Coach Fred Quistgard fired a puck the length of the ice as sophomore hockey player Alli
Trowbridge raced after it.
“See? You pass the puck because nobody can skate as fast as the puck.”
The lesson drew a few nods of understanding. But most of the 5-year-old girls of Daisy
Scout Troop 227 were preoccupied with maintaining their own vertical alignment, leaning on
hockey sticks and each other.
So began a clinic by the women's ice hockey team on Tuesday afternoon. The hour
included demonstrations of puck handling, shots, passing, goaltending and lots of
one-on-one skating help.
Assisted by Trowbridge and teammates Denise Webster and Michelle Stein, the 10 girls
took shots on goal as Quistgard minded the net. He stopped a few with some spectacular
kick saves, but a number of shots trickled under his pads for a goal.
The players talked about how they got started in hockey, the team's move toward
varsity status, and the huge exposure women's hockey has enjoyed after last
year's U.S. gold medal win in the Olympics.
“This was great,” Trowbridge said afterward while signing copies of the
team's recruiting brochures for the visitors. “I have a 7-year-old brother who
loves hockey too, so this was fun.”
The players and coach were thanked with (what else?) boxes of Girl Scout cookies.