Dayton Fangs Women's Ice Hockey

The Dayton Bombers, who have long helped the Dayton Fangs in promotion, are having a women's hockey night at the Nutter which coincides with their final regular season game of the season verses the Wheeling Nailers on April 8, 2008. The evening is also Fan Appreciation and Live Jersey Auction Night. As a special guest, Olympic Bronze Medalist Kristin King will drop the ceremonial first puck and the Dayton Fangs will take on a yet unnamed opponent prior to the start of the Bombers contest verses the Nailers. More details coming soon...

The Dayton Fangs are home from Indianapolis after completing their first tournament. The Fangs fought hard against 3 teams with combined experience of 22+ years. Their first opponent was the host team the Circle City Sirens. In the Fangs Second game ever, they held the opponents to just two goals in both the first period and Sari Harydal had the first ever tournament shot on goal. The Sirens were wearing their 10th anniversary jerseys, while the Fangs have only been together since October 2005. 8-0 loss, not too bad against a team that has 9.5 years more experience. The next task for the Fangs was to meet the formidible Pittsburgh Piranhas. Though the Piranhas began in 2001, they have finished 3rd and 2nd in their last two tournaments. With a flury of activity the Fangs were down late in the first and would go on to lose the game 11-0. However, more time was spent in the offensive end with a few scoring opportunities. And the time spent in our own end gave Krista Kercher the time to make a huge save right in front of the Fangs net. Our first full body sliding blocked shot. The Piranhas would go on to be undefeated in the tournament and take the championship. The following morning the Fangs woke to play the Michiana Sting, a team from Northern Indiana. The Bees have been playing together for more than 7 years. With some true talent swarming around the ice, the Fangs were lucky to have experienced defenseman Audrey Choh fly in from Phoenix to join a defense that had already weathered two tough storms. The Fangs kept the Sting off the board until a short-handed opportunity revealed itself in final minute of the first period and the Sting was up 1-0 with 14 seconds remaining. The second period again showed great progress for the Fangs. The Fangs had several scoring opportunites and kept the score the lowest of the tournament. The hhird continued the same. The final score was the best of the tournament for the Fangs who lost this one by a score of 6-0. Each player and coach found ways to really step up everything during the first tournament and the host team was so impressed that they ask the Fangs to combine with them for the Lucky Stars Tournament in Cincinnati St. Patty's Day weekend. Keep checking back for more info on future games, tournament, and other news.

Once every four years the Winter Olympics roll around and fans across the world are able to see women’s ice hockey, a sport that is gaining popularity but has not yet stepped onto the main stage. However, fans in the Dayton area can now see women’s hockey right here in town. The Dayton Fangs are a semi-professional women’s ice hockey team founded this October by UD student Marianne Graham. The Fangs are the first and only such team in the area. Graham is a law student at the UD, and comes to UD from the Pittsburgh area, where hockey is very popular. When she came to Dayton, she was dismayed to see that Dayton only had 2 ice hockey rinks and 3 sheets of ice. To satisfy her craving to play hockey, Graham was able to practice with the UD men’s ice hockey team, who treated her as an equal, even thought she was much older and female. She then worked her way into a men’s league which was great competition, but not the same as the women’s game. “It is always nice playing with guys, but there is something different about playing with women” said Graham. Graham’s inspirations in hockey came from a variety of sources, but mostly the 1998 Olympic Gold Medal team. Also, while attending the University of Pittsburgh, she fell in love with the city’s NHL team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team full of superstars at the time, including hockey greats Mario Lemeiux and Jaromir Jagr. These things moved Graham to start a team at the University of Pittsburgh. That team played in a men’s league, even though they were highly inexperienced, and despite a loss in which the other team scored 36 goals, they persevered. Marianne engineered the creation of the Mid-Atlantic Women’s Collegiate Hockey Association (MAWCHA), of which the Pittsburgh is a part. More recently, she started the Pennsylvania–Ohio Women’s Hockey Association (POWHA–www.powha.com), which is a league made up of travel teams from Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Kent. Marianne played for a Pittsburgh team last year and a Cleveland team this year. Now, here at Dayton, Marianne saw the need for a women’s team. Gary Welch, a friend of many of the women on the team volunteered to coach. The word spread about the Fangs and more and more women became interested. The team now numbers at 18 women, with a wide variety of skill levels and experience, but all with a dedication to a sport that requires a lot of time and effort. “We have players, like myself, that have been playing since college, and others who never skated before, some people who watched and loved hockey and had a good understanding of it, and others who had never seen a game, live or on TV,” said Graham. The players come from all walks of life, including students and members of the U.S. Air Force. What is most interesting about the diverse team is the age range. There are two players born in the 1950’s, four in the 1960’s, seven in the 1970’s and five in the 1980’s. There is one other UD student on the roster, Emily Russo, a sophomore Biology major. As far as opportunities for other UD women to join, the team is very accommodating to anyone who would like to give the sport a try, and usually has enough equipment for the perspective player to come to a practice or two. There is also always someone available to help out with carpooling. In addition, Graham has been very open to helping start a women’s club team at UD, either ice or inline hockey. She says that anyone who’d like to start a club team here at UD could practice with the Fangs until they got enough girls together for their team. The Fangs have a great inaugural season ahead of them. Although they lost their first game this Sunday 3-0 to Columbus, according to Graham it was “an amazing experience and wonderful to see how people who didn’t even know each other a year ago could come together to compete in a unique sport.” This year, the Fangs began too late to join a league, but they hope to join the Pennsylvania–Ohio Women’s Hockey Association (POWHA) next year, or possibly form their own league with Columbus, Indianapolis and others. The Fangs have two tournaments coming up, one in Indianapolis for the March Classic, and one in Cincinnati for the Lucky Stars Tournament. They will play teams such as the Pittsburgh Piranhas, the Michiana Sting and the Columbus Wizards. Graham is very optimistic about this season, and hopes that there will also be many more to come, as hockey continues to grow in the Miami Valley area. For more information on the Dayton Fangs, call (937) 293-1398, email info@daytonfangs.com, or check out the Web site daytonfangs.com.

Bianca George of Canton, Ohio, is starting a new women's ice hockey team, the Canton Firebirds! Be a part of the first Canton Firebirds Women's Ice Hockey Team! "We are hoping to form a team for the next hockey season starting in late fall 2006," said George. The team hopes to participate in the Northeast Ohio Women's Hockey Association (NOWHA) and the Pennsylvania-Ohio Women's Hockey Association (POWHA), as well as exhibition games, scrimmages, and travel to one or two tournaments per season as desired. The main focus of the Firebirds is to generate interest in the sport of women's ice hockey, stay in shape, compete, and represent Canton on a regional and national level. The Firebirds is open to players ages 18+ of all skill levels from beginner to experienced. Please feel free to send email to info@cantonfirebirds.com with any questions. Stay tuned for more information about an Informational Meeting in Canton, OH! Look forward to seeing you there!