Woman Gets Assist in Pro Hockey Game
The Associated Press, Sat 11 Jan 2003
KIRKKONUMMI, Finland (AP) — Canadian Olympic star Hayley Wickenheiser became the first woman to record a point in a men's pro hockey game, assisting on a goal Saturday in the Finnish League.
A little more than 13 minutes into her first pro game in a men's league, Wickenheiser won a faceoff in the offensive zone. She sent the puck back to the point, where defenseman Matti Tevanen shot it into the net to tie the game 1-1.
That was the highlight for Wickenheiser, who didn't take a shot during her team Kirkkonummi Salamat's 7-3 victory over Imatra Kettera in Finland's second division, two rungs below the country's Elite League.
``I wouldn't say I played any great game, but I think what I tried to do was keep it as simple as I could,'' she said. ``Really, I think it went as well as I could have expected.''
Actually, Wickenheiser essentially negated her assist by accidentally putting the puck in her own net to score a goal for the opponent with a little more than 2 1/2 minutes left in the game.
She tried to clear the puck off the line. When she was checked, the puck went into the net off the blade of her stick.
``I wish it were the other way around, but that's part of hockey,'' Wickenheiser said during an interview broadcast to the few hundred people who remained in the arena after the game.
An announced sellout crowd of 1,200 attended.
The 24-year-old forward is the second position player to play in a men's pro hockey game. In the 1998-99 season, Maren Valenti played 24 games for Freiburg of Germany's second division, but she never registered a goal or an assist.
Three North American women have played goalie in men's pro games — Kelly Dyer, Manon Rheaume and Erin Whitten.
Wickenheiser has been trying to break into men's hockey since last fall, when the Italian sports federation declared her ineligible to play in that country.
She is on a 30-day tryout with the Salamat (the team's nickname means ``lightning''). She had been playing in a Canadian women's league for a team in Edmonton.
Wickenheiser, 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, said she was able to adapt to the physical play of her new league.
``I knew that I would be taking some hits early on more than usual,'' she said. ``I felt fine and it's only going to get easier from here on in.''
Eighty-four media credentials were issued for the game. The team also sought permission to allow extra standing room in the 1,000-seat Varuboden Arena, which is about 20 miles from Helsinki.
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