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The Syracuse Women’s Hockey Club hosted its first-ever Women in Sports Night to bring awareness to women’s sports at SU.

Player and team Social Media Chair Eden Price organized the event held Saturday in Tennity Ice Pavilion. SU faced off against Cornell, beating the Big Red 13-0. The event featured a ceremonial puck drop, raffles and a game of chuck-a-puck.

“It’s a big night that we’ve all been looking forward to,” team captain Leah Landry said. “It’s amazing that we could do something like this for the community and the school.”

Price wanted the team to have a theme night since October. Her original idea was to have an event for breast cancer awareness month, but the timing didn’t work out. So instead, Price decided to plan an event around National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which was on Feb. 5.

“That’s what our team is all about, and it was really important for me to do this,” Price said.

There was lots of anticipation and energy from the team leading up to the game, as players looked forward to showcasing their skills and the importance of women’s sports.

“I’m really excited,” Kathryn West said before the start of the event. “We’ve been promoting it a lot, and we’ve been putting a lot of hard work into it, so I feel like it’ll turn out really good.”

The Syracuse women’s club ice hockey team held its inaugural Women’s in Sports Night on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Maria Kaffes

Before the official game began, two SU coaches participated in a ceremonial puck drop. Gabriella Matautia, an assistant volleyball coach, and Emma Russell, an assistant field hockey coach, briefly stepped onto the ice to conduct the first drop of the game.

A night celebrating women held significance to the players and coaching staff, especially the impact it may have on those in attendance.

“Hopefully, something like this, showing how important it is to highlight women’s everything, inspires someone to keep going and keep playing,” Price said.

Head coach Christina Beam echoed this sentiment, noting events like the Women in Sports Night can show young women they can balance education and sports. She said many women stop playing hockey after high school, and she’s glad they can see there is a path for them in the future.

“I’m hoping that young athletes and young bystanders see that there’s much more,” Beam said. “They don’t have to hang up their skates.”

Additionally, the players honored female athletes who inspired them by writing their names down on signs hung up in the bench area of the rink. The athletes featured included Caitlin Clark, Ilona Maher and Alex Morgan.

“I think it’s really empowering,” game attendee and SU student Cate Galante said. “Just the whole experience, the whole purpose of this game, it’s a super important cause.”

On top of a successful night, Syracuse won the game, completely dominating against Cornell. Five goals were scored in the first period alone, followed by six in the second and two in the third.

Over halfway into the first period, defenseman Bryana Treon’s stick snapped. But that didn’t stop her as she steered the puck away from the goal with her foot before subbing out. This was a perfect example of the team’s competitiveness and resilience — what the event is all about.

“Instead of us being the shadows of men’s sports, (this event) can kind of put us in the spotlight as well and show the competition and the athletic ability of these girls,” Beam said.

Looking ahead, the team plans to make the Women in Sports Night an annual event. Beam even mentioned the idea of recruiting other women’s teams. She also noted teams have contacted her about scheduling learn-to-skate and scrimmage events.

“It just makes us more present here and shows the impact that we can have on our community,” Beam said.

Published on February 9, 2025 at 11:37 pm

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