GIRL PLACES HER FUTURE ON ICE : HORTON IS ONE OF TWO FEMALES ON HOCKEY TEAM.

Byline: Rizza Yap Daily News Staff Writer

One night a week during most of the school year, Jennifer Horton trades her white blouse and plaid skirt - her uniform at La Reina High School - for another outfit.

This red, white and black jersey and shorts conceals 20 pounds of protective padding. Her long hair is contained inside a helmet, her gloved hands hold a stick.

Horton, 17, is a hockey player, one of only two girls who play for the Burbank California Golden Bears Midget B ice hockey team. She just completed her second year with the team, which closed out its season by winning the Southern California Amateur Hockey Association title in its division.

Being one of the only females in the sport has not stopped Horton from doing what she loves to do.

``In grade school I was in love with soccer, and at that time, it was a guy-dominated sport like how it is with hockey now,'' Horton said. ``I usually was the only girl on the soccer field. I guess it's kind of a trend for me.''

At 5-foot-2, Horton is one of the smaller players on the ice. This hasn't presented a problem in the five years that she has played hockey. Horton said she has never been injured or involved in a fight.

``She's tougher than probably 60 percent of my guys,'' said Golden Bears coach Doug DeCesare. ``She's out playing with guys that are twice her weight, and she doesn't have any problem with it.

``She gets hit, she gets rocked, and sometimes I cringe on the bench. I wait for the time when she can't get back up. But she always does.''

This weekend, Horton is trying out for the USA Hockey Pacific District Elite Camp. A spot in the camp would give her the opportunity to be recruited by the junior national team. The competition will be stiff: Players from California, Alaska and Washington will compete for one of four spots to attend the camp this summer in Lake Placid, N.Y.

``She can definitely excel and go further,'' said DeCesare. ``What she lacks in size and strength, she makes up for by being a smart player. I'd rather have her on the ice tired because she's smart . . . rather than a player with a lot of energy, who doesn't know what to do with the puck.''

Horton's ultimate goal is to make the women's national hockey team. She wants to play in college and the high school senior has applied only to universities that offer women's hockey programs.

Horton was accepted by four, and she has narrowed down her choices to St. Lawrence in Canton, N.Y., and the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H. Both schools have Division I ice and field hockey programs.

The bulk of Horton's decision rests on the financial-aid package each school will offer. A scholarship in ice hockey is hard to get for West Coast athletes because coaches can only watch Horton on videotape as opposed to in person.

``(Recruiters) are not going to come out to California to look at one or two girls,'' Horton said. ``I only have so many videotapes of me playing hockey, and off of a videotape, they're not going to give you a scholarship.''

In case finances keep Horton from attending an East Coast school, she will attend Moorpark College and use her last year of eligibility with the Bears, then apply again for the following year.

Horton first began ice skating as a 2-year-old and started figure skating at 7 with her younger sister. She said she became a hockey fanatic after watching the Kings on television.

After a year and a half of convincing her parents that she would not ``die or be crushed,'' Horton joined the Thousand Oaks Thunder's in-house program. Two years later, she moved to the travel team in Burbank.

Horton has also played for Team California, an all-female squad, for three years. It is a tournament team that plays about four times a year and placed seventh in the nationals in 1995.

When playing in an all-female league, hitting is not allowed except for some contact along the boards. For Horton, the focus in women's hockey is on agility, finesse and puck handling instead of strength, hard-hitting and power. The size differential is also not as great, although she is considered one of the smaller members in Team California.

``I'm definitely not one of the biggest people on the ice,'' she said. ``It's more a mind game for me and I try to work on my speed.''

Off the ice, Horton plays field hockey for the Ventura County All-Select team. She also played soccer for seven years and joined La Reina's junior varsity team during her first two years in high school. She eventually quit soccer when playing three sports simultaneously became difficult to juggle.

In Horton's family of five - with a younger sister who shares the same birthday and a 50-year-old half-brother - only her father has had history with ice hockey, playing in high school and college while growing up in Ohio. The only other household member linked to hockey is ``Puck,'' Horton's third pet chicken.

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Photo

Photo: Jennifer Horton of Thousand Oaks and a Burbank Midget B team hopes to play Division I women's college hockey on the East Coast.

Tom Mendoza / Daily News