MORGANTOWN -
Once a prominent program, Morgantown girl's hockey disappeared into a locker room one night and didn't return until recently.
Four years ago, a grant from Morgantown Hockey's Parent Association gave the program the rebirth it needed, one that has allowed the program to take off and its team to win a championship.
"It is the most fun sport. There's nothing more fun than skating as fast as you can and scoring a goal. There's no better feeling in the world," said Emilee Hough, a Lady Blade player.
After much success in the 90's, interest in the Morgantown Girl's Hockey program diminished and program ended. Despite talented young girls always being produced through the boy's league, getting enough girls to play was tough, and keeping them interested in hockey without an all-girls team was tougher.
"We had good girls that would come up through our boy's program, and once we got to the checking level we'd lose them," said Todd Gookin, Morgantown Hockey President. "They didn't want anything to do with checking hockey. We'd lose them to organizations that had girl's teams like Pittsburgh, or they'd just stop playing hockey."
"When you're playing with the boys, you're in a locker room by yourself, or with one of your best friends," said Lauren Barry, a Lady Blade player. "When you're in the locker room with all the girls, you have a bunch of conversations while you're getting dressed and it's so much fun."
The new Lady Blades program started a children's team, which taught young girls the basics and built a strong foundation for the program. A team that was once 14 girls has grown in a short time to nearly 50, outfitting not only house teams but two travel teams as well.
New girls are always joining the team, and rookies and veterans alike love the game more than ever.
"We're all really, really, close like in a family," Hough said. "We're a very close team, and all of those girls I would consider my sisters and we're best friends and we also have fun playing out there."
As the players refine their skills, their game has also developed. Last year, the newly launched U14 travel team won the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League U14 Girl's Championship.
This year, the Morgantown Lady Blades U19 (1-19-0) travel team struggled, but next week the reigning champion U14 team (8-1-3) will look to defend their crown in Pittsburgh after winning the regular season.
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