Questions and answers with women's hockey goalie Gaudiel

Recently, 'Prince' staff writer Karl Micka-Foos spoke with junior goaltender Roxanne Gaudiel of women's hockey about reaction balls, pre-game rituals, "The Mighty Ducks" and the song.

The 'Prince': So, to begin with, how exactly did you discover hockey growing up?

Roxanne Gaudiel: A rink opened up near my house, and my mom signed my brother, sister and I up. I have a twin brother who was going to play hockey, and I did everything he did.

P: Does your twin brother still play hockey?

RG: Yeah, he plays at home in a men's league. Actually, he does pretty well considering he's a little guy. He's my height [five feet, four inches], which is pretty short for a hockey player, but he can skate around anyone.

P: I'll bet the two of you were great competition for each other growing up, huh?

RG: Yeah, he's a forward, so it was always easy to practice. And his only moves are either dekes or in-close shots to the glove, so I got better at those areas.

P: So, you lived in Venice, Fla., during high school, right? What is the hockey scene like in Florida?

RG: Diminishing. We used to have a girls' team that was pretty good. It went to nationals for a few years. It was made after I left the state, so I never played on it, but I helped coach them one summer. But I don't think that organization is as big as it used to be. I always played boys' hockey in Florida, and I'm not sure how that league's doing anymore.

P: So, how about growing up playing hockey as a girl? I mean, a lot has probably changed in the last 10 years or so in terms of acceptance of girls as athletes, but did you ever feel like that was an issue when you were growing up?

RG: No, because I always played on the same team as my brother, and we had a small team with the same guys every year. I grew up with them, and I was a good goalie so they never made me feel out of place.

P: Did you play any other sports in high school?

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RG: Yeah, I did cross county and softball.

P: Wow, those both seem pretty different from being a hockey goalie. Are there any skills common to those three sports?

RG: Well, I did cross country so I wouldn't get injured for hockey season. Softball, I kind of just fell into. Most of the hockey team was on the softball team, and I had originally tried track, but I couldn't do that due to an injury. I had never played softball, but it wasn't too hard to pick up. And then, one year, our catcher got thrown out of school. I figured I could stop a softball, so I did that.

P: In baseball (and softball, too, I assume) there is somewhat of an advantage to being left-handed. Does the same hold true at all for being a hockey goalie?

RG: Well, actually being a lefty as a goalie means I catch left, shoot left. But I bat right, throw right in softball. Most goalies are lefties only because it's more normal to catch with the left hand.

P: Oh, wow, I had no idea. As you can tell, I'm not a hockey expert.

RG: That's OK. I figured that, when I used the word "deke," earlier, half the campus would have no idea what I said and will think it's a typo.

P: I actually know what a deke is, but only from "The Mighty Ducks." Speaking of which, what is your favorite hockey movie?

RG: "Miracle." That was a great series, and I thought they did a great job with that movie, being true to hockey and to Herb Brooks.

P: Have there been any female hockey players that you have had as role models? I know a female goalie played once in the NHL, about 10 years ago.

RG: Yeah, that was Manon Rheaume. She played for the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game. I actually went to that game. But, playing with the guys growing up, Richter was always my role model. I got a picture once from Kelly Dyer, too, who played in the men's minor leagues. I put that on my wall. It was pretty cool.

P: Neat. So, what exactly does a goalie do in practice? I mean, how much of the practice time do you spend working separately from the rest of the team?

RG: It varies from practice to practice. If we have a skills practice, which means the players are doing a lot of shooting, the goalies get pounded with shots. It gets hard to work on technique, but it's good for stamina and for the reflexes. In other practices, the shots don't come as fast or as many, so you have to stay focused more. But we really don't get any separate time. We have a goalie coach that tries to come in once a week. He's a volunteer, and usually we'll stay late after practice to do more technical work.

P: What is your goalie technique? Butterfly or stand-up?

RG: I try and do a bit of both, switch it up sometimes, depending on how I'm feeling or to keep the forwards guessing. Mostly, I'm a hybrid, both butterfly and stand-up, but I try to stay on my feet as much as possible.

P: Do you have any special pre-game rituals?

RG: Oh yeah. I go through a little routine after the team finishes warming up together. I stretch, have a reaction ball and juggle. I also try and do some visualization.

P: What's a reaction ball?

RG: A reaction ball is kind of like a bunch of rubber balls smashed into one, so that when you bounce it off a wall it goes in different directions every time. It's really hard to explain.

P: Oh, I used to have one of those balls. I had no idea it could serve any practical purpose.

RG: Yeah, it's great.

P: OK, last question. I have to ask. Do people sing the song a lot?

RG: Yeah. It's kind of funny, today in particular. I walked by a UPS truck, and the song was on the radio. I count that as a good omen. But, yeah, people sing the song a lot.