It's a long way off from the madness that devours Canada, but the favourite winter pastime of Canadians is catching on in Wales, where a Yukoner is lacing up her skates.

Kara Kowalyshen, who is studying ecology at the University of Wales in Cardiff, is also entering her fifth season with the Cardiff Comets women's hockey team. The Comets were formed in the summer of 1994 and are one of two Welsh women's hockey teams playing in the British League.

The team is based at the Wales National Ice Rink in Cardiff and the majority of the players live in Wales, or travel over the border from the nearby cities of Bristol and Bath.

'I had actually first come over looking for a curling team,' explained Kowalyshen, who represented the Yukon in curling events in high school, in an interview from Cardiff. 'I didn't find any. I think the nearest one was in Scotland. But then I found a women's hockey team.'

Kowalyshen played in the Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association for nine years, starting at the age of six, but quit when 'the boys got too big for me, and they could hit me,' and turned to curling. She hadn't played for about five years when she decided to tryout for the Comets. But she discovered that skating is a lot like riding a bike.

'At first, getting on the ice, I was worried about turning, because I hadn't skated in so long. But it took me about half a training session and I was fine.'

While hockey wasn't the first sport on her list, Kowalyshen and the Comets have turned into quite the success story. She was there for the Comets highest-ever finish, in the 2002/2003 season, when the club won the top two competitions in British women's ice hockey, bringing the Premier League and Chairman's Cup to Wales for the first time.

The Comets became only the third ever team to do the double, and the first ever Welsh women's club to win at the top level.

'Kara adapted into the British style of hockey very quickly,' said Comets coach Mike Pugsley. 'She is a stay-at-home defenseman, who is well respected and very hard to get past on the ice.'

Kowalyshen was selected to represent Wales in matches against England and Scotland last year and in doing so, she became the first Canadian-born player to represent Wales in hockey.

'If you lived in Wales for more than three years, you could qualify,' explained Kowalyshen. 'We played about three games. We set up challenge matches against Scotland and England and we tried for Great Britain, but so far, they're a no go.

'I think they're scared,' she laughed. 'We're undefeated so far.'

The Scotland games were intense, she said, because they had huge crowds.

'We were pretty pleased when we beat them 7-0. Everyone gets pretty into it. I even try to put on a bit of a Wales accent for the day.'

Besides the accents, there's not much difference between Canadian and Wales hockey, she said, at least as far as rules and style go.

'Actually, I was quite surprised. I can't really compare it to what other women's teams are like, because I've never played on one. I don't think it's at all comparable to North American women, but I think it's good. I find it quite challenging. It's not a walk in the park or anything.'

Some of the players from the British League went over to Canada for some exhibition games and got beat pretty bad, she said, but when the Canadian women reciprocated with a visit overseas, the Europeans were much better, though they still lost.

Kowalyshen said she was hesitant getting on the ice with a bunch of women at first, because she feared the team would be too much like a clique backstabbing and gossipy. But it's not at all that way, she insisted, adding she and her teammates are all really good friends, as well as their coach.

'Mike is an awesome coach. He's really, really dedicated. Even though we're at the top women's level, no one gets paid, so he does all this work for us, running the team, for free.'

With a good team intact, the Comets are hoping to once again be declared league champions this year. Last season, they finished just out of the playoffs.

'We lost a few players on the team due to pregnancy,' Kowalyshen explained. 'That's one downside to women's sports. They were key players that we lost midseason and we just couldn't pull it off without them in the end.'

The Comets have played five games so far this season and won four. Kowalyshen said she's confident the crew can continue on from the good start, calling them 'determined.

'We haven't got the best skilled players, we just work really hard, we grind the other teams down and we usually get our win.'

The Yukoner also hopes to play more games for Wales this season, this time travelling a bit more to find new competition. While she misses Whitehorse, she also loves living in Cardiff, she said, and plans to stay for at least a couple more years.