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Saturday, July 21, 2001

By Bob Batz Jr., Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Darius Kasparaitis is giving a Women's Skill Clinic, but it's not about his skill with women.

	Joanne DeFazio, shown in January 1999 shortly after she founded her women's hockey group, offers a welcome on the group's Web site. (John Beale, Post-Gazette)

It's about his skills at hockey, which the Penguins' star will share and teach to women hockey players. There are many of them in the region, and their ranks are growing and getting more organized.

"It's unbelievable," says Joanne DeFazio, who in 1998 founded what became known as the Mothers of Hockey at the Iceoplex at Southpointe. The recreational team has since doubled in size to 30 women called the Pittsburgh Puffins -- complete with a logo and a coach -- who practice together and play against other women's teams in the region and beyond.

On Aug. 1, the Puffins and other female players will get the rare opportunity to learn from one of the best as Kasparaitis leads a clinic from 7:45 to 8:45 p.m. at the Iceoplex. The defenseman and the Puffins know each other because the Washington County rink is where the Penguins practice. The tough guy once delighted the women by joining an impromptu scrimmage.

Kasparaitis is donating his time, and thanks to sponsorship from the pro shop there, the clinic is free for Puffins and only $15 for non-Puffins. Women also can enter a $3 raffle for a spot. Part of the proceeds will benefit Children's Hospital, which the Puffins support throughout the year.

They play year-round, too, some of them on co-ed teams as well. The Puffins will compete in the first BladeRunners Women's Invitational tournament Aug. 24-26 at that Bethel Park rink, along with teams from Chatham College (the Cougars), University of Pittsburgh (Ice Panthers) and 15 other women's and girls' teams from as far away as Toronto, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. Also participating will be a yet-unnamed organization, based at the Island Sports Center on Neville Island, that is just now forming teams at all three competitive levels of women's hockey, including one that would join the East Coast Women's Hockey League and the Mid-Atlantic Women's Hockey League.

To sign up for the clinic, buy a raffle tickets or for more information, call DeFazio at 724-873-7606. You also can visit the Web site www.eteamz.com/pittsburghpuffins/, which has links to the local tournament and other women's hockey sites.