Steamboat Pilot & Today

Off the ice, the members of the Steamboat Storm women's hockey team are sales representatives, waitresses, nurses and stay-at-home moms.

On the ice, the varied group of women formed a powerful force during last weekend's Women's Association of Colorado Hock--ey Mountain Division tournament.

"It was just a fun trip," Storm player Marie Winter said. "We had a good time all weekend."

The Glenwood Ice Queens defeated the Eagle-based Down Valley Divas, 3-0, in the championship game to win the title. Steamboat topped Vail Twin Peaks by the same score to place third. Susie Leeson, Deb Rose and Diane Letson scored goals in the game.

"It was just a great team effort," Winter said. "We couldn't have done this without everybody on the roster playing solid hockey all weekend."

Winter, who is a jewelry wholesaler when she isn't playing defense, started playing hockey seven years ago. She said playing with the Storm has given her a chance to make some great friendships while pursuing a sport that she has grown to love.

From time to time, she also gets the chance to work out some aggression against other women from across the state.

The Storm made the most of the end of the season last weekend as the Mountain Division wrapped up the regular season at the Eagle Ice Rink.

The Storm topped squads from Vail and Craig, finishing third out of seven teams in the WACH Mountain Division.

"All of the teams in the league are pretty well-balanced," Winter said. "Any team can beat any other team at anytime."

Steamboat topped Vail's Twin Peaks in the opening game. Diane Anderson's second-period goal, which was assisted by Kim Bonner, gave the Storm a 1-0 win in the opener.

Anderson, Susie Leeson, Julie Worden and Deb Rose all scored goals in the Storm's second-round victory against Craig's Puck Ewe. Melrose Kuusinen, Winter and Bonner had assists in the game.

After cruising through the first two rounds, the Storm faced another Steamboat team, the Edge (5-5-2) in the third game. During the regular season, the Storm (8-4-2) seemed to have found the Edge's number. But things were different in the tournament.

Led by the effort of goalkeeper Nikki Knoebel, the Edge upset the Storm, 2-1.

"The Edge played beautifully," Winter said. "Nikki was unbelievable, and that whole team had a great game."

The Storm fired 42 shots on the Edge goalie, but she only let one shot slip to the back of the net.

The Down Valley Divas from Eagle handed the Storm its second loss in the next game.

Anderson was the only Storm player to score in the 2-1 loss. Worden was credited with the assist.

In the final game, the Storm faced Vail in a rematch for third and fourth place. The Storm rolled to a 3-0 victory behind goals from Leeson, Rose and Diane Letson.

The game ended on a sour note, however, when Storm player Laurie Milne broke her leg after taking a hard but clean hit on a breakaway.

"Things like that don't happen a lot at this level, but it's a physical game, and there are injuries," Winter said.