In what is believed to be the Kansas City area's first all-girls ice hockey tournament, the Kansas City Blades defeated the South Dakota Stars 4-3 in overtime on Sunday and won the “Chicks With Sticks” championship.

Along the way the Blades overpowered the Mid-Iowa Storm 8-0, tied the South Dakota Stars 2-2 and defeated the St. Louis Cyclones 5-3. Meghan Fardelmann, 17, had three goals in the first four minutes against Mid-Iowa.

The two-day tournament for girls ages 8 to 18 was played at Ice Sports KC in Shawnee. The entry fee was $600 a team.

“Everyone tells me it's the first all-girls hockey tournament played in the Kansas City area,” said Kent Noland, who put the four-team tournament together.

Noland had one goal in organizing the tournament: boosting girls hockey.

“There are no girls teams here,” he said. “Girls who want to play hockey have to play on a boys team, or if they're good enough they may catch on with a travel team in Iowa, St. Louis or maybe Chicago. Playing with boys is all right at first, but when boys turn 14 and 15 they're too strong,”

Checking isn't permitted in the girls game, but that doesn't mean there isn't any contact or hard spills on the ice. Checking and an occasional shove result in a trip to the penalty box.

“Our purpose is to create interest in girls hockey and urge girls to participate,” Noland said.

He hopes to establish a competitive travel team and also a home league team to enable girls to develop skills.

“A travel team gives girls like the ones on this team an opportunity to continue playing in high level tournaments around the country that attract college scouts,” Noland said. “We hope tournaments like this get the word out that hockey is available here. We need to draw attention to it.”

Noland has never played hockey. His interest was triggered by his 13-year-old daughter, Rachel.

The Nolands live at Lake Quivira, and as soon as the lake froze over Rachel was on the ice. From that time on, hockey has been her game.

“This will probably be my last year on a boys team,” Rachel said. “Boys are getting stronger and more physical. You have to work around their strength advantage.

“I couldn't stand not playing hockey. I'm on the ice four or five times a week. I never get tired. It's such a great sport.''

Rachel likes to swim and play golf but there's no mistaking her favorite sport.

“I want to continue playing in college at a Division I school and after that the Olympics,” she said.

Kortney Brim, 15, who lives in Shawnee and will be a sophomore at Mill Valley next year, has similar goals.

“Hockey is my favorite sport. I want to play at a Division I college after high school. The tournament this weekend was great. I hope it gets more girls interested in playing,'' said Brim, who was back on the ice for seven hours Monday.

“I go every day. I love it.''

Fardelmann, who lives in Lansing, will be a senior next fall at Culver Academy in Indiana. She went there to play hockey.

“An assistant coach from Culver saw me playing in a drop-in (pickup) game and recruited me,” she said.

“My goal after graduation is a scholarship at a Division I school. I've had calls from Ohio State and Boston College and Yale and Dartmouth in the Ivy League which, of course, interests me.”

Fardelmann's obvious skills were showcased so prominently during the tournament that there were comments from other coaches about a “ringer.”

She scored all nine of her team's goals, including the game-winner in overtime, in the semifinals and finals Sunday. She grew up in a hockey family and started playing when she was 4.

Her father, Charles Eric Fardelmann, played at West Point and her brother played with the Junior Blades.

In June, Meghan was among 78 girls chosen for the 2004 USA Hockey Girls Select Festival at Lake Placid for 17-18 year old girls. Scouts at the festival included Ben Smith, coach of the women's Olympic team in 1998 and 2002.

“The scouting and different coaching styles and playing with the best girls in the country — and being at Lake Placid — made it an awesome experience,” she said.

Like most girls, she started playing on boys teams and along the way suffered two broken arms.

The Blades were coached by Steve Wujek who coaches a Blades boys team and plays on a men's hockey team.

“The girls skate and handle the stick really well,” he said.

Girls from Wichita, Emporia, Topeka and the Kansas City area including Cassie Claxton, Liberty; Andrea Cole, Lee's Summit, and Paige Nawalany, Shawnee, made up the Blades team that held its first practice only a few hours before the tournament started.

Will there be a second “Chicks With Sticks” tournament? Noland is hopeful.

“This weekend went beyond my wildest dreams,” he said.