Editor's note: this is part of a series of features being published over the next few weeks on the various sports which make up the 2007 Canada Winter Games, and the athletes who will be representing the Yukon in them.

You could call it the pivotal point in female hockey.

While the Canada Winter Games are a huge stage for any sport, for many female hockey players, it's where they experience their defining moment.

It's where Canadian superstars like Hayley Wickenheiser and Cassie Campbell stood up and made everyone else take notice, where the two athlete themselves finally realized there was a path for them in hockey and that they belonged.

More than 100 of the best female hockey players in the country will descend on Whitehorse for Week 2 of the Canada Games, March 4-10, and without a major junior league to call their own, many of them will jump right from the Games to the national team, or at least from the Games to college.

It's a thought that's not lost on Team Yukon.

'I met (Canadian women's head coach) Melody Davidson last year and she told me if you want to get anywhere, if you want to get scouted at all, the Canada Games is the place to be,' says Yukon captain Jessica Trotter.

'This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.'

Up against provinces with a much larger population base to draw from, and against athletes who have been skating competitively for much longer, Team Yukon is not unrealistic in its goals.

They know a medal is unlikely, especially considering their in a round-robin pool with Saskatchewan and British Columbia. With more than half of the local team at bantam age, they'll likely be the youngest team in the competition.

'One of the problems for us, is we don't have the numbers,' says head coach Randy Merkel. 'We've had to nurture and continue to encourage the enthusiasm all year, where as, if we had 100 players try out, it would be a different story. There would be other players standing around, waiting for their positions.'

Having said that, Merkel is quick to acknowledge his crew has come a long way since the start of the year and he is undeniably proud. Very few of the girls have had a program before as intense as the one they're in now.

It's hard for them to realize how much they've improved, he says.

'The realization of what we're about to do, I don't think it's quite sunk in for them yet,' he says.

But that certainly doesn't make them pushovers, and they can't wait to make any team at the Games who makes the mistake of thinking so, pay the price.

'These girls are going to rise up and give it their best shot,' says Merkel, pointing out the team has managed to deal with everything thrown at them so far this season, including a AAA midget tournament in Penticton last month.

At the AAA tourney, the Yukoners got better each game and managed to win their final game against Grand Forks. Last November, they competed at a AA event in Burnaby, where they finished second.

For a team that's been together less than a year, they've come together quite nicely.

'One of the advantages we have, is we've played as a team all year,' says Merkel. 'They have a real camaraderie.

'They sing on the bus and they're just all generally pals. If one of them has a problem, everyone else is there for them. I think those are the kinds of things girls do naturally.'

Four of the team members hail from Haines Junction, although one, Hayley Tomlin, just recently moved to Whitehorse. Trotter, Talyce Henkel and Megan Moore make numerous trips a week into the capital city, most of the time carpooling together, in order to be a part of the Games experience.

'I'm surprised we don't want to kill each other yet,' jokes Moore.

This past weekend, the girls took on the Whitehorse Midget Selects squad for two games, and they've also been facing off against the bantam rep team. It's all part of the coaching staff's plan to get more game experience.

'Right now, we're trying to raise the calibre of team play,' says Merkel. 'They're having to react quicker, get the shot away quicker.

'We need to get them to step up their physical play a bit, learn to step in front of players.'

Dave Nugent, an assistant coach along with Ria von Loewenstein, says the team is constantly working on foot speed and quick release in practice, agreeing the pace at Canada Games is going to be much faster.

'Things are looking pretty good,' he says. 'We've got the team pretty well where we want them. The things we've been trying to demonstrate to them all year, they're actually picking up now.'

Nugent believes the Yukon team's strong point is their fitness level and strength.

'Our theory is, if we can skate with these clubs, we'll stand a chance.'

Merkel recently had the chance to watch Team Manitoba in action and says one of the biggest things he noticed was their aggression. They weren't afraid to fight for the puck, he says, adding the Manitoba goaltending was topnotch. They had eight goalies try out.

Merkel's daughter, Teneesha, is one of just two goalies who tried out for Team Yukon, along with Moore. At just 14 and 16 years old respectively, the two are relatively inexperienced.

Teneesha admits the thought of facing shots from the future Wickenheisers and Campbells makes her nervous, but says she tries not to think about it too much.

'Every time I think about it, my stomach gets crazy butterflies.

'They were telling us when we played AAA, the Canada Games is even a notch above that, but I don't think our team really knows exactly what to expect.'

Moore says the most important thing for the Yukon crew is they need to play at the level their capable of, like in Burnaby.

'It would be really good to go out there and do what we did in Penticton and Burnaby,' agrees Trotter. 'If we play the way we can play, I think we'll be able to hold some teams off and keep the scores respectable.'

Trotter, Moore and Henkel have been talking with some players from Team Manitoba via the internet, thanks to a setup by their school principal. The team also came up against the goaltender, as well as a few other players, for team B.C. while in Penticton, so they have some idea of what to expect.

They'll be eyeing a possible game against the N.W.T. at the Games, hoping to get some sweet revenge. The two squads faced off in a three-game series last November and the N.W.T. won two.

In order to make some noise during the Games, the Yukon may need a little luck as well as determination. Two of their key players are out with hip and ankle injuries and the coaching staff isn't sure if they will be back in time.

'It's going to be tough hockey,' sums up Randy. 'Manitoba looks pretty good, Alberta will probably be good too. But out of the West, I think Saskatchewan should be the strongest.

'In Saskatchewan, every little town has a barn and a hockey rink. The whole town comes out to support the hockey teams. Hockey is alive and well there. That's where the Haley Wickenheisers come from.'

In the East, Ontario and Quebec are always big players on the hockey stage the two teams played for gold at the 2003 Canada Winter Games, with Ontario coming out on top 4-2.

For Team Yukon, says the head coach, the goal is to do better than any other team from the territory has done in the past.

'Our goal is for our girls to get the best possible experience they can, taking into consideration their age.

'My personal goal, is to see a few of our players get recognized as potential university or college players. I really care about that. It would mean a lot to me.'

Team Yukon's first game is against Saskatchewan, Monday, March 5 at Takhini Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.