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Ice Den helping bring girls hockey to forefront S


By Brett Fera


tephani Bernier has been around hockey her entire life.


First, she was a hockey sister, as she and her brother were close enough in age that his friends and teammates were her friends, too. Then, she was a hockey wife; her husband, Cedric Bernier, is a former pro who spent some time with the Arizona Sundogs of the Central Hockey League.


Now - although she won’t admit it - Bernier has the chance to be an Arizona hockey pioneer. Bernier is the program coordinator for the new She Wolves girls/ladies hockey program, which kicks off this month at the Ice Den in Scotts- dale.


“We wanted to create a really good program for girls to develop and have some camaraderie with each other and get to know girls with the same pas- sion,” she said of discussions with the Ice Den in recent months to get the program off the ground. Stephani said that, as the program’s coordinator, she’ll handle off-ice planning and program- ming, in addition to dryland instruction and training; Cedric will use his playing expertise, knowledge of the game and his experience work- ing with youth programs during summers and in coordination with the pro teams he’s played on in his role as the She Wolves’ lead on-ice hockey instructor.


Stephani admits that while she does have an


extensive knowledge of the game, she hasn’t been on the ice to the degree that she would’ve maybe liked. A big contributor to that, she says, is that there just weren’t those opportunities for female hockey players when she was growing up; there weren’t many leagues, and opportunities with boys teams were scarce.


She doesn’t want that to be the case in Ari- zona. Neither does the Ice Den, says Justin Maloof, the rink’s executive direc- tor.


While the Ice Den has long worked to make sure that female players have opportunities to play as well - whether it be on boys teams or through past girls leagues that have used


introduce Stephani and Cedric to the families here,” Maloof said. The program’s first session won’t feature “teams,”


but rather focus on skill development and run from Oct. 28 through Dec. 18. It will include six one-hour on-ice sessions (two per month), as well as six 45-min- ute off-ice training sessions the same day as the on-ice workout.


Drop-ins will also be


welcome at $30, but play- ers - ranging from ages 4 through 17 for youth and 18-and-up for ladies - must be registered with USA Hockey to participate. It’s the Ice Den’s goal to


Stephani Bernier


the Ice Den as their home facility - Maloof said Ice Den management saw an opportunity to add another positive program to its long list of offerings.


Adding a third sheet of ice


in the coming months is part of that, he notes, adding that there are 30 female players in the Ice Den’s youth leagues, and a handful more in the adult leagues.


November is the target date for the third sheet of ice to be completed, but the decision was made to roll out the She Wolves now to build up a base of participants.


“We knew we could use this fall as a pilot and Cedric Bernier


have league and travel op- portunities available early next year, once the third sheet is up and running.


Bernier said she doesn’t want to discourage girls from playing on boys teams; she just wants another outlet where they can be with peers who are also female. “A lot of girls, when they get to that certain age, it


becomes difficult being on the boys teams,” she said. “They can’t go spend the night with their team, hang out with them all the time. We want them to have that experience.” Bernier said it’s also important to her to build a


program that teaches more than just hockey. “We also want a place that teaches life skills,” she


said. “Hockey is full of life skills - discipline, teamwork, all of that.” For more information on the She Wolves, visit www.coyotesice.com/shewolves.


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