Lirakis Takes On The Boys Yet Again

When made the varsity hockey squad as a sophomore this past winter, being the team’s only girl didn’t seem to faze her.

But last month when she placed third at the International Goaltending Competition against boys from all across the region, Lirakis made it clear that gender differences aren’t something that stop her from succeeding on the ice.

“Originally I thought I would be [going up] against just girls and then I found out I’d be competing against guys so I didn’t think I was going to do as well,” Lirakis said. “But I ended up being [one of] only [four] girls competing and I beat out several other guys so it was a really good outcome.”

The IGC is a unique competition strictly for goaltenders that aims to determine the top goaltender in each of five different regions nationwide. The gold, silver and bronze medal winners from each age group at the regional levels advance to the International Championships in Orlando, Fla.

Lirakis’s third place finish earned her a trip to the championship competition later this summer from July 28-29.

“I was real excited [to place third], especially since I got a trip to Florida,” Lirakis said with a smile. “I’m excited to see what it’s like with the competition down there because I’ll be competing not only against local players but [against players from] around the nation and from Toronto, Canada.”

The regional competition was held at the and saw competitors from all over Massachusetts as well as some from New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Lirakis found out about the event through advertisements around Breakaway while playing with the high school team this past winter, and decided to enter this spring.

“I had nothing to lose, it was worth a shot,” she said.

Taking that approach, Lirakis was just happy to have the opportunity to compete against a wide range of talented players. Finishing third and earning a trip to Florida wasn’t anything she anticipated.

“It was more for the experience,” she said. “I thought it would be great if I placed but I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did. I was real nervous going into it but once I got on the ice I noticed I wasn’t doing too bad. I was stopping the pucks I needed to stop and doing everything I needed to do so I felt good after I got off the ice and I was happy with what I did.”

The competition consisted of eight events that allowed goalies to showcase their skating, agility and puck stopping skills. They included five shooting events and three skating events.

A test in speed skating was among the skating events, and Lirakis showed her strength by placing first in that competition.

“I placed first in [speed skating], surprisingly,” she said with a laugh.  “I wasn’t expecting to do so well in that.”

Of the remaining events, Lirakis said she enjoyed the obstacle course and the shooting drills the best. Designated shooters were a part of the competition and took shots at the competing goaltenders from varying angles and game-like scenarios.

“The shooters were a lot older too which made it a little bit more challenging but I did pretty well against them,” said Lirakis.

With the International Championships less than two months away, Lirakis will stay busy this summer preparing to put out the best performance she can in Orlando.

“I would love to place there,” she said. “I’m going to be probably training with my goalie coach, Mike Geragosian, a lot throughout the summer, doing a lot of hockey camps and keeping myself in shape.”

Lirakis will also be playing on an all-girls team in Tewksbury this summer to continue to improve her game.

But regardless of the outcome in Florida, Lirakis has been grateful to have gained such a great experience in the off-season.

“Just the experience of competing against other players from other states and other countries is big itself and just the competition is a great experience,” she said. “Not everybody got this shot.”