Star goalie brings A game to celebrity hockey marathon

BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

raffy.boudjikanian@transcontinental.ca

Ever since Kim St. Pierre was a little girl, she has found herself staring out at the hockey rink from behind the cage visor of a goalie's mask. "I always wanted to play hockey with my brothers," the 29-year old two-time Olympic gold medallist for the Canadian womens' hockey team told The Chronicle. "And they always wanted to be the ones taking the shots, so I'd go into the nets." That is exactly where she found herself on Saturday at the fifth annual Media Celebrity Hockey Marathon in support of the Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation at the Excellent Ice 3 on 3 rink in Kirkland. "I think it's a real good initiative," said St. Pierre of the idea of raising money for the foundation. "I heard about it through Marty Lamarre of 94.7 FM," she explained.

Born in Châteauguay, Quebec, St. Pierre was into sports at a time when it was frowned upon for girls to pick up a hockey stick. "I did several sports until I was maybe 16 years old," she said. Reaching an age where most athletes have to make a choice, she decided hockey was the way to go for her, and she never looked back.

St. Pierre's hard work and discipline saw her quickly rise to prominence. She played for the Châteauguay womens' hockey team before joining St. Jean sur Richelieu, where she stayed until she was 19.

However, it was joining the Canadian Olympic hockey team as goalie in 2002 for the Turin games, and subsequent gold medal win, that St. Pierre cherishes the most from her memories. "It's the event that I'll always remember from my years of hockey," she said.

This was the second time St. Pierre participated in the Media Celebrity Hockey Marathon. Not a stranger to good causes, she has also been the Marguerite Bourgeoys school board's official spokesperson for their sports awareness month for the last two years. "It's important for kids to be involved in sports from a young age," she said.

A pioneer, St. Pierre also helped start the Canadian Womens' Hockey League last year by joining up as goaltender for the Montreal Stars. "We hope we'll have a little bit more visibility soon," she said, acknowledging that many people are still unaware of the league's existence. "We play around 36 matches a year.”