Wickenheiser gets assist in men's league debut

Hayley Wickenheiser made a quick splash in Finland, notching an assist in the first period of her first game playing men's professional hockey.

Suiting up with Salamat of the Finnish League's second-division, Wickenheiser won a faceoff in the other team's end and drew the puck back to teammate Matti Tevanen, who scored with a shot from the point. Wickenheiser became the first woman to record a point in a men's pro hockey game.

Wickenheiser played about four minutes over seven shifts in the first period, but her playing time diminished as the game went on and she ended up playing just over 11 minutes overall.

"I wouldn't say I played any great game, but I think what I tried to do what was keep it as simple as I could," she said.

"Really I think it went as well as I could have expected."

The 24-year-old from Shaunavon, Sask., failed to record a shot on net in her team's 7-3 win over Imatra Kettera.

Playing centre, she took 18 faceoffs, won nine of them, lost six, with the other three declared ties.

"We (Wickenheiser's line) really didn't contribute much offensively," she said. "But it's only one game. And we still have the rest of the season.

"I'm kind of glad it's over."

Wickenheiser had some bad luck in the third period when she accidently scored on her own net with just over two minutes left in the game. While trying to clear the puck off the line Wickenheiser was checked and the puck went into the net off the blade of her stick.

"I wish it were the other way around, but that's part of hockey,'' said Wickenheiser.

The former star of the Canadian Olympic team thinks she has proved she can play with men.

"I'm very capable of playing in this league and I think obviously I held my own in the physical play, I didn't get knocked around on the ice," said Wickenheiser, who, at five foot nine, 170 pounds, wasn't the smallest player on the ice.

Salamat has given Wickenheiser three games to prove herself before a decision will be made then on whether she will finish out the season with the team.