Karmen Mooney is used to racing older hockey players to the puck, and she'll be battling some of the best 16 and 17-year-old female stick-handlers in the province as a member of the Zone 5 team heading to Terrace for the BC Winter Games in March.
The 14-year-old forward made the team, which consists of players from Vancouver to Squamish, after two-days of intense fitness training and scrimmages earlier this month.
She contributed a couple assists during the games and pushed hard through agility and endurance testing to stand out among 101 players and earn a spot on one of three Lower Mainland regional teams.
Mooney said she was relieved when she found out she'd been chosen.
"I was actually pretty nervous because it was just after Christmas and I hadn't done much for two weeks," she said, adding that she hopes the recognition eventually leads to spots on even more exclusive squads.
"I think it's pretty important because if you make this you can try out for U-18 and then eventually try out for the BC team and the Canadian team."
Mooney is playing with the North Shore Avalanche C1 Midget girls hockey team this season, which means she hits the ice against girls as old as 18. She was 13 years old when the season started.
But being underage doesn't necessarily mean she's at a disadvantage. In fact, Mooney has expanded her game by moving from playing rightwing to getting ice time at centre as well.
"I'm getting better at my draws and in front of the net," she said.
Mooney's passion for hockey started at a young age, according to her mother Michele Ellis. At the tender age of three, Mooney knew figure skates were not for her.
"I could have tackled her to the ground and I wouldn't have gotten them on her," said Ellis with a laugh.
"She's a really cool kid. She's always into something. If it's not hockey, it's basketball, skiing, snowboarding."
Mooney is in Grade 9 at Don Ross Secondary but she already has her sights set on earning a hockey scholarship.
"I'd like to go as far as I possibly can."
