Hockey

It's common knowledge that teenage hockey players like to boast about scoring with women. But when they get scored on by women, the tone changes dramatically.

"We were in awe," said 16-year-old Darren Dietz, defenceman on the Lethbridge Titans - a Midget AAA hockey team that recently faced the Canadian National Women's Team.

Team Canada has won eight of nine games against teams of 16- to 18-year-old boys in the triple-A division of the Alberta Midget Hockey League. The series is part of the team's preparation for the 2010 Olympic Games in February. It's an ideal matchup: The guys are fast, strong, and - even when being outplayed by females - "incredibly nice," says Team Canada defenceman Gillian Ferrari, 29, of Thornhill, Ont.

Last week, Team Canada lost 4-3 to the Titans, their first defeat of the season. In separate conversations with The Globe and Mail, Ms. Ferrari and Mr. Dietz give the play-by-play, along with their insight into how gender plays out on the ice.

Darren Dietz: I was on the starting lineup, and you're looking across the ice in awe. You're seeing the names of players like Hayley Wickenheiser, and it's almost like getting to play an NHL game, looking at Gretzky on the back of the jersey. Its hard to believe that you're actually out there competing against them.

Gillian Ferrari: We wanted to play well and go into our break with another win.

FIRST PERIOD

The puck drops

DD: We were in shock. They passed the puck around and we were kind of just watching them play, going "Wow." About halfway through the first period, they ended up scoring on us. Then it was like, "Whoa, we better wake up. They're really good."

GF: They're just so big and strong, and their shots are so effortless. There was one guy on their team that was giant. Some of our big girls went into the corner with him on different occasions, and they looked like midgets. He was huge.

DD: It was very hard not to [body check] the first couple of shifts. You're thinking, "Okay, I'm going to step up and make my hit." And then you realize, "Oh, I can't do that." We were kind of scared to bump at all. But when the girls started rubbing us out, and playing hard against the wall, a few of the boys got bumped and they were upset, going "What?"

GF: You have to be really tricky. You have to outsmart them. You have to make them think it's their idea to go a certain place. And then you are the first one there. And then you can squish them.

SECOND PERIOD

The guys emerge from the locker room, determined to adapt to their tricky new opponents. They score quickly to go up 2-1.

DD: The girls' game has a lot more finesse. They moved the puck a little better. And they do more creative things. As guys we do a lot of dumping the puck in. And body checking. You realize that if you protect the puck you can hold it away from your body further, where they wouldn't be able to reach it. We tried to use our size to our advantage as much as possible.

GF: We're older and wiser. I mean, we have a lot more experience. Some of the older women are a lot trickier. They're sneaky. They've been around and they know how to take advantage of certain situations.

Darren gets caught in a one-on-one with the opposing team's captain, Hayley Wickenheiser

DD: She crossed the red line and I was coming down my wing. And she was coming extremely fast. So I was, like, "Uh-oh, I better get moving." You want to play her like any other type of player. But you have to have a little more respect for the talent that she has. You have to be aware that she might just walk right around you. I was skating backwards and she faked to the middle and then went wide. And I just tried to stay with her and - the puck hopped. I was able to make a pass and send the puck back the other way.

GF: If you make a mistake against the boys, chances are they're going to capitalize on it. In the fading minutes of the second period, Lethbridge leads 2-1 - until the women tie up the game.

DD: They celebrate the exact same we do. Arms up in the air, cheering.

THIRD PERIOD

Lethbridge scores two quick goals early in the third period to make the score 4-2. In a scramble in front of the net, the women score to make it 4-3. Seventy-three seconds remain. The women pull their goaltender.

DD: That brought the emotion up. Because they are right in it and have the opportunity to tie and we're trying everything we can to make sure we'd win.

GF: I never doubt that we'll come back. Until the buzzer goes, I never give up on our team.

DD: It was a scramble down low in the corner and we were able to keep it down on our side. We ended up hanging on. We were really excited. We were the first team to beat them.

GF: We took it pretty hard.

Epilogue

Team Canada defeated the Calgary Buffaloes earlier this week - a nice warmup before facing their rivals, Team USA, on Friday.

GF: I credit playing the guys with a big part of our success. We get to practise so many situations and they're all high-speed.

DD: The game definitely brought the respect up a lot for how talented they are. I think most of it was how well they played as a team. Coaches always stress teamwork. And those girls were the best I've seen at it. The way they communicated on the ice, just setting up little plays.

When we're watching them in the Olympics in February, it will be kind of special to say: 'I lined up against her.'