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Happy birthday to Charlie Robert Joseph Karvaski!

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Kennedy Elementary chooses student of the month

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Being the goalie on a hockey team is hard enough.</p><p>You are literally the last line of defense for your team and are expected to keep the puck out of the net at all costs. It&#8217;s a position that comes pre-loaded with a lot of pressure and a heavy workload.</p><p>Now imagine playing that position as a young woman.</p><p>Against all boys.</p><p>That&#8217;s the case for 13 year old Sydney Rusnock of Kingston.</p><p>Her and her team, the Lady Royals, have been playing for the last year or so at the Toytota Sportsplex in the in-house league. The team is comprised entirely of girls ranging in age from nine to 15 and is the only team of its kind in the league.</p><p>Why did these girls decide to strap pads on and hit the ice? Rusnock says that answer is easy.</p><p>&#8220;I really love it,&#8221; Rusnock said without missing a beat. &#8220;I started playing when I was eight years old. I&#8217;ve played goalie for field hockey and really enjoyed it and after I played ice hockey goalie, I loved it.&#8221;</p><p>Ice hockey is a sport mostly dominated by men, but the Lady Royals are proving that with the love they have for the game, determination and practice, it&#8217;s possible for girls to compete right along side the boys.</p><p>A hockey team is a cohesive unit, made up of a number of moving parts that all work together to achieve a goal. When the girls began their journey to become a team, under the direction of coaches Brian and Don Tweedy, they were timid and seemed to lack the confidence needed to play the sport.</p><p>Without any female competition in the area, the girls were forced to play all of the boys teams in the in-house league. Early on, during their first season, they lost a number of games. Along the way however, something started to change.</p><p>Months later, after finding themselves as well as a little confidence, the girls have started their second season undefeated in five games and are no longer afraid to push, shove, elbow, shoot, score and, most importantly, win.</p><p>Playing together as a unit is something that assistant coach and helper Jeremy Jacobus, who&#8217;s daughter, Payton, plays on the team, says has made the difference.</p><p>&#8220;The girls have gotten so good together, as a team,&#8221; Jacobus said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a shame that some of the girls are older than others and will be moving on. There&#8217;s a lot of camaraderie out there and they play good together. This team is going to stay intact for the most part and this girls team is very special. There&#8217;s a lot of hockey going on and a lot of kids here, but to have an all girls team is a special thing.&#8221;</p><p>The girls are being honored by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Saturday and will get to lead the Penguins players out on the ice before their game against the Rochester Americans. They will also get to play a scrimmage between the first and second period on the ice at the Mohegan Sun Arena in front of a much larger crowd than usual.</p><p>Payton Jacobus, who is 10, travels an hour and 20 minutes from the Hawley area with her father to be a part of the team.</p><p>&#8220;She freaked out,&#8221; said the father about when Payton got the news. &#8220;She&#8217;s a very jacked up girl to begin with, but she was very excited. I&#8217;m excited. I&#8217;m excited for the whole team.&#8221;</p><p>Rusnock, who was introduced to hockey at a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton game at the age of six, said playing on the same ice she&#8217;s watched hockey on for so many years is great for the team.</p><p>&#8220;It means a lot,&#8221; she said. &#8220;A lot of people will get to watch us and experience this great team that we have.&#8221;</p><p>Another parent that&#8217;s familiar with the idea of girls hockey is none other than Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s terrific,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;It&#8217;s such a great game that can teach so many lessons to kids, male or female. I have two daughters that both participate in girls hockey. They played right up through high school and they had great experiences.</p><p>&#8220;To have girls hockey grow up in this area and become more of a fabric of the sport, is a great opportunity.&#8221;</p><p>With more years of practice, and coaches and parents who put in the effort, these girls could certainly blossom into the next generation of Hillary Knight&#8217;s and Cammi Granato&#8217;s. For these girls, the women&#8217;s hockey movement is just beginning to break the ice, but with continued support for the program, it&#8217;s surely just the tip of the iceberg.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s great,&#8221; Rusnock said. &#8220;I think a lot of people underestimate us because we are girls. Which makes it that much better to beat boys at their own game.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lady Royals Roster</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Name`Age`Hometown`Position</strong></p><p>Maria Pais`12`Wilkes-Barre`D</p><p>Sydney Rusnock`13`Kingston`G</p><p>Rachel Reeder`15`Berwick`F</p><p>Kaylee Kovaly`9`Shavertown`G</p><p>Dominique Kline`12`Mountain Top`F</p><p>Alyssa Cussatt`14`Cunningham`F</p><p>Elaina Ashman`11`Drums`D</p><p>Kaleigh Koss`12`Sweet Valley`F</p><p>Payton Jacobus`10`Fawn Lake`F</p><p>Kara Macintyre`15`Shavertown`D</p><p>Ali O&#8217;Conner`10`Nanticoke`F</p><p>Brooke Kelley`11`Laflin`F</p><p>Coley Leo`11`Shavertown`F</p><p>Tyler Wood`11`Shavertown`F</p><p>Abigail Deak`10`North Abington`F</p><p>Julia Mazur`12`Olyphant`F</p><p>Therese Ciacci`10`Harveys Lake`F</p><p><strong>Honorary Goalie for Saturday&#8217;s Scrimmage</strong></p><p>Jones Dunaj`7`Mountain Top`G (Male)</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Sydney Rusnock, 13, of Kingston takes shots in Thursday&#8217;s youth hockey practice at the WBS Penguins practice facility at Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey05.jpg</photo0><caption0>Sydney Rusnock, 13, of Kingston takes shots in Thursday&#8217;s youth hockey practice at the WBS Penguins practice facility at Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hockey coach Don Tweedy demonstrates some maneuvers during Thursday&#8217;s hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey01.jpg</photo1><caption1>Hockey coach Don Tweedy demonstrates some maneuvers during Thursday&#8217;s hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Girls take off in a sprint down the ice during Thursday&#8217;s hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey03.jpg</photo2><caption2>Girls take off in a sprint down the ice during Thursday&#8217;s hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Coley Leo, 11, of Shavertown shoots the puck at the goal during Thursday&#8217;s hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey02.jpg</photo3><caption3>Coley Leo, 11, of Shavertown shoots the puck at the goal during Thursday&#8217;s hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hockey coach Don Tweedy runs Thursday&#8217;s youth hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_girlshockey04.jpg</photo4><caption4>Hockey coach Don Tweedy runs Thursday&#8217;s youth hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre. </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Russell Hryvnak</p><p>rhryvnak@civitasmedia.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Want to hit the ice?</strong></p><p>If a young lady in your life wants to give hockey a try, contact the Toyota Sportsplex in Wilkes-Barre. You can reach them via telephone at 570-208-9471, email at coalstreetadmin@wbspenguins.com or visit 38 Coal Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Russell Hryvnak at 570-991-6401 or on Twitter @TLRussHryvnak</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Breaking the ice: Lady Royals take a step forward for girls hockey