Three For The Road

Tuesday, June 20, 2000 Page: 16

They are quick, powerful and skilled hockey players. They are teammates and
friends, bonded by predawn workouts on frozen rinks, heart-wrenching losses
and unimaginable victories. They are also girls, or more precisely, poised
young women set to make their marks in the world.

Stephanie Kovack, Kristen Benn and Connie Hildebrand are recent graduates
of Crestwood High School and members of the Pocono Pirates, an ice hockey team
that competes locally and regionally. All three travel with the club, making
regular trips north to New York, south to Philadelphia, west to Hershey and
east to New Jersey.
The Pirates have found stronger, more skilled opponents everywhere they
have visited, but the Pocono program’s development has been impressive thanks,
in large part, to the patience and determination of its three veterans..

“We’re at a disadvantage because our team has girls from 10 to 18 years
old where most of the teams we play against are 15 to 18 years old,” Kovack
said. “A lot of the younger kids on our team are still learning the
fundamentals, so it’s important for them to be out on the ice in game
situations. Sometimes that hurts us on the scoreboard, but in the long run
it’s the best thing for our team.”

Don’t misinterpret this selflessness for indifference, however. Benn,
Hildebrand and Kovack are as serious as any hockey player at any level. The
women have taken advantage of every opportunity to improve their own play,
even traveling to Canada – hockey’s birthplace – for pointers.

They attended a weeklong hockey camp in Ontario last summer. The intense
skill-building sessions were run by none other than Roger Nielson, who coached
the Philadelphia Flyers most of the 1999-2000 season before taking a leave
from behind the bench to battle cancer.

“We were the only girls there, and so they put us in a suite of rooms near
Roger and the team trainer,” Benn, of Fairview Township, said. “It was so
cool. He was really just like a normal guy; he didn’t try to act like a god or
anything.”

Nielson may be a humble leader, but he is one of the most respected hockey
gurus in the National Hockey League. His legendary ability to nurture young
talent has earned him the admiration of his peers and, perhaps more important,
has given him a special place in the hearts of three young women from a little
town two hours north of the First Union Center.

“Everyone was a little wary of us at first because surprisingly in Canada
there aren’t too many female hockey players,” Hildebrand, of Slocum Township,
said. “But by time the clinic was over the guys we were playing against
wanted to come home with us. I think the fact that Roger and the other coaches
treated us like everybody else on the ice really helped.”

The support was appreciated, but the experience the girls gained while
playing alongside hockey hopefuls from all over the world was invaluable.

“I’m the goon on our team,” Benn said. “I’m pretty aggressive. I love to
hit forwards when they carry the puck into the zone. It’s especially fun if,
like at the Nielson camp, you’re going up against this big guy who doesn’t
expect to be checked by a girl.”

It will be the women taking on the University of Pittsburgh next season who
need to be aware of Benn on the ice. The Crestwood graduate plans to study
sports psychology while playing defense for the women’s hockey squad.

Hildebrand, a versatile forward who can handle the puck at any of the
forward positions, will be juggling hockey and veterinary studies at Division
I Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. The school has invested a substantial
amount of its athletic budget in the fledgling women’s hockey program, even
recruiting a top-notch hockey coach to lead the team in its first season.

“I’m really excited because they have brand-new facilities and they’ll be
offering the highest amount of scholarship money allowed to the players
they’ve recruited,” Hildebrand said. “I think the school is really committed
to the idea of building a good team, and I’m looking forward to being a part
of it.”

Kovack, of White Haven, the Pirate’s first line center, is the only member
of the threesome who doesn’t expect to be playing competitive hockey at the
collegiate level. She intends to study sports management and business at the
University of Delaware, a school that doesn’t have a women’s hockey team.

“I talked with the coach of the men’s hockey program about skating with
them sometimes, and I’ll probably play recreational hockey on one of the teams
in the area,” Kovack said. “Plus, Kristen and I are waiting to see what
happens with Connie at Quinnipiac because we may end up transferring there if
things are going really well.”

The options are virtually limitless for this talented and tight-knit bunch.
“It’s going to be hard being at different schools, but we’ll probably be
visiting each other all the time,” Benn said. “And we’ll all be back
together pretty soon because the 2002 Olympics are just around the corner.”

It’s impossible to predict if their Olympic dreams will come true, but
anyone who has met the three friends knows better than to bet against them.

“We just love to play hockey,” Benn said. “There were times we question
if it’s worth it, like during workouts for our spring league team when we had
to leave our houses at 4 a.m. to get to practice at the Ice Box by 5:30 a.m.
But, I think we’ve shown our dedication, and hopefully that will help us down
the road.”