The magnitude of competition for girls high school hockey in Flathead Valley has taken it up a notch this season. 

In the past, the valley’s top players from the Whitefish-based Glacier Hockey Association and the Kalispell-based Flathead Valley Hockey Association have combined to form a united, high-caliber team called the Flathead Fusion.  

This season, the girls U19 Fusion team split ways, forming separate teams for each hockey organization.  

Ice availability for the boys program has historically been prioritized over the girls program, said Kate Daniels, GHA girls team manager. 

The former girls Fusion team had practices outdoors at the Woodland Ice Rink in Kalispell. The girls Fusion typically started practices about a month and a half later than the high school boys. 

Last season, the Fusion girls missed three weeks of practice in January due to broken equipment and below-zero temperatures that would not allow them to use the outdoor ice.   

“The boys got the nicer game schedules, the nicer locker rooms, their senior night at the nicer rink,” said Charlotte Wallace, also known as Charley on the ice. Wallace is a senior who grew up playing for GHA, played for the Fusion and then chose to return to GHA for her senior year after the split.  

Wallace also has an older and younger brother who have played for the boys Fusion teams, so she knows firsthand what gender differences feel like.  

At the end of last season, a group of parents approached GHA to address equality for the girls hockey program. 

“Many girls, who view hockey as their primary sport, seek a serious program that is committed to their development and offers greater competition beyond the Treasure State League,” Daniels said. “Glacier saw that it was time to create a more competitive girls hockey program that equips our athletes with the tools they need to succeed.” 

Since the split, the Glacier Avs have transitioned to practicing at the Stumptown Ice Den, enabling them to train from early October through late March, with evaluation skates even taking place in September.  

“This extended practice period is crucial for skill development and team cohesion,” Daniels said.  

Having two different teams also meets a need for growing demand for girls' hockey in the valley, said Bobee Hyland, coach for the Glacier Avalanche.  

USA Hockey rules allow for the rostering of 20 players per team, in which not more than 18 are skaters.  

Glacier currently has 11 skaters and two goalies, while Flathead has 12 skaters and one goalie – too many numbers for one team being another reason for the teams to split.  

However, the benefits of extended practice for GHA girls now are just that – for the Glacier girls, as the Flathead girls team still calls Woodland home.  

“It doesn’t feel right. We’re getting more resources now as a Glacier team,” Wallace said, “While the teammates that I’ve grown up with fighting for this equality with still at the end of the day don’t get the same ice time. 

“It’s hard when not everyone is on the same side. But that’s how hockey works,” Wallace said. “At the end of the day, most of the time, girls come second.”  

The split was the hardest on the girls.  

“The tension isn’t on the ice,” Wallace said. “All of us truly understand that we weren’t supposed to be in this position. 

“All of sudden, we were just told, ‘there’s too many girls for one team and not really enough for two. Now you have to pick,’” Wallace said. “It was a really tough decision because I wanted to stay with my coaches and the team. 

“But my coaches also helped me grow into this person that knows how to fight for other people – and I see that opportunity with Glacier – the opportunity to have another girls team in a state that doesn’t have a lot of girls representation.”  

Relishing the formerly united Fusion team, Wallace said that they used to “be the only team in Montana that had all female coaches who were experienced.” 

Wallace emphasized that regardless of which team a player chooses to play for, there’s no right or wrong decision, and that if there is any tension, it’s with the adults.  

Having divisive parents on the sidelines hasn’t made it any easier, Wallace said.  

All this comes amongst Wallace fighting herself to get back on the ice after a bad knee injury.  

Wallace was playing for a traveling hockey team based out of Couer d’Alene last summer when she got a bone bruise, which didn’t heal and developed into a stress fracture by October, right in the middle of when she was looking to lead not just the Glacier Aves, but the Whitefish High School cross country team as well.  

Whether navigating the dynamics of a team split or a life-altering injury, Wallace summed it all up: “It’s just character-building.”   

She’s hopeful to heal up as a first step and perhaps play for the club team at Montana State University in Bozeman at some point, but till then, hockey’s not her only aim in life.  

“I’m hoping to study soil science... it’s kind of nerdy, studying dirt,” Wallace said, who is passionate about regenerative agriculture, and has spent time working for the Forest Service in the Tally Lake Ranger District, volunteering on farms and working at the Farmer’s Stand in Whitefish.  

During a speech on senior night at the Ice Den on Feb. 6, fellow Glacier Avs teammate, sophomore Marli Nargis, said that “Charley has always been the one I wanted to be just like...When I was a Peewee, she was the cool bantam girl who was crushing the boys.  

“And when I was a Bantam, she was the girl on AA that was scoring goals and going around the country just to play. And when I finally got on the same team as her, she was the ideal defensemen.  

“It’s easy to say that Charley is nice but that’s not even close to the truth. Because Charley is the most caring and empathetic person I’ve ever met. With the excuse of ‘it’ll toughen you up’ she managed to turn me into a tiny little tank. 

“Thank you, Charley, for being the one we all get to follow, and for blazing the path for this team I personally am so grateful for,” Nargis said.  

Despite being smaller in numbers and with injuries and illnesses along the way, Glacier Hockey Association still had a mighty season, perhaps signaling that the split could pay off in the long run.  

The Avs kicked things off with a second-place finish at the WickFest tournament in Calgary Nov. 21-24, 2024. 

The Avs recently won the Fear the Yeti tournament in Invermere, B.C. Jan 31 - Feb 2.  The Avs went 5-0 and beat Flathead in the championship game in overtime 2-1.  

“We beat Flathead in overtime with Grace Wentzel, an offensive power, scoring the game winning goal during the sudden-death period with 45 seconds left on the clock,” said Hyland. “Drew Sylvester played in goal all weekend, only allowing a single goal in all five games. She’s a brick wall.” 

Other highlights included beating Missoula 5-3 on Jan. 4 and tying Bozeman 5-5 on Jan. 24. 

The Avs have dueled Flathead five times this season, with a record of 3-1-1.  

The Avs current record is 15-9-3 and they will look to have a solid showing at the state tournament in Missoula Feb. 21-23 before concluding the season in March at the Tri-Cities Tournament in Vancouver. 

The future is bright too, for the Avs, with three up-and-coming eighth graders, Elliot Gallagher, MacKenzie Grant and Baylee Hyland on the team. The latter two form an “utterly dominating defensive pair on the ice,” Bobee Hyland said.  

On and off the ice, Bobee Hyland said, “The team is extremely connected with each other and their camaraderie is unmatched. It has been a privilege to share my passion for the game with these ladies.”

    Charlotte Wallace playing the Coeur d'Alene hockey travel team at a tournament in Michigan in October 2024. It was her last tournament prior to receiving a stress fracture diagnosis. (Photo provided)
  

    Baylee Hyland #19 in the center of photo with Grace Wentzel #15 on the left at the Glacier vs. Flathead game on Feb. 6. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Sophomore Marlis Nargi #7 at the GHA girls U19 game against Flathead on Feb. 6.
  

    Eighth grader Mackenzie Grant plays for Glacier against Flathead at the Ice Den on Feb. 6. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    An offensive effort for the GHA girls U19 team against Flathead at the Ice Den on Feb. 6. In the center is eighth grader Baylee Hyland #19. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)