After guiding the national women’s hockey team to back-to-back world championships and a gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, starting goaltender Kim St-Pierre is trying something new.

The fifth-year kinesiology student at McGill University will be put to the test, as she becomes the second women’s hockey player in Canadian university history to lace up the skates with a men’s team. After four years of breaking records and winning awards, including the 2003 Canadian interuniversity female athlete of the year for backstopping the McGill Martlets, St-Pierre made the Redmen squad as the third string goalie.

Although most people, including St-Pierre, thought she wouldn’t get any ice time, it took all of one exhibition game to insert her in the lineup. On Oct. 3, 2003 the accomplished goaltender became the first woman in McGill’s 128-year history to play for the men’s varsity team, and the second woman in Canadian university history, after Lesley Reddon from the University of New Brunswick (1994-1996), to play for any men’s hockey team.

The 24-year old from Chateaugay, Quebec came in midway through the second period in McGill’s opening game against St-Mary’s. She saved nine of 11 shots faced in 29 minutes and 48 seconds, but was charged with the loss. St-Pierre had a much tougher time the next night against the Acadia Axemen, allowing 7 goals on 18 shots.

St-Pierre has said that she knows she probably will not get to play in many games, but that this is the best opportunity to play at a higher level and a good way to improve. Both St-Pierre and her coach Martin Raymond know that the adjustment to the speed and physical play of the men’s game will be a difficult challenge. “It will take time for Kim to get comfortable facing shots travelling at a much higher speed” says Raymond.

Since the regular season began, Raymond has stuck with his number one goaltender for the winless Redmen but did say he is entertaining the possibility of giving St-Pierre some ice time in the near future. “I will discuss it with my coaching staff, but the goal is to win games and continue a successful program at McGill,” said coach Raymond.

What is abundantly clear is that St-Pierre will have to earn her keep on the Redmen roster. Raymond made it clear that having her on the team is not a marketing stunt or media ploy to generate interest in Redmen hockey: “we hope that our play on the ice will do that,” he said. Kim St-Pierre and the Redmen host the Blues this Friday, Nov. 14.