity hockey teams play this weekend for the first time since being recognized by the Maine Principals' Association.

Girls hockey teams previously competed at the club level, which meant less funding and little school involvement.

To be MPA-recognized, athletics teams must be sanctioned by their school boards.

"It's a new step for us," said Winslow sophomore Jillian Grant, 15, who's played hockey since she was 7.

"It's a huge step. We're being treated more like the boys. We get to practice every day. We get longer warmup in games and we get time in between periods. We'll actually have a Zamboni clear the ice between periods for us now. It's a huge step.

"We're no longer being pushed off the side. We're part of the school now."

Added Winslow senior captain Mindy Fowler, 18: "I guess it was always like a dream. It's really cool."

Winslow and Winthrop-Maranacook are two of the eight teams that will comprise the East Division.

There are nine teams in the West. With just 17 teams competing in the inaugural season, the MPA decided to lump everyone together in one class.

"It's great to be part of the recognition," Winslow first-year coach Eric LaChance said. "Being the first group of girls that joined the MPA, no one can take that away from the girls. They'll always have that. It's good for the girls. Girls hockey has come a long ways."

A long way, indeed.

"It's wonderful. It puts pride in the girls. It shows the boys that we can do it," Smiley said. "They get to practice every day, and now we can, too. Before, we'd get one or two a week. This helps us a lot."

Winslow, which opens Saturday against Yarmouth, went 5-9-2 last season as a club team. Winthrop-Maranacook, which plays Saturday at Cape Elizabeth, finished 4-11-1 last season, but is expected to contend in the East.

"This is a great deal," said Winthrop-Maranacook second-year coach Marc Fortin, whose daughter, Katherine, plays on the team. "It's nice to be finally recognized. We've been playing girls hockey nine years at Winthrop. But now the girls are finally able to get a varsity letter. They are excited."

Fortin said Lewiston and St. Dominic Regional High School are two of the division's top teams.

"I expect us to be very competitive," he said. "We're basically a junior-senior team."

"Our team goal is to get to the playoffs and take it from there," LaChance said. "We have the talent to do that. We can get into the playoffs if we can settle the goalie position."

That's a big question mark for LaChance, who's been a girls coach in Central Maine Youth Hockey Association. The Black Raiders will start freshman Reagan Beals in net.

"She has never been a goalie before," LaChance said. "She actually volunteered to step in and try it out. That's going to take awhile, but she'll grow. Our defense will try to limit the shots until we get her more comfortable. It's always a challenge to start new."

But it's a challenge the girls are eager to face.

"It's not going to be an easy year, especially being new," Fowler, a forward, said. "But we're excited to be playing at a new level. We'll give it our best shot."

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com

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