Even when she was a little girl, Lisa Phinney was more interested in hockey than in competitive dance. As opportunities expand for women in the sport, hockey has changed her life.

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I am an Ottawa Valley mother of two wonderful people, adults now, and as true Canadians they both played hockey as children. But only one has maintained their love affair with the game. It’s not my 34-year-old son. It’s my 29-year-old daughter.

In the days when my son was playing, girls who wanted to play had only one option and that was to play on a boys team. As parents, we saw several young talented female players, one who even went on to Yale with a sports scholarship.

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My daughter was a devoted rink rat; she loved every aspect of the game and never complained about the time spent in local arenas. She was 10 when she finally convinced her father to coach her. He had been hoping to end his hockey coaching career with his son, but stay active with his daughter’s competitive dance team. This was not to be.

She left dancing behind her, but knew that playing hockey on a boys team was not for her. She complained that no boy would........

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