Playing Hockey

Four and a half years ago, David Quinn had to give up something -- ice hockey or his life.The fact that the choice was clear didn't make it any less painful.Quinn was one of the best collegiate defensemen in the United States, a shoo-in for the 1988 Olympic team, an NHL star of the future.And that's when the doctors told Quinn, a hemophiliac, that if he kept playing, he could bleed to death from such seemingly minor injuries as a sprained ankle, a bruise or a cut from a high stick.But today, Quinn, 25, has a second chance to play hockey and make the Olympic team because of, in the words of Olympic coach Dave Peterson, a medical miracle.

Only for reasons beyond his control - the rules of USA Hockey, and its tradition of staging national championships in different parts of the country - must Bud Buonato settle for coaching just one team this week. His Howard Huskies Under-16 boys won the Maryland championship this season. That got them a bid to Troy, Mich., to compete on ice there for a national title. But their head coach is not with them. This is because Buonato also happened to coach the Huskies Under-18 team to the state title for its age group.

All-Metro field hockey stars Peggy Boutilier, Julie Jakum, Lauren Volk and Kelly Naylor rank among the best locally, but next weekend they will discover how they compare to the nation's best high school players.At the United States Field Hockey Association's Futures National Tournament in Boston, the four will compete for spots in the Olympic Festival in San Antonio, July 22-29, or the AAU Junior Olympics in Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 1-7.Any who make it to the Olympic Festival will join another Baltimore star -- Tricia Burdt, last fall's All-Metro Field Hockey Player of the Year.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are touring Canada this week, and I imagine it's slightly less exciting than when the Beatles came across the pond back in the day. On Tuesday, Prince William, with new bride Kate Middleton standing on the sidelines, picked up a stick and challenged a 20-year-old Canadian goalie to a street hockey shootout. He was as bad at hockey as you would expect a British prince to be. [ Via Deadspin ]

Good Counsel senior Vicky Urbas laces up her ice skates not to cut figure eights in the ice, but to deliver checks to forwards lingering in the crease.When field hockey season ends in November, Oakland Mills junior goalie Kelly Naylor retires that stick for a longer one more suited to slap shots.Urbas of Highland and Naylor are two of the record five Howard County girls making history in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League.Howard High, a member of the league's Central Division, leads the way with three girls on its roster -- senior Nikki Sharp, sophomore Shauna Foote and senior Carolyn Wilburn.

HERSHEY, Pa. -- One team wants to win on the way to capping a glamorous season in which it went 49-21-10 and led the American Hockey League with 110 points. The other club wants to win because that's the object and then there's tradition, 60 years worth. And that's just for openers.That's why no quarter is being given, nor asked, as the Philadelphia Phantoms and Hershey Bears battle.Thus it is no surprise that the teams are square at two victories apiece after the Phantoms' 3-2 overtime triumph last night.

John Buchleitner's blue eyes dart back and forth behind thin-framed glasses as he watches the black puck zoom across the rink. He grits his teeth, revealing a missing tooth, and clears the puck with one swift movement of his stick, passing it to a teammate. Beneath his hockey pads, Buchleitner's joints ache and his knee twinges from the pain of an old hockey-related injury. His ease on the ice, although slower and more deliberate than the pros, masks his greatest athletic disadvantage: his years.

All-Metro field hockey stars Peggy Boutilier, Julie Jakum, Lauren Volk and Kelly Naylor rank among the best locally, but next weekend they will discover how they compare to the nation's best high school players.At the United States Field Hockey Association's Futures National Tournament in Boston, the four will compete for spots in the Olympic Festival in San Antonio, July 22-29, or the Amateur Athletic Union's Junior Olympics in Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 1-7.Those attending the Olympic Festival will join another Baltimore star -- Tricia Burdt, last fall's All-Metro Field Hockey Player of the Year.

Tom Christy is retired after a long and successful career as an electrical engineer. This is the time in his life when Christy can do all the things that he couldn't during the busy years when he worked constantly. For Christy, that means playing hockey on a regular basis. Christy, 65, is part of a group of men who play in a few hockey leagues for those age 50 and older at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel. The over-50 group - called the Senior Division - plays Sunday nights, while the 60-and-older group - the Geri-Hat Tricks - have ice time twice a week, usually Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

The game isn't over for Lisa and Gordon Ruohoniemi when they get off the ice after playing for Centennial High School's club hockey team. In fact, the time after games is when being brother and sister has its biggest advantages. "They definitely talk about the game when they come home from the rink. They go over parts of the game and talk about how to do them better the next time," said their father, Mike Ruohoniemi. For Lisa, a senior defenseman in her fourth year on the team, having her brother on the squad makes it easier to correct mistakes.

One of the top girls lacrosse players in Anne Arundel County, Chesapeake-AA's Erin Tenneson followed her big brother Chris into sports, and her midfield play has been critical to keeping the Cougars (2-2) firmly in the middle of the pack in one of the state's toughest leagues. This season, the senior has 18 goals and three assists as well as 14 draw controls and 19 ground balls. Tenneson, 18, also plays field hockey and basketball for the Cougars. A member of the National Honor Society, she earned a 4.75 GPA last semester.

John Buchleitner's blue eyes dart back and forth behind thin-framed glasses as he watches the black puck zoom across the rink. He grits his teeth, revealing a missing tooth, and clears the puck with one swift movement of his stick, passing it to a teammate. Beneath his hockey pads, Buchleitner's joints ache and his knee twinges from the pain of an old hockey-related injury. His ease on the ice, although slower and more deliberate than the pros, masks his greatest athletic disadvantage: his years.

The game isn't over for Lisa and Gordon Ruohoniemi when they get off the ice after playing for Centennial High School's club hockey team. In fact, the time after games is when being brother and sister has its biggest advantages. "They definitely talk about the game when they come home from the rink. They go over parts of the game and talk about how to do them better the next time," said their father, Mike Ruohoniemi. For Lisa, a senior defenseman in her fourth year on the team, having her brother on the squad makes it easier to correct mistakes.

Roland Park goalie Shannon Burke could not contain her joy after her Reds field hockey team upset St. Paul's three weeks ago. As she came to the end of the post-game handshake line, Burke leaped into the arms of the opposing goalie. That surprised no one. The other goalie was her twin sister, K.C. Burke. Later that night, the Burkes' Timonium home was much quieter than it had been all week. Shannon didn't brag about the Reds' 2-1 victory. She knows what it feels like to be on the other side.

Tom Christy is retired after a long and successful career as an electrical engineer. This is the time in his life when Christy can do all the things that he couldn't during the busy years when he worked constantly. For Christy, that means playing hockey on a regular basis. Christy, 65, is part of a group of men who play in a few hockey leagues for those age 50 and older at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel. The over-50 group - called the Senior Division - plays Sunday nights, while the 60-and-older group - the Geri-Hat Tricks - have ice time twice a week, usually Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Severna Park field hockey standout Lauren Maranto, The Sun's All-Metro Player of the Year, signed to play at Shippensburg (Pa.) University next fall. The center defender led the No. 1 Falcons to their 14th state title last fall, scoring five goals and adding seven assists while anchoring a back line that posted 12 shutouts in an 18-1 season. Shippensburg, coached by Bertie Landis, finished with a program-best 19-4 mark last season and reached the Division II national semifinals. Maranto said the school had a strong business program and the team is graduating starters at center defender, giving her a chance to contribute quickly.

When Rene Weisz brought hockey equipment home for the first time, he thought he was about to introduce his young son to a game he loved as a child growing up in Germany. Turns out he was half right. Weisz's son picked up the sport, but so did another member of the family, Weisz's 5-year-old daughter, Maxie.That was six years ago. Now, Maxie Weisz is a goaltending prodigy on the Washington Little Capitals 15-and-under girls hockey team. Her father coaches the team and says his daughter definitely has the talent to earn a college hockey scholarship, something very few male hockey players from Maryland accomplish.

WIMBLEDON, England - They stood on rooftops, pressed 10 deep along pavement, and peeked through wooden slats for a glimpse of a legend yesterday. Martina Navratilova was back at Wimbledon. Stuck on Court 18 in Wimbledon's outback instead of her customary Centre Court home, the 43-year-old Navratilova performed the old-time tennis magic for her longtime legion of fans. She served hard, volleyed magnificently and rolled back the years during a doubles match with her new partner, Mariaan de Swardt.

Longtime Severna Park field hockey coach Lil Shelton is "fearful of the long-range future" of the sport. Specifically, the winningest coach in state field hockey is concerned about boys playing the sport with girls. On Friday, brothers Josh and Jarrod Davis became the first boys to play in what has traditionally been an all-girls sport in Anne Arundel County. It is not unprecedented statewide, however. Two boys played in Cecil County several years ago but were not allowed to participate in the playoffs, which is the same scenario the Meade boys are looking at unless the State Field Hockey Committee, which meets on Oct. 2, amends the rules.

T.J. Mathieson often rubs shoulders with the top collegiate ice hockey players in the nation. He's been on the same ice with defending national champion Boston College and played in famed Yost Ice Arena on the University of Michigan campus. Mathieson routinely plays in front of 6,000 to 8,000 fans. Not bad for a Clarksville native and Loyola High graduate who started out in the Squirts program at the Columbia Ice Rink and is in his second season on the Notre Dame ice hockey team. Yes, that's Notre Dame as in South Bend.