Kelly Fisk was all alone in goal as the Canadian players from NCCP (National Capital Competitive Program) charged toward her looking for the potential winning goal. Fisk’s body moved right with her opponent’s fake, but her glove stayed left, snatching the puck and preserving the 1-1 tie with 52 seconds left.

The 50 people in attendance roared as loud as they could. Most were family members who had made the one-hour trek Saturday night to watch Fisk’s 16-and-under club hockey team, the Syracuse Stars, in action against the Canadian foe in the Hamilton College Invitational.

This is girls’ high school hockey in Central New York, the region Daryl Gross wants to tap into; an area made up of club teams and a few high schools that have to travel vast distances to find a game. This is the region that made Gross say women’s ice hockey at SU ‘only makes sense.’

While coaches at top youth and college programs in New York agree there is talent to be found in the region, the depth of that talent is in question. In order to build an elite program at the Division I level, SU will likely have to follow the precedent set by teams in the area and recruit players from out of state.

‘I don’t think anyone can conclude that Syracuse University will only want to recruit N.Y. players,’ said Mare MacDougall, the assistant coach at No. 4 ranked St. Lawrence University. ‘I would only assume, looking at what I’ve learned through recruiting, that that is not feasible for them.’

Research of the Syracuse area conducted by the university indicated that a large number of athletes could be recruited for a Division I women’s ice hockey program. The athletic department would not reveal the specifics of the report to the public.

There is no official state championship for girls’ ice hockey in the state of New York. A survey by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association was put out to all 11 sections in the state to see how many programs existed. Four sections (2, 5, 9 and 11) reported they did not have a single girls’ hockey program. Section 7 reported that two high schools – Lake Placid Central and Saranac Lake – sponsored girls’ ice hockey, and Section 10 confirmed having four programs – Canton, Potsdam, Messina and Salmon River. Four sections did not respond to the survey.

Paul Zarek, the head coach at Ithaca High School, confirmed that along with his school, Skaneateles and Oswego high schools also run ice hockey programs for girls. Those nine schools have joined together to form the New York State Girls’ Varsity Ice Hockey League.

‘I would say we’re definitely not where Minnesota is, but you have to start some place,’ he said. ‘This has been going on since the 2000-01 season. We’ve grown from three teams to the current status we have now (nine teams). It’s growing slowly, but it’s definitely moving in the right direction.’

Messina is new to the league this year, and Zarek hopes four more schools from Buffalo and Rochester will be added to the mix next year.

With few high school programs in the state, many athletes turn to the travel teams to play hockey at a competitive level. Three AA teams (the highest level of club hockey) in the area – The Syracuse Stars, Buffalo Bisons and Rochester Edge – are the top programs for potential college players.

While there is certainly Division I talent in the club ranks, the depth of players in New York continues to lag behind other areas in the country.

‘A lot of it is a numbers game. They’ve got a lot more numbers out there than we have here,’ Stars president Terry Kirwan said. ‘There are good players that come out of New York, but not the quantity of kids that come out of the Massachusetts region, Michigan, Minnesota or obviously Ontario.’

Kirwan said he sees this lack of depth on his travel teams. Last year, he took a team to the national tournament with just seven forwards and four defenders. The teams he coached against usually had nine forwards and six defenders.

The Stars are made up of three levels of girls’ teams, from 12U to 16U and 19U. Generally between 15 and 25 girls come to a tryout for each level every year, while travel teams in Minnesota can have 100-200 players at a tryout, Kirwan said.

‘We typically have a line that can skate with anyone’s first line,’ he said. ‘The second line is probably a little behind, and if we have a third line, that’s where the depth really drops off.’

St. Lawrence is located about two hours north of Syracuse, and it has enjoyed tremendous success with women’s hockey. The Saints have started the season 2-2-0 and are currently ranked fifth in the nation.

The recipe for success for upstate New York has been a mix of Canadian players and stars from around the country, not just the state. There are just three players on its roster from the Empire State, compared with 14 players from Canada. Likewise, Colgate has just four players from the state, and Cornell has only one.

MacDougall said even though high school participation is not as high in New York as in other states, there is still talent to be found in the region. Where MacDougall is from, in Toronto, most of the hockey stars choose to play for travel teams rather than high schools.

‘To say there is a small number of women coming out of New York that play college hockey, that stems from the fact that there is just a small number of women playing ice hockey in New York,’ MacDougall said. ‘It’s not a hotbed as far as women’s ice hockey because there isn’t the amount of young women playing.’

Part of the reason for this, MacDougall said, is the amount of money required to fund a hockey team, for either boys or girls.

‘Hockey is a very expensive sport,’ she said. ‘It’s difficult even for schools in New York where ice hockey rinks are accessible to support hockey programs. For example, you may have a football field at your high school, but to rent the ice might be $150 an hour.’

The St. Lawrence athletic department has given MacDougall and other coaches the opportunity to travel around the country for talent. Assistant coach Ted Wisner leads most of the recruiting efforts and could not be reached because he was scouting in Canada for the week.

‘Any athletic department that invests the significant amount of money and resources that it takes to field women’s ice hockey are naturally going to want to field the best team overall,’ MacDougall said. ‘And I think in the landscape of our game right now, the best players are from all over the world, they’re not just from the state of New York.’

Kirwan said at least one Stars player usually goes to a Division I school to play hockey each year, and as many as six in one season have moved on to that level. Even with the addition of women’s hockey at SU, he doesn’t believe his team will experience a long-term jump in D-I scholarships.

‘There are a lot of good football players who come out of Syracuse, and SU doesn’t necessarily take all of them or pursue all of them, so I don’t see girls’ hockey being any different,’ Kirwan said. ‘If they get an opportunity to land a blue chip kid out of Toronto, most coaches are going to recruit the best players.’

Published on November 6, 2007 at 12:00 pm