November 26, 2008

By Mike Scandura
Special to USAHockey.com

 
Rochester Youth Hockey has an “edge” over similar associations in Monroe Country.

Literally.

Edge is the name adopted by RYH in 1997 when the organization and Perinton Youth Hockey in nearby Fairport combined to form a platform for girls’ hockey.

“Initially in the late 1990s we got the two organizations to come together,” explained RYH director of girls’ hockey Ray Cardella. “There were only enough girls for one organization and we wanted a unique identity so we called them The Edge.

“Two years ago we re-visited the whole thing, and between Rochester and Perinton, we branded all the programs as Edge programs. Our philosophy has been to place girls on age- and skill-appropriate teams.”

To that end, a Tier I program was established with RYH and a Tier II program with Perinton.

“We coordinate tryouts so that all the girls who register with us have an opportunity to try out for Tier I teams,” explained Cardella. “If they don’t make it, they have the Tier II teams to play on instead of leaving them floundering and trying to figure out where to go next.

“Basically, we hope to develop Tier II players into Tier I players.”

Rochester’s only Tier I program offers the highest level of competition at the U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-19 levels.

“Those have been traditional levels on the Tier I side,” said Cardella. “Last year we added a U-10 team - a house program - that plays in a boys’ house league. We saw a demand from the girls. And this year we had to turn kids away.

“We would definitely like to add another U-10 team.”

That every well may happen thanks to a grant RYH received from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.

“Starting in December we’re going to put on a learn-to-play hockey program for girls,” said Cardella. “We’ve been talking about how to grow girls’ hockey. We got together again with Perinton and continued to look at ways to grow hockey in a collaborative manner.”

The fact that Perinton encompasses two U-14 and two U-16 teams is without question one way to “grow” girls’ hockey. And PYH has committed to providing as much ice time as possible at the ESL Sports Center to further the interaction between all of the girls in these programs.

RYH president Jeff Kolton, PYH president Rick Gerrie, Tom Poelma, Chris Daly and Cardella have been the prime movers behind the Edge - and youth hockey in the respective organizations.

Among other things:

* The Edge hosted the 2004 USA Hockey Women’s/Girls’ National Tournament and is on board to host the 2009 nationals.

* The Edge’s U-12 team earned a berth in the 2006 USA Hockey National Tournament.

* The Edge hosts the annual Fire on Ice Girls Hockey Tournament, which encompasses 80 teams with a total of 900 players from across the United States and Canada. The tournament annually draws 3,500 visitors to the Rochester area.

And now The Edge is skating in a new direction by dedicating the season to Skating for the Cure in an attempt to raise $100,000 for the Wilmot Cancer Center at Strong Memorial Hospital.

The impetus for this endeavor came from Meghan MacKenzie, a breast cancer survivor who was the first girl in Rochester to play organized hockey back in the 1970s (with the Rochester Lions, an organization that preceded RYH).

MacKenzie officiated on the national level with USA Hockey and even refereed in the Olympics. Now, she serves as an evaluator of officials for USA Hockey.

“We’re trying to foster a sense of community and some community service values among the girls,” Cardella said.

The Edge also has succeeded in developing girls to go on and play college hockey - and even play in the Olympics.

Former Olympians Kim Insalaco (Rochester, N.Y.) and Lindsay Wall (Churchville, N.Y.) are the Edge’s most celebrated alumni.

All together, 18 Edge players have earned spots in USA Hockey National camps, 44 have represented the western region in the Empire State Games and 50 are playing or have played either Division I or Division III hockey.

Besides Insalaco and Wall, perhaps the most familiar names are former St. Lawrence goalie Meaghan Guckian (Victor, N.Y.) and Ohio State’s Monica Kolb (Spencerport, N.Y.).

“Our mission always has been to grow girls’ hockey, to provide a place for all interested girls to play and to develop the skills of the girls to their highest potential,” Cardella said. “I think the cooperation between Perinton and Rochester Youth Hockey has been very successful.”

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.