Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1521206
THE SOLAR ECLIPSE THAT CUT A PATH ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, including western New York, in April was not the only rare occurrence to hit New York recently. Hosting the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship was almost as rare of a phenomenon. The last time the state hosted a Women's World Championship was in 1994 in Lake Placid. It's safe to say, though, that the women's game today bears little resemblance to those previous decades. The speed, skill and intensity demonstrated by all 10 teams that came to Utica to compete in the 2024 tournament are reminders of how far things have come. For the young girls who were lucky enough to come to the Adirondack Bank Center over the course of 12 days, seeing such an amazing display of talent will hopefully inspire them to get involved in the game or take their own on-ice talents to a higher level. "The skill is unbelievable. It's a great example for what the younger girls are looking up to be," said Steve Zizzo, the director of girls' hock- ey at the Rome Youth Hockey Association. "Across the board, all the countries participating, not just the U.S. team, really demonstrated a high skillset. It's a great thing for the younger girls to be there and see it. You couldn't ask for anything better than this locally." The goal now is to capitalize on the momentum and get more young girls into the game after the tournament ended with a thrilling showdown between the United States and Canada, which Canada won, 6-5, in overtime. This past season the Utica Jr. Comets had two girls teams within its ranks. Association president Tony Martino said plans are already in the works to expand that number to five teams next season. In addition, he said, there will hopefully be more opportunities for girls to improve their skills with on and off-ice clinics. "One of the things we're honestly missing is that early grassroots connection. When we run learn to skate clinics and learn to play clinics and things like that, we can bring 60 or 70 kids out in a night, but when you look at those numbers, more than 90 percent of them are boys," Martino said. By Harry Thompson Hosting The World 's Best Women's Players Could Spark A Boon For Girls Hockey In New York PHOTOS COURTESY OF Quinnipiac University MAY 2024 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 25