Women’s club hockey forward Alena Lee said she is impressed with the growth that the Idaho program has seen in the last couple of years.
“The sport is growing rapidly in the area, and it is just another reason to cheer on the Vandals,” Lee said.
The forward said the team takes part in round-robin tournaments against rival opponents that include universities such as Washington State and Eastern Washington, as well as local programs from cities such as McCall and Lewiston.
“It’s always fun to play (Eastern Washington),” Lee said. “They’re a good team and they are true competition to play. We usually end up pushing each other and both teams get pretty roughed up.”
In addition to regional matchups in the Palouse, the women’s hockey team also travels to cities as far away as Seattle in order to play games, due to the scarcity of women’s hockey programs in the area, according to captain Lizzie Jossie.
Despite the lack of territorial opponents, Jossie said the team does their best to play as close to home as possible.
“Even though we travel for games, it is within driving distance for friends, family and our fans,” Jossie said.
Jossie, who started playing young, said that the experience of players on the team ranges from beginners to experts, but that the team has a lot of potential heading into the spring season.
“We did pretty well last year,” Jossie said. “We usually got first or second at the majority of tournaments we played in.”
The team is playing without a head coach this semester, but Jossie said that the experience and chemistry of the players has allowed the team to succeed on the ice and improve the skills of new players.
Lee said that she hopes the growth of the team will bring more fans to local games, which will help to raise the funds necessary to build a new ice rink in the Moscow community.
The women’s club hockey team currently plays on a rink that is only three-fourths regulation size.
“I want people to come out and watch us,” Lee said. “I think the more people that come out, the more funds that are raised for a new ice rink, one that is a full-sized rink.”
The Idaho women’s club hockey team is scheduled to face Eastern Washington in a doubleheader Jan. 30 in Cheney, Washington.
The Vandals will then travel to Lewiston, Idaho for the Palouse Care Cup Feb. 12-14.
Brock Woods can be reached at [email protected]