![]() ![]() So they're rocking it up there."įor Stone, the female hockey teams in 1991 did "groundbreaking" work for today's women's hockey. So they are representing Newfoundland, like, big time. "The girls opened up with two wins and in their third game they lost in overtime. "We were losing like 10 and nothing, and 15 and nothing," said Druken of their 1991 performance. That's why it's great to see the 2023 provincial women's hockey team doing well at the Canada Winter Games, she said. 17 ahead of the 2023 Canada Winter Games. John's International Airport, left for Prince Edward Island on Feb. Members of Team Newfoundland and Labrador, pictured here at the St. We sort of had to break down barriers in those days to just get a game." So the hockey world wasn't straightforward for girls. John's, you had different organizations that you could approach. ![]() John's Minor back in those days and say, 'Hey, I have a daughter that wants to play, can she play?' And actually, their first answer was no," said Druken, who ended up playing for the Avalon Celtics. While her brother Harold Druken, who ended up playing hockey in the NHL, had a "straightforward" path, she said, the experience was different for her. I wanted to play hockey like them. And one of them literally laughed at me. "When I was seven, I went to my dad, I went to my gym teacher, I said, 'I want to play hockey' because I had two older brothers. That's not to say I was some phenom or something, like there literally weren't any other people to go," said Noseworthy, laughing. "When I went to the Canada Games in 1991, I'd been playing hockey for less than two years. John's, playing hockey wasn't any easier for girls, said Noseworthy, with only four teams in the metro region. "That was something that they were very proud to say that they had all the females, six of the females that were on that first team playing at their rink," she said. ![]() When Stone was told she wasn't able to play at the rink in nearby Harbour Grace, she played at the Bay Roberts arena instead. Provincially, said Stone, the women's hockey scene back then wasn't big - and less accepting of girls wanting to play hockey. members are gearing up for the 2023 Canada Winter Games "It was pretty awesome to be in that room and seeing the room was full of all these girls who were doing the same thing."Īmong them were a pair of players destined to become household names - Hayley Wickenheiser and Cassie Campbell-Pascal, who would go on to national hockey careers. "I remember when we first got up there … we went to this talk in an auditorium where it was all the female teams," said Stone. ![]() John's and Kim Stone of Bryant's Cove were part of that team.īeing surrounded by other female hockey players, said Stone, was a great experience in a time when girls had to fight to play hockey. This year's team has won two of its three preliminary games and finished second in its group heading into the qualifying game.īut back in 1991, Druken and her teammates lost all of their games and ended the tournament in last place. And then I saw a lot of talent around the province and I was like, 'Wow, it's not just me.'" "I remember going to a couple of camps and thinking that I was pretty good. John's women's hockey was really just kind of starting, as well as Mount Pearl and around the province," she said. In 1991, she played forward for the province's first women's hockey team at the Canada Games - also held in P.E.I.įorming a team back then, says Druken, was a lot harder, as girls playing hockey was still a novelty. Watching Newfoundland and Labrador's women's hockey team take the ice for a qualifying game Thursday night at the Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island is bringing back a lot of memories for Marion Druken. The provincial team included forward Marion Druken, third from the left in the top row, goalie Kim Stone, far left in the bottom row, and goalie Sandi Noseworthy, far right in the bottom row. At the Canada Winter Games in 1991, women's hockey was featured for the first time. ![]()
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