Georgia’s queen of the ice

By Jarrod Potter
GEORGIA Carson has ice in her veins and on her jersey.
Carson, 19, from Cranbourne, is a member of the Melbourne Ice women’s ice hockey team attempting to win back-to-back Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) championships.
The Ice is 2-2 at the moment and sit in third place behind Adelaide and Newcastle in the four-team league.
Winning the championship in 2010 was an experience Carson won’t forget.
“Best in the world,” Carson said. “We’ve got the game on DVD and you whack it back on and you still get excited and get goosebumps.”
Carson has been on the team for the last three years, in different positions as a defender or forward, having joined when the Ice were known as the Melbourne Dragons.
“I play for Melbourne Ice, who used to be the Melbourne Dragons, but last year was the first after the merge with the men’s team, and we combined to be under the one label.”
“Playing as a defender this season, but I was a forward last season and he (coach Lee Brown) throws me in wherever there’s a gap, so I’m a bit of an all-rounder.
“I set people up more than score goals. We’ve got a few of our girls who are the main goal-scorers so we work around them to put it in the back of the net. “
If not for a pre-planned holiday to Fiji, Carson would be travelling to Iceland with the Australian Women’s Selects team – a development squad for younger women ice hockey players looking to break into the senior national team. “If I wasn’t going to Fiji I’d be in that team, as they asked me to join,” Carson said.
“Going over to Fiji on Christmas Eve, so it’s unfortunate the weeks cross over. They didn’t announce it until the Fiji trip was booked.”
Carson loves the physicality and pace of ice hockey and thinks it is starting to get noticed among the sea of other sports on the Australian landscape.
“It’s really good and physical and a lot different to anything else. It’s not like netball or basketball where you stay on for a long time – it’s a fast-paced game, so you’re only on the ice for 30-40 seconds at a time and then you change up and get a break.
“It’s pretty small at the moment, but with all of the teams merging with the men’s teams it’s putting the word out there.”