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Sports

Kara Goodwin Heads to Women's Hockey National Championships

ALHS senior is a forward with the Ohio Flames women's hockey team

While many still consider ice hockey to be a male-dominated sport, women have made significant strides in the rink, including players from the Cleveland area, such as Avon Lake’s Kara Goodwin.

As of today, there are close to 60,000 girls and women throughout the United States who play ice hockey. On an international level, one of the top teams in the world has consistently been the U.S. Women's National Team, which boasts a record of 190-63-2 since beginning play in 1990.

Northeast Ohio also boasts some great women hockey players. Many of those players have been members of the Ohio Flames, a AAA Midwest women's hockey program that claims Goodwin as a member.

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Goodwin's team, the U-19s, skate out of Winterhurst rink in Lakewood.

"It's cool that I have the opportunity to play at such a high level," Goodwin, who plays forward, said. "It's my first year on the U-19 team. It’s been different, faster and you have to know what you are doing more. But I have skated well and been contributing goals and assists." 

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Just how good are the Flames?

In 2010, two former Ohio Flames, Kelli Stack of Parma and Brianne McLaughlin of Sheffield Village played on the 2010 U.S. Olympic team, earning silver medals. This year, the Flames will participate in the  2011 National Championships, which begin April 6 in Rochester, MI. The tournament kicks off with an opening ceremony game between the U.S. Women’s and Canada’s Olympic teams.

The Flames are guaranteed three games in the event, and if they win one, they will advance.

"I'm excited, it finally sunk in during the playoffs…we were going," Goodwin said. "I hope to play my heart out, and hopefully we win a few games and make it as far as we can. I've been to Nationals before, so I know what to expect, but some of those teams are very, very good."  

For Goodwin, a senior at , the ice has always been a passion, and with good reason.

"My mom (Lisa) is a skating instructor, and my brother played when I was younger, so I was always at the rink with them," Goodwin said. " I started skating around eight, but it was probably around two or three when I actually started playing hockey."

She says her brother, Tyler, played the biggest influence though, in her donning the skates for a hockey career.

"I really just went with it to see what would happen," she said. "But I looked up to my brother and wanted to be like him, and always there watching him play as his biggest fan. So I wanted to play just like him."

Father Mark rounds out the Goodwin family.

While there are those out there under the persona that it might be a sport too rough for women to play, Goodwin scoffed at that notion.

"It doesn't really take a toll on you," she said. "We have to train for it. You get tired towards the end of the season, but it’s worth it."

Goodwin is just the second Avon Lake hockey player to participate in the National Championships. Lynn Switaj, a 2007 ALHS graduate, participated in Nationals in 2004-07. 

After graduating from Avon Lake High School, Switaj, now a college senior, played hockey for D-III Lake Forest College in Illinois, finishing her career this year as the third leading scorer in school history. 

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