Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times

Pam Doroshenk helps her son Ryan, 13, tighten his skates Friday. Doroshenk works at General Electric, and two of her sons play hockey.

Canadian Liz Goddard, executive director of Alberta-based www.hockeymoms.com, said she's never seen a pit bull wearing lipstick.

Closer to home, hockey moms Shirley Jensen and Pam Doroshenk, both residents of Roanoke County, said they haven't either. And then they laughed.

But all three women said hockey moms must be tough and are sometimes intense, which was suggested by Alaska Governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin during her celebrated acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday.

Palin's slap-shot quip about hockey moms and pit bulls slammed the now cliched phrase "soccer moms" into the boards.

Specifically, in an apparent departure from her speech's script, Palin said, "You know they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick!"

Goddard's reaction to Palin's joke? She replied with a hint of tongue-in-cheek.

"I think she perpetuated some unfortunate stereotypes, both about pit bulls and hockey moms," she said.

For example, Goddard said, she's met pit bulls that were quite nice.

"There are a few hockey moms, just like there are a few kindergarten teachers, who are mean and vicious," added Goddard. "But there are very few."

On Friday evening, Jensen and Doroshenk watched as their sons skated on the rink at the Roanoke Civic Center during a "stick and puck session" operated by the Roanoke Valley Ice Advocates.

At one point, Jensen yelled at her son Keith, 10, and strongly advised him to talk to his 12-year-old brother: "Tell Joe to keep his helmet on or get off the ice!"

Jensen learned in an e-mail about Palin's reference to hockey moms.

Doroshenk saw the speech. But she already knew that Palin was a hockey mom after hearing it from conservative commentator Laura Ingraham. Doroshenk said she already was leaning toward voting for Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Palin's speech cemented that choice, Doroshenk said.

"It felt like a connection," she said. "Afterward, I looked online and found a hockey mom button with Palin and McCain on it. I'm waiting for it to come."

Doroshenk admitted that she sometimes gets a bit worked up during her sons' hockey matches. Both Tyler, 15, and Ryan, 13, play.

"You get very excited. You start yelling. It can get intense," she said, smiling. "There's never a dull moment in hockey. It's not like waiting for somebody to get up to bat.

"Ryan played soccer once and he didn't care for it," Doroshenk said. "I don't know why. I think hockey is a little more exciting."

The faint-hearted need not apply to be hockey moms.

"You've got to be tough to sit at the ice level and freeze your butt off," said Jensen, whose husband, Ken, plays and coaches hockey. "You have to be tough to show up for games at 6 a.m. because that's the only time when we can get the ice."

Jensen added, "We're very much a hockey family."

Goddard said hockey moms face unique demands and respond accordingly.

They must be tenacious, she said. They must have physical and emotional strength. They must be loyal. They must be multi-taskers and be able to admit mistakes and move forward. All such characteristics would be valuable in the White House, Goddard said.

Aren't hockey moms worried about their children, considering all the National Hockey League players with missing teeth?

"Right now, there is so much equipment on them there is not a place for them to get hurt," Doroshenk said.

"They're like gladiators when they go out there," Goddard said.

Then again, Jensen's son Joe was knocked out briefly last year. And Goddard said her daughter's hockey playing exacerbated a knee injury.

Joe Jensen likes hockey because he "gets to hit people."

"It's very physical," he said.

Hockey moms also must be willing to spend cold cash.

Doroshenk said her family will pay a total of $900 just to register her sons to play league hockey this year. Equipment can cost hundreds of dollars, she said.

Jensen said travel team hockey costs so much that she has decided to stop adding it all up.

Doroshenk works as a registered nurse for General Electric, where her husband is an engineer. Jensen works at home, and her husband is employed in purchasing by Norfolk Southern.

Why are these hockey moms willing to sacrifice so much time, effort and money?

"My kids absolutely love it," Jensen said.

Doroshenk agreed.

"And I don't want to someday hear my kids saying they wished they'd played hockey but hadn't," she said.

Meanwhile, Palin's assertive verbal face-off with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been a boon of sorts for hockeymoms.com.

Goddard said she's talked to numerous reporters since Palin's speech. Web site hits have increased tenfold, and Goddard has fielded calls from potential online advertisers.

"That's kind of nice for us," she said.

Politics can be bruising and so can hockey, Goddard acknowledged.

"Certainly, blood attracts some people."

To learn more about youth hockey in the Roanoke Valley, go to: www.vyhroanoke.com, the Web site for the Valley Youth Hockey Association.