Three times in the past five weeks I have made the very short trek to the Cary Ice House to watch the NC Trailblazers Women's House Hockey League. The Trailblazers are a six-team women's adult league composed of players in all shapes, sizes, haircuts, and abilities that play every Sunday night with the first game starting at 7:15pm.
For women's hockey in the Triangle area there are a handful of avenues for female players, but still not as many as there would be in places that have a more developed hockey landscape. Girls can play either in the Polar House Hockey League or travel hockey with NC Force, Capital Stars, or the Raleigh Raptors where they play alongside their male counterparts.
If they want hockey specifically catered to the women's game they can play with the Lady Eagles of the Carolina Eagles Organization is the definite way to go. The Lady Eagles do an amazing job developing female hockey players as well as giving them the experience of traveling to other cities and states playing other female hockey programs.
On the adult side there are less options sadly. There are the Lady Hurricanes who compete in the USA Hockey B Division and the Carolina Aces in the C Division. This is where the Trailblazers league comes into play. They give women who want to play in a central location the chance to without the hassles of traveling. If it weren't for the Trailblazers, who have been around since 1995, we wouldn't be anywhere close to the women's hockey scene that we have right now. They give opportunity to adult women who are either new to the game or just want to play with and against other women.
The best part from my times watching them is how supportive the players are towards each other. It doesn't matter if one player wears purple, red, white, yellow, teal, or black they want each other to succeed. It's something missing in every male-dominated adult league where ego takes over too much in those games. These games are fun to watch and I bet even more fun to play in.
Every woman that has even a single itch to play the game needs to come out and see them play first. I bet if you saw the Trailblazers play you will be going out the next day buying your first pair of skates and a stick.
Follow the Trailblazers here:
Website
Listen to Trailblazers goalie Michelle Bench on the Redvolution Rampage Podcast.
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