When Halle, Catherine, and Hazel, three of the Vancouver Female Midget A players, were in Peewee, they
had the opportunity to attend an autograph session with the UBC women’s hockey team. One of the UBC
players they met was Haley Voytechek—who now, several years later, is the Head Coach of the
Vancouver Female Midget A team.


This past October, Halle, Catherine and Hazel got the exciting opportunity to play with Voytechek and her
Senior A women’s team, the Island Surge. The Island Surge compete in the South Coast Women’s Hockey
League (SCWHL), a competitive women’s league that has teams throughout the Lower Mainland, as well
as on Vancouver Island and in Kamloops. The league currently provides the highest level of women’s
Senior hockey in British Columbia.


“It’s great to be able to play competitive hockey after finishing playing for the Thunderbirds,” Voytechek
said of playing in the SCWHL. This is Voytechek’s fifth season in the league, her first being in 2013.
The Midget A girls each played several games with the Surge, who were in town from October 20th to
22nd for a weekend of away games.

At first Voytechek did not know that she would be playing alongside
some of the girls that she coaches. The request from the Surge for affiliates came in shortly before their
first game of the weekend, and after the BC Hockey registration process was completed, the Vancouver
Female Midget A Manager Barry Garfield notified Voytechek.

“Haley replied back, ‘Hey that’s my team!’” said Garfield. “With a couple hours to spare, the players
were on their way to Langley to play their first game Friday night, all a little nervous knowing they were
going to be on the ice in a Senior female rep game along with their head coach.”

The three Midget A girls played well and enjoyed the experience, as it gave them an opportunity to
compete at a high level and, as Hazel said, to get “a feel for the level of the Senior A league.” Voytechek
was pleased with the performance of her players as well.

“Playing with some of the girls was a good experience for both myself and the players,” she said. “They
were able to compete with the team and against some girls who have played post secondary hockey. I am
sure the girls got a sense of knowing that they too can continue playing hockey after their minor hockey
career.”

For more information on the Vancouver Female Minor Hockey Association, please visit:
http://www.vfiha.com
For more information on the SCWHL, please visit: http://www.southcoastwomenshockey.ca