You go girl! 2/28/02 By BRENDAN McCARTHY, The Telegram-Gander Immediately after the final buzzer signified they had won the male hockey gold medal at the 2002 Newfoundland and Labrador Winter Games Tuesday night, members of Avalon Celtics began piling on top of each other in what's become a traditional act of hockey celebration. Within seconds, every player on the team was part of the victory mound, all except for No. 17, who stood to the side and waited until the rest of the players disengaged themselves before joining in the remainder of the revelry. After all, even though Victoria Thistle may have been an integral part of the St. John's/North representatives, she's still a young lady. Besides her post-championship demeanor and the ponytail that flows from the back of her helmet, there is nothing to distinguish the 13-year-old Thistle from the rest of her teammates. She's a very good player on a very good team, a forward who has earned a regular shift and the respect of teammates and opponents through a diligence and natural talent. "Victoria has skill, but she's worked hard for everything she's got," said her proud father Ed, who was in Gander to take in the Games hockey competition. "She showed she was serious about this from the beginning and when she is serious about something, look out." Thistle wasn't the only female to take part in the Games male hockey competition. In fact, all three medal-winning teams had a girl player. Ashley Blackwood plays defence for the Mount Pearl Blades, the bronze-medal winners, while Peggy Wakeham is a rearguard for the Bay Roberts Rovers, who took the silver after losing 7-4 to Thistle and her teammates in the championship game. "I saw my brothers playing and I wanted to play, too. That's why I got started about seven years ago," says the 13-year-old Blackwood, whose twin brother, Andrew, is also a part of the Mount Pearl team. "It's been a lot of fun and I like the boys' section because I think it's more competitive". Girls on team no big deal Matthew Ryan, one of Blackwood's teammates on the Blades, doesn't think people should make a big deal of Ashley's being on the team. "Why shouldn't she play with us?" he said. "She's just as good as the other guys." Ryan's statement is echoed by Andrew Blackwood. "We used to think about having a girl on our team, but we don't think about at all now," said Andrew, who says his twin is more than capable of standing up for herself when the going gets rough. "I'll stick up for her if I have to ... she is my sister. But she can stick up for herself, too." Minor players are introduced to bodychecking at the peewee level, but all three females seemed to have little trouble adapting to the physical play. "When I first started in peewee a year ago, I was a bit nervous because I wasn't used to it, but there were guys who were nervous too because it was the first time for them as well," said Thistle, a Grade 8 student at I. J. Sampson junior high. "But this year, it's been fine. I can't wait to start bantam next year." Blackwood also will move on to bantam in the fall and, like Thistle, is looking forward to advancing to the next level. "It's been a lot of fun so far, and I really like the challenge. If you are a girl and you want to get better, it's a great way to do it," said the Grade 8 student at Mount Pearl Intermediate. Wakeham, the daughter of well-known former softball star Len Wakeham, has a year left at the peewee level. Her regular defensive partner on the Rovers is her brother Matthew, who is a year older. "I knew Ashley before, but I didn't know Peggy," said Thistle. "So meeting her has made this an even better experience." It's likely the three will get to know each other even better in the future as part of provincial teams. Thistle has already attended a tryout camp for the 2003 Canada Games team. However, Thistle, whose talents aren't only confined to the ice -- she's an outstanding swimmer, plays saxophone and piano and maintains an average of over 90 in school -- has set even higher goals for herself. She's received at least one cursory inquiry from an American prep school and is talking about the day when she can get a college hockey scholarship. Canada's gold-medal win in women's hockey at the Salt Lake Winter Olympics provides inspiration. "They were underdogs. I know they had to work hard to win the gold and it just showed me again that I will have to work hard if i want to get to that level," said Thistle. "That's one of the reasons I wanted to play boys' hockey. I knew that for me to stand out, I'd have to work that much harder." Ed Thistle is particularly thankful the Celtics minor association gave his daughter the chance to play forward. "I don't know if she would have received that opportunity somewhere else. But everything else she's earned on her own," said Thistle, who says he has had little concern about his daughter playing in boys leagues. "She can hold her own if she has to. Sometimes, some boys on other team s will say things to her, but they are usually saying things to the boys on the team, too." As for dressing room protocol, Wade Blackwood, Ashley and Andrew's father and coach of the Mount Pearl team, admits it was an initial concern for him. "But you know what? It wasn't a big deal with the team," he said. "They all wear those sweatsuit/pyjama outfits under their uniforms, anyway." Ashley uses the same dressing room as the guys. After the game, she may dress a little more quickly and doesn't hang around, but everything else is the same. It was a good lesson in the importance of placing trust the kids. They can usually work things out better than adults.