Dayton Fangs Women's Ice Hockey

The Fangs, who had merely 5 players when they started in October 2005, played their first ever men's league game losing to the number 1 ranked IBAH Team Three, 31-0. Featuring 7 of the now 20+ Fangs, the first IBAH game is a major step in the building of the Dayton Fangs. Though the final score wasn't pretty, there were many accomplishments for the Fangs as a whole and for players individually. As a team, this marked just the 4th game for the Fangs, the first against men, the longest (75 run time is a lot of skating), and the first ever league game of any kind. For Casie Hall, it was her first game. Casie joined the Fangs merely one month ago and has already thrown herself into the game. For Krista Kercher, it was the first big bruise. Kercher blocked a short early in the contest with her knee. If we can we'll try and get a picture of the wound, it would be worth a thousand words, but essentially looks as if there is a puck growing from the inside out on her knee. Krista sucked it up though and returned to finish the game. Shannon Riffle also had major success guarding her pointman while playing wing in the defensive zone. Way to go RiffleSmith! Sari Hardyal took a big hit at center ice from one of the opposing players but bounced right back up with a huge smile on her face. Proving to be ironmen, four players have played in every Fangs game to date. Sari Hardyal, Kim LaPole, Julie Orenstein, and Shannon Riffle have stepped on the ice for every match the Fangs have entered. The game also was one of our most offensive games. We also got a lot of help from Coaches Gary and Ralph, Danny, Chris LaPole, and Dennis Doucette. Special thanks goes to Aaron who was our goalie for the first two periods of the game. He faced nearly 100 shots in the time he spent with our team. We gave him a breather in the third when he switched with the other team's goalie who got punished for the last period. Afterwards the other team said they enjoyed playing us and also believe that the IBAH experience will get us moving in a very positive direction. For my two cents, this first game I played with unexperienced women verses experienced men resulted in a 36-0 loss that I'll never forget, in that same league our final game was a 5-3 loss. It takes a while but all good things come to those who bust their butts! Once again no offsides by Fangs players, and no penalties! All and all a great experience for both players and attendees. Fangs fans Heather, Angie, and Marianne all came out to cheer on the team. Next IBAH game is Friday, March 24, 2006, at 9:40 p.m. when the Fangs will take on IBAH Team Five also known as Team Barker.