With less than two months to go before the Arctic Winter Games, every game, practice and team building exercise that the junior female hockey squad takes part in will be in preparation for the time they will spend together at the competition in March.

On Sunday, the team had its first practice since tryouts concluded in late December and both co-coaches are optimistic about what they saw on the ice.

'The girls are fun,' said Cheryl Rivest, co-coach on the team. 'They are a really good bunch of girls and I think it is just going to be a lot of fun to go and watch them play.'

Final selections haven't been made yet and aren't required until the end of the month. The Arctic Winter Games rules for junior female hockey allow for a maximum of 17 players to attend the event, but coaches can bring less than that amount if they choose. Currently, there are 18 players ranging in ages from 12 to 19 attempting to make the Yukon roster.

Co-coach, Jocelyn Barrett, said it is really nice to see the younger kids come out.

'Even if they don't make the team this time, if they start coming out young then they get this experience and they know what it is like to try out for a team,' she said. 'The next coming years will be really good if they start young.'

Before the Games begin, the team will average roughly one practice and one game a week. Competition will come from the Women's Learn to Play group, who meet every Monday and Wednesday night as well as potential games against teams in the Bantam league. The club also hopes to play a scrimmage game in mid-February at the hockey jamboree held in Haines Junction.

The majority of the players who hope to be a part of the Arctic Winter Games squad are currently playing on teams in either the PeeWee, Bantam or Midget leagues.

The team is also working on developing systems that are simple enough to grasp in a short amount of time, to accommodate four players who live outside of Whitehorse and may not be able to make every practice or game. Both coaches are also trying to figure out what positions best fit their players in an attempt to find out what they are capable of.

'Basically to me it has always been like a game of chess,' said Rivest. 'Here's your players, what position can they fill and what job can they do? From a coaching aspect, how is that going to work into helping the team? So it's just figuring that out right now.'

She said she is really happy about how positive the girls are on the team.

'The skill and fun will follow that, as long as you have a good attitude in here and you don't have people fighting amongst each other,' Rivest said. 'That is really key for me to make sure there is none of that infighting, crankiness, it is like support each other, have some fun and that's the most important part.'

Rivest said the team's goal is to do their best at the Games and take pride in that, whatever the outcome ends up being.

'It's as much to make it a good experience for the older girls and for them to play and be competitive as it is to encourage the younger girls to find out what it is all about and hopefully they are the next group coming through.'

Angela Burke has been playing hockey for six years and will be a member of the Arctic Winter Games team. Burke participated in the previous Arctic Winter Games for hockey and said she is looking forward to going again in March.

Burke, 15, said the first practice went well and the team has continued to get better since tryouts.

'We had lots of fun,' she said. 'As a team we are really starting to shape up and things are looking better every day.'

She said the best part about going to the Arctic Winter Games is, 'just the feeling inside and knowing you are representing the Yukon.'

Burke thinks the team is good enough to win a medal at the Games and said she would be thrilled regardless of what colour it ended up being.