ERIE LADY LIONS GIRLS HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
OUR GIRLS IN THE NEWS

Rebecca Wheeler has been selected as a store winner in the KOHL'S KIDS WHO CARE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM and will be a nominee for National Selection Consideration.  Rebecca volunteers her time to many local programs including our own TIMBIT program and is very active in the Girl Scouts.  Congratulations Rebecca, you make us so Proud.

Cross Border Clash a smash; 'It's darn good hockey, but the friendship is the main thing,' visiting coach says

Posted By Gard, Jeff

Posted 5 days ago

A crowd of 500 spectators gave a resounding round of applause to every team to march onto the ice at the Cross Border Clash's official opening ceremony at the Baltimore Recreation Centre Friday evening.

As both Canadian and American national anthems played for 35 teams from Ontario and three from the U.S., all of the players showed their respect. One particularly interesting sight was watching members of the St. Louis Rockets peewee team singing O Canada.

In a display of the relationship between sports in the small community north of Highway 401, the Baltimore Figure Skating Club opened the night's ceremonies with evident approval from onlookers. Founders George and Anne Quigley beamed with pride at the hour-long festivities as the Cross Border event officially celebrated its 10th year. Hamilton Township Deputy Mayor Isobel Hie welcomed visitors to Northumberland region.

It was a fitting evening for a hockey event that, as competitive on the ice as it is, has been equally - if not more - about fellowship. "We've met some great people. It has just been a lot of fun," Mr. Quigley said.

At its peak, the Clash attracted more than 20 teams from the U.S. and had more than 50 teams total.

Only the Center State Stampeders of New York, the St. Louis Rockets of Missouri, and the Erie Lady Lions of Pennsylvania came north this year.

Due to travel issues with crossing the border, soaring gas prices and the state of the economy, the number of U.S. teams has been declining in recent years.

"One year we had 20 (American) teams and they were getting 50 cents on the dollar," Mr. Quigley said.

Some teams, though, have never wavered in their Clash support.

Center State has competed each of the 10 years and St. Louis has come for nine years. Erie came for the first time last year when a girls' division was created.

With fewer U.S. teams, this possibly was the final year for the Cross Border Clash as it's known, but with nearly 40 teams skating, it's not the final tournament to be hosted by the Baltimore Minor Hockey Association.

"It has been a great 10 years, but it's time to revamp it and take it in another direction," Mr. Quigley said.

Whatever form or name the tournament takes, it will be welcomed by the competitors.

St. Louis coach Corrie Boese has brought teams for seven years, and said it's the highlight of the season. "We joke down in the States as we're playing in our regular season that it's just the pre-season to the Canada trip .We have good hockey in St. Louis, but nothing like Canada, so the kids learn a lot.

"Even this rink - I remember when it was built," he said. "Look at the funding that took from this small community. You'd never see that in the States."

Boese, wearing a Baltimore Ice Dogs jacket, enjoys the camaraderie at the Clash. "George and I have exchanged jackets over the years. It's darn good hockey, but the friendship is the main thing."

That's why Chuck Race keeps bringing the Center State team. "It's just the people up here. We have a good time. For the kids, it's a lot of friendship with the pin exchange and getting to meet kids from across the border."

While this was just the second trip for the Erie Lady Lions, they enjoyed it. They play in the Great Lakes Girls Hockey Association out of New York and are used to travelling. Making the trips to Baltimore have been worth it, coach Les Caldwell. "We've had excellent competition up here. We like the tournament, it's a lot of great fun. The girls have a good time."

From the outset, the Clash strived to give entrants a chance to end their season on a positive note. Some of the rules ensure that's the case.

Anyone who fights is ejected from the Clash. Tie-breakers in the round-robin standings are settled by goals-against, not goals-for, "so if you've got a lead, you better start barring the door. Don't worry about scoring 10 more," Mr. Quigley said.

Make no mistake, the Clash is competitive. Sportsmanship, though, is more important.

Before the Clash was formed and Baltimore was a rep hockey centre, Mr. Quigley put together a select team that went to Evansville, Indiana for a tournament.

"All of the Americans treated us like gold. The kids just loved it." Mr. and Mrs. Quigley thought other Baltimore players should have the same experience, but closer to home. The event attracted 18 teams its first year and kept growing.

Both ice pads in Baltimore as well as arenas in Port Hope, Grafton and Colborne were needed this year to handle all of the games.

That means a lot of volunteers.

"You can't do it (without them). We need people to run five arenas," Mr. Quigley said. "We have great volunteers."

For the first time, there was a tyke select series between Baltimore and Cobourg.

Other divisions ranged from novice to midget. The competition is Ontario Minor Hockey Association (levels 'C' to 'E') and USA Hockey (Southern 'A' and Northern weaker 'A' and 'B').

Visiting Ontario teams came from Port Hope, Shelburne, Almaguin, Wingham, North Muskoka, Ops, Creemore, Douro, Rice Lake, Quinte West, Lindsay, Colborne, Norwood, Millbrook, Havelock, Brighton and North Frontenac.

cdssports@northumberlandtoday.com

Article ID# 948146

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Timbits girls’ program growth is tenfold

January 23, 2008

By Mike Scandura

Special to usahockey.com

Overwhelmed.  That's the best adjective to describe the reaction of Erie (Pa.) Lady Lions executive director Keri Tenza and the other board members when the Timbits program was launched three years ago.

"Three years ago we started out with 15 girls, and then it grew to 50 last year," said Tenza. "Now, we have just over 100 and next year the figure will hit 150, which will be our max. That's how much this program has grown. According to the Timbits program we are one of the largest in the United States and Canada.

"We didn't have a clue as to how fast this would grow. We’re astonished at how many kids we have in this. We tell people they'll have to wait until next year because basically it grew faster than we thought it would grow."

In retrospect, that's a nice problem to have.  The Lady Lions have been in existence for 15 years, originally as part of the Erie Youth Hockey League. But the program split four years ago to form a separate girls' organization because, according to Tenza, "EYH was geared more toward boys."

The Timbits program is geared toward girls ages 4-12 who may not have even considered giving hockey a try.

"We get kids who’ve never skated before," Tenza said. "We hold registration in the summer and say 'Just try it.' We give them a couple of hours free of charge to get people involved.

"The whole idea behind Timbits is fun. We start them off without sticks. Then they all get straight sticks without curves. We teach them the basics. We teach them how to skate. It's not about being competitive. It's about teaching them."

As part of the cross-ice portion of the program, the ice is divided into three sections and games are played sans scoreboards.

"Instructors are helping them out and teaching them the fundamentals of playing hockey," Tenza said. "For example, everybody gets a chance to play in goal."

Initially, Timbits embraces boys and girls. Once the boys reach age 10, says Tenza, they’re encouraged to join Erie Youth Hockey.

The Lady Lions even have a draft day for Timbits.

"We go to a Tim Horton's restaurant and the kids are drafted onto different teams," Tenza said. "The media comes in with us and it's a big deal because these kids think it's cool being drafted. They even get their jerseys (on draft day)."

The program costs only $80 per season and includes skates and equipment. And at the end of the year, the program holds a jamboree.

"It's their final games of the season where they get to show what they've learned," Tenza said. "All the girls get medals and we have pictures taken on that day.

"Initially, we got one or two parents who 'push.' But everyone comes to understand that the idea is just to have fun."

As for the older girls, they play normal, non-checking hockey with teams representing Under-19, U-16 or U-14, and sometimes U-12 or U-10 depending on age limits of the Timbits.

As for the U-19 travel team, up until this year the Lady Lions played in the Southwest Ontario Youth Hockey League.

"We were playing back and forth against excellent competition," Tenza said. "But with the passport situation (which requires a passport when traveling even from the United States to Canada), teams became scarce this year. We would have had to go up there this year and play all or our games in Canada - even our home games. We don't mind traveling, but it's not fair to the parents and girls to play all games up there.

"Now, we're playing in western New York, which allows us to stay close to home."

As with any successful organization, it's more than a one-person show.

In addition to Tenza, treasurer Yvette Anderson, director Al Riveira and board member Bob Folyton have spearheaded the operation from the beginning.

"Yvette is known as 'Ms. Hockey,'" said Tenza. "She's also the coach of the U-19 team and oversees the Timbits program for us. Bob sponsored it for us at the beginning and really helped spearhead it.

"We also have girls from the U-19 team that help out. They do coaching and help with kids on the ice. There are a ton of volunteers with our membership."

Which, given the scope of the program, is to be expected.

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Know of a thriving youth hockey community that should be spotlighted here? Send a note to d.mcmahon@redlineeditorial.com. We’ll contact you to get the details.

Thanks to John Leisering and the Mercyhurst Lady Lakers D1, membrs of the Erie Lady Lions 16U team and the Erie Little Lady Lions 10U will be lon the ice for the starting line up with the Lady Lakers and handing the game puck to the officials to start the game.  Remember that not only can you see our girls on Laker Ice but what a great way to spend an afternoon watching our own...Mercyhurst Lady Lakers play the best hockey in town. Edit

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There was excitement in the air. Edit

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ERIE LADY LIONS GIRLS HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
P.O. BOX 8381 ERIE, PA. 16505
A Pa. 501c3 Non-profit Corporation