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    Your browser either has JavaScript disabled, or does not support it. our archives Share: Hockey moms find themselves in spotlight As season, campaigns gear up, some identify with Palin's energy Photos BRIAN URE / Special to the Observer-Dispatch Cheryl Houle, foreground, and Kim Teesdale watch hockey tryouts at the Clinton Arena. By ANNE DELANEY Observer-Dispatch Posted Oct 07, 2008 @ 03:41 PM Last update Oct 07, 2008 @ 07:10 PM CLINTON — On an early autumn Saturday, Rhayalene Perry made four trips to the Clinton Arena. As hockey season gears up for a run that will last through March, Clinton Arena becomes Perry's second home. It's been that way since she was a girl. The lifelong Clinton resident and hockey fan grew up going to the rink to watch her father, John Williams, coach youth-level teams. Now, the 42-year-old mother is the registrar for the Clinton Youth Hockey Association, where her son Matthew is a 16-year-old midget level player and Ryan is a 14-year-old bantam. ”I love it,” Perry said. “I love the game, the speed and the skill.” Along with hundreds of other Mohawk Valley women, Perry has happily evolved into a hockey mom. That label has become a new national buzz phrase after Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin described herself as a hockey mom during her introductory speech six weeks ago as John McCain's running mate. Palin, 44, whose oldest child, son Track was a hockey player, advanced the conversation with a question she posed in her speech last month at the Republican National Convention. ”What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?” asked Palin in the St. Paul, Minn., address. The answer, of course, was lipstick. But that question begot another: What's a hockey mom? Says Clinton's Perry: “It's an energetic person willing to give for her kids at all times.” Perry said she likes Palin, and she is not alone in her regard among area hockey moms interviewed recently. “I do like her,” said Michele Moran of New Hartford, an admitted political novice. “I never watched political conventions, and she held my attention.” Colgate University professor of political science Robert Kraynak said Palin's question was effective because “it implied toughness with femininity.” Maria Richie of Rome also said she likes Palin, but she will not be swayed by the governor's hockey-mom persona. Richie is the registrar for the Rome Youth Hockey Association, where son, 12-year-old Keegan, is a second-year pee wee. Another son, Connor, 14, is a bantam on a team at the Morrisville IcePlex. “I didn't look at it from a hockey mom perspective. Absolutely not,” Richie said. “I was thinking, 'How is this going to affect the McCain campaign?'” Palin's ability to relate to hockey moms makes her more appealing to Veronica Alesandro of Utica. The 44-year-old said she would be more likely to vote Republican because of Palin's background. Alesandro's two boys, 10-year-old Frank and 6-year-old Ronald, play on Utica-based Mohawk Valley Youth Hockey Association teams. “I thought it was awesome to hear her say that,” Alesandro said. “It would help me because I feel like I have extra support.” Politically, Palin's experience as a hockey mom could make her seem genuine to voters, but not necessarily a good pick to help run the country, Kraynak said. “No one doubts she's an authentic woman from Alaska who has character and experience, who is the closest thing to a frontier woman today,” Kraynak said. “I don't think anyone thinks there is anything phony about Sarah Palin.” However, “I'm not sure that translates into credentials for national leadership,” Kraynak said. Liz Goddard, executive director of the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada-based Web site www.hockeymoms.com isn't as sure of Palin's authenticity. “Some thought she co-opted the term for her purposes, and she might have,” Goddard said. The Web site was founded nearly a year ago by two women, Kim Stubbs and Debra Wood, who wanted to share their 30 years of combined hockey mom experience with others. Goddard said approximately two-thirds of the Web site membership is American. She's heard a range of reactions to Palin associating a hockey mom with an infamous canine. “There are a lot of comparisons you can make,” Goddard said. “I've met a lot of nice pit bulls, myself, and none were wearing lipstick.” Loading commenting interface... Comments Thank you for the abuse report. We will review the report and take appropriate action. Loading comments... 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