Women's ice hockey has a small community, but one that's gradually growing.  Women's ice hockey happens to be the fastest growing sport in the world.  Over the past 10 years, the amount of women participants has grown by 350 percent.

The U19 Lady Patriots are a team enrolled in the MAHWA Red Division.  There are three divisions in the MAHWA league, the red division, the white division, and the blue division.  The red division is like a tier one team, the white division is like a tier two team, and the blue division is a developmental division. 

The season of 2010-2011m the Lady Patriots have a coaching staff of:  Paul Bardell- head coach, Tim McCrane- assistant coach, and Chuck Greenburg- assistant coach.  Every Tuesday, the Lady Patriots meet with Slava Kouznetsov, the Philadelphia Flyer's skating coach for power skating and conditioning. 

The Patriots roster includes:  Jordyn Pursel, Jackie Schneider, Kelsey Koelzer, Alex Peters, Taylor Buzek Liana Eyre, Dana Grzyb, Madison Taylor, Amanda Drobot, Rebekah Lucas, Katie Guarini, Kali Patchell, Sarah Fothergill, Tori Nesbitt, Maria Gibson, Annie McCrane, and Skyler Priest. 

According to the Lady Patriots website, Amanda Drobot leads the team with 83 points; 44 goals and 39 assists.  Rebekah Lucas and Kelsey Koelzer don't fall too far behind with Rebekah- 73 points; 35 goals and 38 assists and Kelsey- 71 points; 42 goals and 29 assists.  Skyler Priest, the goalie, has played 1,737 minutes, had 980 shots, allowed 88 goals, and sticks strong with a 91.7 save percentage. 

The girls have played a total of 45 games throughout their season, including tournaments.  Right now they stand with 30 wins, 12 losses, and 3 ties.

They have attended four tournaments so far this season: the Autumn Classic in Albany, New York, the Polar Bears in Hartford, Connecticut, the Nike/Bauer Invite Invtational in Rochester, New York, and the Winter Classic in Glens Falls, New York.  Out of all four tournaments, they have placed in three of them.  The Autumn Classic was the only one they did not place in.  In the Poloar Bears tournament, they placed second and in both the Nike/Bauer tournament, and the Winter Classic, they received first place.

The most recent tournament attended by the Patriots, the Winter Classic, occured the weekend of Martin Luther King Day.  The patriots played three games before playoffs started.  They played Lysander, the Adirondack Northstars, and Perington Edge.

During the first game, the Patriots struggle with only eight skaters.  Even though they were short handed, they managed to still pull out the win.

On Sunday, three more players joined the team leaving them with now eleven skaters.  The Patriots pulled out two more wins, which guarenteeed them a game in the semifinals.

In the semi finals, they ended up facing the Perington Edge once again, the team they had beat earlier that day.  The Patriots pulled out a second win against the Edge, with means they were heading to the Championship game!

The patriots were faced with the Adirondack Northstars again, for the championship.  The first time they played the Stars, the Patriots pulled out a one to zero win.  Therefore, this game could go either way.  Fighting strongly, the Patriots pulled out a four to one win, winning the gold!

The Lady Patriots still have eight more game until the playoffs.  Also, they have a home tournament on the weekend of February 18th.  They will continue to practice on Tuesday's and Thursday's until the season comes to an end.  You may check the schedule below to come out and support the Lady Patriots do work!

htpp://www.ladypatriotshockey.org/10-11%2019U%20Team%20Schedule.htm