A Net Victory

Manon Rheaume has quietly broken one barrier after another, by becoming the first woman player in Canada's Major Junior Hockey League, and leading the national women's team to a 1992 world title. So when she played goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, to become the first woman player in the N.H.L., she believed a final barrier had been crossed. But not quite. "Did you break a nail?" asked a straight-faced sportswriter.