Here's the MSU Women's Ice Hockey webpage.
I played for this team for two years (seasons from 1998-2000). However, a few months ago I retired from ice hockey (at least for a while) to concentrate on my studies at college.
I started playing ice hockey in 1997 when I joined the Kentwood Hockey and Skating Association's first girls' hockey team. Our coach, Harry Townshend, pulled together a bunch of girls of various ages and ice-histories. This was for me the first time I'd ever strapped on hockey skates and pads, and it came only a year after I decided I should learn how to ice skate at all! Needless to say, I wasn't the best of the players...!
But, I worked very hard at my appointed position, goalie. I had played goalie for soccer for three years prior, so I felt comfortable between the pipes. However, the theory behind soccer and hockey goaltending is very different, and it took me some time to rid myself of some soccer habits. I got up every Saturday morning at some ungodly hour to have East Kentwood High School varsity hockey players send frozen rubber pucks at me for an hour at a time. It was a lot of...pain and suffering. And also a lot of fun, too, I guess.
Our first season of hockey wasn't outstanding, but we didn't lose all of our games. We travelled a lot and got a lot of experience with different levels of girls' teams. When the season ended, we all vowed to work hard to be better the next year.
My second season of ice hockey was also very memorable. My team got another goalie, so I tried out a few other positions - forward and defense. I wasn't very good at either of them, and I didn't play a whole bunch, but it was better than sitting on the bench when it wasn't my turn to be in net. The other goalie and I learned a lot from each other, and I was confident that when I left at the end of the season, the team would be in good hands. Before the season ended, we girls of the Kentwood Kamikaze achieved a much-coveted prize: taking first place at the Midland Rainbow Tournament!
My next season was at Michigan State University where I was juggled around and finally ended up on the Green Team, a member of the Central Collegiate Women's Hockey Association. We competed against Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, Western Michigan Univeristy, and the University of Illinois. My favorite memory of this team was getting a shutout against U of I. This was my first shutout for the team, and although it wasn't a win but a tie, I felt very proud of myself. I later got another two shutouts against Ohio State, which I also savored a lot more than others celebrated.
The 1999-2000 season brought three new teams to the CCWHA but deleted one. The University of Illinois no longer was in our league, but Bowling Green State University, and Lake Superior State University all joined! Many memories exist from this season, both good and bad. The best was winning the tournament hosted by LSSU. I accredit the wins in this tournament to our other goalie, Melissa, but the emotional battles won by myself and other players were what really made that weekend one to remember forever.
I miss playing hockey now, but I still am committed to advancing women's ice hockey at Michigan State University and elsewhere. I currently serve as the secretary for the MSU Women's Ice Hockey Green Team and am in charge of fundraising for the club. Our goal is to eventually have ice hockey become a varisty sport at MSU. While our goal may still be a long ways off, we still all enjoy the thrill of victory and agony of defeat that comes with being on a team for a sport as rich and exciting as women's ice hockey.
