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Pittsburgh Puffin’s Hockey Team Paving the Way for Women’s Professional Sports in Pittsburgh with Recent Success.
York • March 6, 2020
Pittsburgh Puffins Women's Ice Hockey. Photo Courtesy of Sam Callahan
The Pittsburgh Puffin’s Ice Hockey team was founded in 1998 by a group of passionate women who shared the love of hockey. The Puffins are part of the East Coast Women’s Hockey league and are currently heading into playoffs this Saturday against the Chesapeake Bay Lightning after finishing in first place to end the regular season. We asked Head Coach Lee Johnson
about the team’s current success and what it means to women’s professional sports here in the city of Pittsburgh. Johnson: "As the coach of the Puffins, I am not surprised at their success. They are professional both on and off the ice because the environment that they create is very supportive, even with their opponents. Their commitment to building a community has insured the growth of women's hockey in Pittsburgh."
Yinzer Crazy was able to catch a game earlier this season at the beautiful Roy McKnight Hockey Center, and I must say the atmosphere was great and the hockey was even better. If you haven’t been to a Puffins game I suggest getting a family member or friend and heading down to the Ice Complex next season, you won’t regret it. With that being said, the success of the Pittsburgh Puffins is creating a buzz in the city for women’s professional sports, and there’s no slowing down anytime soon. I wish the Puffins the best of luck in the playoffs and check out our Q & A with some of the Pittsburgh Puffins below. Yinz Stay Crazy!
Pittsburgh Puffins Players Q & A
Char Bidula
Forward
1. What do you attribute most to your success for the 2019-2020 season?
Our positive attitude and bond between our players and our willingness to work harder at every practice to get better.
2. What have been some of the most memorable moments for your team this year?
When we came back from a three goal deficit in a game at the beginning of the season to tie it up. Even though we ended up losing the game by one goal in the end, it was an awesome team effort.
3. How does being an athlete inspire you to do good?
Being an athlete inspires me to try my best to perform well in all aspects of my life. It also shows me how important working together as a team is to achieve success, whether it is on the ice, at work, or at home.
4. Being in a mainly male dominated sport. What do you think your teams success means for Women's professional sports in Pittsburgh?
With us being a recreational hockey team that has a great local fan base, it shows that women's sports can be competitive and exciting at every level. We would love to be able to support a National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) professional team in Pittsburgh in the future.
Sarah Lim
Forward
1. What do you attribute most to your success for the 2019-2020 season?
In a word, I would say friendship. It is the backbone of this community organization, and it’s presence inspires our players to work hard and continue to show up for each other.
2. What have been some of the most memorable moments for your team this year?
Our team went out for 90's dance night and had a blast the last time we traveled to Hagerstown!
3. How does being an athlete inspire you to do good?
Being an athlete means competing against yourself every day to do better so that you can help your team. It teaches the importance of accountability to yourself and others. And when I see how powerful a community organization is, I am inspired to work harder to cultivate more of them.
And did you know that when you do good, this opens the door for good coming to you? Forbes magazine reports that in 2002, 82% of women in executive-level jobs had played organized sports in middle, high or post-secondary school.
4. Being in a mainly male dominated sport. What do you think your team's success means for Women's professional sports in Pittsburgh?
Hopefully it means that we will get more of them! It is inspiring to see women playing on a higher level and our team loves showing up to support them. NWHL— come to Pittsburgh!
Rhiannon Weaver
Defense
1. What do you attribute most to your success for the 2019-2020 season?
We advocate for our team and we seek out opportunities where we can embody our goals of inclusivity and sportsmanship.
2. What have been some of the most memorable moments for your team this year?
We had to make some emergency call-ups for our away games at Prince William this year because of low availability. One of our practice players who just started playing very recently and only joined us this year was a last-minute addition to the roster for those games. She played amazingly and got her very first point for the team, an assist on a pretty redirect goal. It was a great team moment for sure.
3. Being in a mainly male dominated sport. What do you think your teams success means for Women's professional sports in Pittsburgh?
Visibility at all levels is so important. The Puffins have been around for over 20 years, even though our seasons have had varying levels of on-ice success. We are a recreational team but we strive to give opportunities to skate for women of all levels. Being able to get more women engaged in sports means we foster that culture for what they watch at higher levels, what they aspire to and who they look up to, or show them possibilities for their daughters who have more opportunities than were around 20 years ago to play structured sports at an elite level. All of that helps foster women's professional sports at the grassroots level.
Mikki Danielson
Forward
1. What do you attribute most to your success for the 2019-2020 season?
We are a tight-knit group. We always have fun but work hard. We support and encourage each other, and experienced players mentor beginner/novice players. To top it off, we have a coach who is committed to us individually and as a team. We recognize that as a team we win or lose as one, so everyone brings their best to the game.
2. What have been some of the most memorable moments for your team this year?
I am in awe every time a teammate does something spectacular on the ice whether it be a toe drag, goal assist, tape-to-tape pass, hustling on a back check to prevent a breakaway goal, or roughing somebody up a bit in the corner because it means that they have achieved a milestone in executing and understanding this complex game.
3. Being in a mainly male dominated sport. What do you think your team's success means for Women's professional sports in Pittsburgh?
Any time you showcase a successful, community-based women's sports team, you are introducing people to the excitement and competitiveness that women can bring to any sport. We're scrappy, compassionate, intense, skilled, and cohesive as a team and that's part of the attraction for sports fans in general.
Find out more about the Pittsburgh Puffins Women's Ice Hockey Team at www.pghpuffins.com
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Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Harv Aronson. Contact Harv @ Totalsportsrecall@gmail.com
Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Harv Aronson. Contact Harv @ Totalsportsrecall@gmail.com
Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Harv Aronson. Contact Harv @ Totalsportsrecall@gmail.com
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