Local plays in Global Girls’ hockey game

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

Hockey is usually played at one place, one time and between two groups of players. The Global Girls’ hockey game takes those rules and throws them out the window in favour of a planetary-wide competition between Team Blue (Team Red in the Canadian game) and Team White, with 40 games being played on Feb. 16 and 17.
The Global Girls’ Game is a celebration connecting countries from all over the world in a single effort to grow female hockey. Over two-and-a-half days, 40 countries host one-hour games in succession, beginning in New Zealand before making its way across six continents until reaching its final destination here in Canada.
Strathmore left winger Kennedy Keer represented the bantam Strathmore Storm female squad at the Calgary game on Feb. 16 and played for Team White which lost a close match 5-4.
“It was a really close game, for the whole game. We were tied up at the end and it went into a shootout and I actually got to shoot but I didn’t score,” said Keer. “I tried to drive wide and make the goalie move. Team Red just took the win.”
According to Keer, the game had a more casual atmosphere in the first period with everyone learning how to play with their new teammates. But as the game progressed the competition increased, as did the physical play.
Keer said one of the things she had to adapt to was different face-off lineup styles from across the globe. Participants in the game were chosen from all 10 provinces and three territories across Canada; Keer’s forward line featured one girl from B.C. and one from Quebec. She said the group learned to play with each other quickly, especially on the passing plays, but also found a lot of success grinding and cycling the puck along the boards.
The International Ice Hockey Federation event featured players from around the world. The scoring system uses aggregated goal system, meaning goals from each game are added to its respective team’s total and whoever scored the most goals across all the games is the winner. This year Team Blue edged out Team White by a very narrow score of 137-135.
While the game is there to promote female hockey, it also connects young athletes to one another and there is also a mandate to educate the players on training and different strategies that can be deployed. Keer traveled to Calgary on the Friday to stay at a hotel and meet all the girls. Saturday the girls toured the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, then played their game; afterwards they went to the Calgary Climbing Centre. Sunday morning the group toured WinSport and the Hockey Canada offices before finishing off the event with some off-ice training.
Keer learned about the Global Girls’ game from Hockey Alberta about a month ago and she found out she was accepted to play in the game about a week after that. Keer wanted to meet the other girls from across Canada who shared a love and mindset about the sport. According to Keer, she is still in touch with almost all of the players from the game.
Keer said it was absolutely something she would want to try again and hopes other girls give it a chance. The 15-year-old has lived in Strathmore her entire life and has had a strong season for the Storm, compiling 14 goals and 15 assists in 19 games played. The left winger is third on her team in scoring and only has six penalty minutes this season. Her team is having a near perfect season with a 17-1-2 record and holds first place in the league.
“I really just love being part of a team and hanging out with the girls and the competitive edge of the sport,” said Keer. “We have a really close team this year, everyone gets along really well so it’s a lot easier to play with people that you’re close with and friends with off the ice.”
Strathmore Storm head coach Rick Puttick has been coaching hockey since the 1980s and got into coaching female players in the 1990s. He said female players are different to coach than boys because they want to know the “why” of a situation where boys tend to just “go.”
Puttick had nothing but praise for Keer and said she is a hard-working, no-quit player who brings a strong overall game to the club. According to Puttick, Keer is a leader in the dressing room who helps act as a glue to keep the team together.
“She’s a competitor. A lot of girls struggle with that aspect, they try to be too nice sometimes to play the game effectively,” said Puttick. “Kennedy doesn’t have that problem. She play’s for keeps.”
Part of the application process to the Global Girls game was a recommendation from her coach. Puttick is a big supporter of the game and was pleased to see another avenue open to promote the girls’ game and get more female players involved.
“Girls hockey is obviously becoming much more prominent across the athletic landscape of the country. I’d like to see (more) people take a longer look at it,” said Puttick. “Sometimes you get the comment ‘it’s just girls hockey.’ But it’s a very good brand of hockey. These girls are very skilled, very good at the game, very committed to the game.”