Greely, Manotick hockey players head to Ontario Winter Games

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Brier Dodge

EMC News - Playing against, or beating the boys? Not a problem.

Leaving behind their teammates for a week? Might be a different story. Three Nepean Wildcats bantam AA girls hockey players have qualified for the Ontario Winter Games being held in Collingwood.

Sabina Kukurudziak, a defender from Greely, Brianna Lahey, a right-winger from Manotick, and Serena Weaver, a centre forward from Nepean, will all travel to Southern Ontario for the tournament, which begins March 5.

Over 500 girls tried out to play at the tournament, with a local tryout held for the Ottawa region in Rockland.

The tryouts were one of the first times the girls had been split up onto different teams.

It will be a big change for the trio, who will probably be split up again at the tournament as the chosen athletes are divided randomly onto eight different teams.

The girls are used to hitting the ice together at least four days a week, plus playing in seven tournaments through the winter and playing for same spring team.

"It'll be different because we always play together," said Lahey, who plays on the same line as Weaver for the Wildcats. They'll also have to get used to playing without their teammates, an extremely close knit group of girls.

"We're going to be apart for a whole week," Lahey realized, then laughed after a panicked expression crossed her face. "I'm going to miss my defense partner," said Kukurudziak. "It's going to be difficult to play with someone else." They're going to have to prepare for it in the future though, with all three girls, Grade 9 students, aiming to play university hockey - Weaver is shooting for McGill, Lahey for an American school and Kukurudziak for St. Francis Xavier. They've all got goals to play at the national level as well, qualifying for the U18 Team Canada, and eventually play for the seniors women's team. "It would be hard to get there," Weaver said. "But that's the goal." This is just the start, and the first time the girls will be exposed to hockey scouts.

They've all been preparing for this since the summer, and Weaver started training on a daily basis months before their fall season start even began.

Well chosen for captain, her teammates laugh several times when she reminds them of a detail she read in their Winter Games package, or talk about her reminders to the team to eat properly and keep drinking their water. Kukurudziak and Lahey are both assistant team captains for the Wildcats, who play in the AA Ottawa league - the highest level available for them to play at in Ottawa.

The Ontario Winter Games are limited to bantam level players, who are Grade 8 and 9 aged. They're still expecting a high level of competition, with some fast and strong competitors coming from across the province.

Their skill level often surprises their friends, who aren't always aware of the level hockey being played by girls in the region.

"Especially the guys," said Lahey. "They see us play and then they see that we're good." Unlike other athletes, who view missing parties and hang outs with their friends as a sacrifice, these girls are over it, and agree they'd rather be at the rink with their team anyways.

"We've been waiting for this forever," said Kukurudziak.