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ICE DEDICATION
By Tom Williams
Canfield’s Melanie West sacrifices to play sport she loves
By TOM WILLIAMS
CANFIELD
National Hockey League commercials suggest hockey fans are like no others when it comes to dedication.
The same can be said about hockey players.
Take Canfield High junior Melanie West, who is on the ice at least five days during a winter week playing or practicing for her team, the Ohio Flames of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League.
West, 17, is in her fourth season with the Flames organization, and her first with the 19-under team. The team, which also includes Maplewood High junior Krystal Williams, practices at the Winterhurst Arena in Lakewood and travels to Michigan, Pennsylvania and Canada for weekend tournaments. Twice a week, West drives to Lakewood for team practices. On “off days,” she skates at the Ice Zone in Boardman.
West sometimes shares rides with a teammate from Twinsburg. Her father, Craig West, estimates that the family puts at least 10,000 miles on their vehicles during hockey season.
“She’s a real road warrior,” Canfield athletic director Greg Cooper said.
Ohio Flames coach Don Rothgery said, “She’s always at practice, she’s very dedicated.
Rothgery uses West as a forward and on defense, and said she has the potential to earn a Division I college scholarship.
“Mel has an excellent slapshot,” Rothgery said. “Her versatility really sets her apart because she can play both in the same game.
“She plays point on the power play, she also plays defense whenever we need it, at the end of a period and the end of power play,” said Rothgery, who guided the Flames to nationals last season. “There are not that many who can do that.”
West also plays softball for Canfield. Now the Cardinals’ third baseman, she was the designated hitter when Canfield won the Division II state title in 2008 when her sister, Melissa, played third. Melissa plays at Bowling Green State.
Depending on how well the Ohio Flames do, West could miss some softball.
“My [softball] coach, Mrs. [Ronie] Haurin, is very understanding,” West said. “After hockey is over, it’s strictly softball.”
Right now the focus in on hockey. West’s goal is to extend her season into April.
“Our league ... has the top 16 AAA teams in the country,” West said. “Our district covers Ohio and Pennsylvania. To get to nationals, you have to win your district.”
Rothgery said his team will compete for the district crown against two other teams this weekend at Pittsburgh’s Shadyside Academy. Nationals, where eight teams compete, will be in Green Bay, Wis., during the first week of April. Last year, the 19-under Flames qualified for nationals.
When she was 7, West began playing hockey in a boys recreational league at the Ice Zone.
As the only girl on the ice, was she intimidated?
“Not really,” West said. “I knew I could skate.”
West took figure skating lessons when she was 6, then was bit by the hockey bug.
“My brother [George] was playing hockey for Canfield,” West said. “He was playing a game while I had practice for figure skating.
“I went over and saw all these people [watching hockey] and I thought ‘this looks like fun.’ I told my Dad that night and he was so excited. I called my Mom [Vera], she was working. And she was like, ‘Nooooo.’ She was so scared.”
Traveling is nothing new. Melanie played with boys at the Ice Zone until she was 10. Then she found a girls league (19-under) at Brady’s Run in Beaver, Pa. West practiced with them for a year before playing.
When she was 14, West remembered playing “Ohio Flames for a chance to go to nationals and we got completely killed. I thought, ‘Ohio? We live in Ohio. Maybe they are a little closer.’ ”
The Wests discovered that the Flames then practiced at Kent State University.
“They were a better [program] so I switched,” West said.
Two former Ohio Flames won silver medals for Team USA at the Winter Olympics: goaltender Brianne McLaughlin (Sheffield Village, Robert Morris University) and forward Kelli Stack (Brooklyn Heights, Boston College).
“Scoring goals is the best feeling in the world, for sure,” West said. “Just being able to take off and skate wherever you want is just so good.
“I just love the speed of hockey and the competitiveness,” West said. “Hockey utilizes everything any athlete should have: speed, strength, focus, aggressiveness. It’s a team sport and I love it.”
Cooper said West, because she’s on a travel-sanctioned team, is not eligible to play for Canfield’s boys varsity team that is sanctioned by the OHSAA.
In her first 18 games with the Flames, West scored seven goals and assisted on eight others.
West displayed her hockey dedication by following the Winter Olympics coverage.
“I follow Olympic hockey religiously,” West said. “I woke up at the 3 in the morning to watch a women’s game ... Slovakia vs. Sweden.”
That’s dedication.