Valley resident skates in women's national hockey championships

For 20-year-old Bay Baskin of Point MacKenzie, being asked to skate in last weekend's girls' and women's national hockey championships in Anchorage was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.

Baskin, a sophomore at the University of Alaska Anchorage, skated for the Pacific team in the senior A women's hockey championships, competing against some of the best college players in the country.

"It was an awesome experience playing in a big tournament against top Division I players," Baskin said. "The tournament was so well organized."

Baskin had just completed her hockey season with the under-19 Anchorage Hockey Association Select Team when she received a phone call from the Women's Pacific Hockey representative days before the tournament, inviting her to play with Pacific during the tournament.

Baskin jumped at the opportunity to play in the tournament, meeting her new teammates the day prior to the tournament. The Pacific team included players from Fairbanks, Anchorage, Seattle and Portland, Ore.

Baskin played forward for Pacific, scoring a goal against former teammate Logan Raynor, who tended goal for the Alaska Bladerunners in the tournament.

"I know her weak spots," Baskin quipped.

Baskin and Raynor played on the same team for several years in the Anchorage Firebirds and Northstars.

Pacific finished fourth in the tournament, with the Minnesota Blue Js taking the championship of the women's senior A division.

The level of play from the college players in the tournament left an impression on Baskin, giving her invaluable experience.

"The players were so fast and really skilled," she said. "They worked really well together as a team."