LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As the Louisville Ice Cardinals work to get their girl's program established, they are finding leadership through players who are no stranger to the program.
Two twelve-year-olds are emerging as leaders, having traveled all over the country playing the game they love so much.
"They played against three different teams ranked in the top ten," Tim New a hockey grandpa traveling with his granddaughter Chyna Taylor said. "In fact, they played seven games, and had five shut outs."
When you're in a state with a seasonal identity crisis, picking a sport like hockey can be tough. Especially when you're a little girl with no girls teams to join.
"I started out doing figure skating," Taylor said. "Watched some hockey from this rink and I just thought it was cool and tried it out."
Taylor is 12 now, but all the way back as a five-year-old, she began falling in love with hockey.
"She went to a birthday party with some kids who played hockey and saw them practicing," New said. "Someone asked, 'You wanna play outdoor hockey?' and I got her some gear. She tried on those shoulder pads and helmet and went to sleep in them, and that was it."
Through the years, tournaments and travel, Chyna has played mostly on boys teams and she's certainly held her own.
Then, a new player came to Kentucky, all the way from Alaska.
"As soon as I could walk, I've had a stick in my hand," Berkeley Whitehead, an Alaska native who moved to Kentucky for her dad's work, said. "Following my brothers around the rink... and just having a whole lot of fun.
Whitehead didn't know what Kentucky could offer her hockey career, and she certainly wasn't expecting Chyna.
"It really brought us together," Whitehead said. "I mean, we were always friends with the boys, but having another girl on the team? That's great."
Berkeley invited Chyna to join her team from back home, the Alaska Wild. Unlike anything offered in our area, the U12 team is a tier one competitive travel team.
They're fresh off a second place finish in a national tournament, and a win against the number one ranked team in the country.
"It gives them an opportunity to play with girls at their age level and same caliber of skill," said New. "A lot of the teams they play against, they're from Boston, Canada, Michigan, Minestrone. Around this area, we don't have anything like that."
As their careers continue, and college still looms years in the future, the focus is sharing the love and getting more young women on the ice. They're working hard, and lighting a fire in other young girl's hearts for hockey.
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