Women’s ice hockey has foothold on Long Island
Sharon Hanley didn’t wait for an invitation to take the ice.
But she would wait for years for people to warm up to the idea that she — and other women — belonged on it.
Hanley grew up in a household of hockey lovers. Her father, George, introduced her to the sport around age 5 during the 1980 Stanley Cup Final between the Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers. Her older brother, George, played hockey in high school and in college.
“I wanted to play hockey and played with the boys until I aged out,” says Hanley, 42. “At the time, there were no girls or women’s teams that we knew of.”
Hanley never abandoned her desire to compete on a women’s team. That opportunity eluded her while she was a student at Division Avenue High School in Levittown and in her young adulthood.
“I played softball in high school and college,” Hanley says. “If they had hockey in high school, I would likely not have played softball.”
In 2001, Hanley joined the Long Island Hurricanes women’s ice hockey team.
A TEAM FOR WOMEN
Formed in 1995, the Hurricanes have a literal pay-to-play approach: Any woman willing to pay an annual membership fee and for a uniform is allowed to pass the puck. The team consists of career and casual players. Hanley plays right wing for the organization, which is open to women 21 and older.
“Unfortunately, it appears that hockey is a niche sport for women just due to the lack of opportunities for women to try hockey,” says Hanley, a Levittown resident and manager of facility operations with the United States Tennis Association. “We are trying to change that.”
The Hurricanes try to promote a safe environment for women to learn the sport and compete without the fear of getting injured, Hanley says. The only requirements are that players have a willingness to learn the game and are open to having fun. The team usually plays every other Sunday at the Long Island Sports Hub in Syosset and competes against teams in Westchester, Connecticut and local winter clubs.
Like Hanley, Susan Erichsen is a longtime hockey fan. Erichsen is a member of the Huntington-based Lipstix women’s hockey team.
“I grew up in Michigan and skated my whole life,” says Erichsen, 49, of Cold Spring Harbor. “My dad would put two-by-fours up on the grass in our backyard and run a hose from the basement to build us a backyard rink.”
Erichsen didn’t have any formal hockey training in her childhood and used hand-me-down skates from older cousins or neighbors to skate on the rink her father built. She loved the Detroit Red Wings and dreamed of one day playing for them. When she was in the fourth grade, the Red Wings had free stick day at a game she attended.
“It was like Christmas,” she recalls. “When I got home, we made a makeshift floor-hockey rink on our concrete basement floor with my mom’s laundry baskets turned on their sides for goals.”
She wore out many pairs of socks sliding on that floor. It wasn’t until age 40 that she graduated to new ice skates. Her first pair was given to her by her husband. The two were new members of the Winter Club — a private Huntington-based skating group.
“I can still remember my very first shift on the ice,” says Erichsen, who is in her 10th season as a center. “I could not stop smiling. I always try to recruit new players and tell them ‘It’s better late than never.’ ”
Erichsen says that is among the biggest misconceptions about women’s ice hockey: That it is too rough or too difficult to start playing as a beginner.
“While most of the women on my team have played sports most of their lives, many had never skated before and some had never been on a team or played a sport of any kind prior to joining The Lipstix,” Erichsen says.
WILL IT GROW?
Hanley and Erichsen both believe that there are not enough opportunities for women to try hockey. There is a yearslong waitlist at the Huntington Club, home of The Lipstix. Erichsen, who owns a Boar’s Head distributorship, also says there is a shortage of ice slots conducive to a working mother’s schedule.
While both women agree ice hockey is still a niche sport for women, Hanley and Erichsen say they hope this will change as the sport’s profile rises via athletes like the U.S. women’s Olympic team that won its first gold medal in 20 years in Pyeongchang, defeating Canada 3-2 in a shootout. In October 2017, the New Jersey Devils became the first National Hockey League franchise to partner with a National Women’s Hockey League team — the Metropolitan Riveters. The goal is to support the growth of the NWHL, which started in 2015 with the Founding Four: Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale and Metropolitan Riveters.
“I am never going to make a million dollars or get any endorsement offers for playing hockey, but it is priceless,” Erichsen says. “I always tell my team and the younger female players that join us for charity events how special it is to be a female hockey player, and the next time someone tells them that they skate like a girl, say ‘Thank you.’ ”
WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY
For information on women’s ice hockey opportunities including free clinics or charity games, email Susan Erichsen at sserichsen@aol.com.
LONG ISLAND HURRICANES
INFO longislandhurricanes27@gmail.com