Utica University women's hockey players hand out IIHF activity books to excited students

Westmoreland Upper Elementary students filed into their school gymnasium on Tuesday as members of the Utica University women's ice hockey team lined up to give them high fives.

On the unseasonably warm February day that hinted at spring’s approach, the hockey players hand-delivered hundreds of International Ice Hockey Federation activity books, packets of primary-colored crayons and IIHF stickers to those students.

The IIHF Women's World Championship tournament will be held at the Utica University Nexus Center from April 3 to April 14, featuring the 10 best teams from around the world facing off on the ice.

According to the IIHF website, the United States has made it to the gold-medal game in all 22 of the past tournaments. The team took home gold in six of the last eight competitions.

Forward Erica Sheaffer of the Utica Pioneers hockey team is a New Hartford native who is thrilled to see the tournament arrive in the Mohawk Valley.

“I think it's just an incredible opportunity,” Sheaffer said. “I've been a New Yorker all my life, and seeing hockey grow as it does in Utica is just amazing to me. Having the tournament here – and it's only been held in the country four times – and having it here in my hometown, it's just extraordinary.”

Education and fun

In addition to the Westmoreland Upper Elementary recipients, students in grades 2 through 6 at 55 schools throughout the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison and the Madison-Oneida BOCES School Districts received IIHF activity books on Tuesday.

The books feature flags from all 10 countries participating in the tournament for students to color, a maze, an outline of the rules of ice hockey and more.

The books will provide starting points for students to learn more about the other countries, like Denmark, Sweden and China, from which the tournament teams hail. Students throughout the districts will attend selected games in the tournament.

“We are so fortunate to have an event like this happening in our region. It gives our students the chance to learn more about women in sports, the challenges they face and what it's like to be a woman who plays a sport,” said Superintendent Rocco Migliori of Westmoreland Central School District in a statement. “This activity book will not only help prepare our kids for the championship game, but it will also teach them about countries, where they're located and the rules of hockey. We are so grateful our students have the opportunity to be a part of such an incredible event."

Jon Lundin, Adirondack Sports Council Director of Communications, announced the Westmoreland Upper Elementary students will all be attending the first game in the tournament on April 3, a matchup between Denmark and Sweden. In response, the students erupted into exuberant cheers.

The students chattered excitedly as they flipped through the activity books and colored the pages. They clustered around the Utica Pioneers to get the players’ autographs on their books, and spontaneously broke into chants of “USA! USA! USA!”

Fourth grader Lilliana Zimmerman enjoyed talking to Utica University forward Carolyn Whitney and said maybe she’d like to play ice hockey herself one day. She was also enthusiastic about the activity book.

“I like that it teaches us and tells us when we can see the new games, and it teaches us how to play hockey and the rules about it, so when we go to the game, we know what we can do or how it works,” Zimmerman said.

Nurturing the next generation

In addition to community events like the one on Tuesday, the university’s hockey team volunteers once a week to help with the Utica Jr. Comets girl’s team, running shooting drills and having some fun on the ice.

“It's cool that they get to see kind of some role models that they look up to in person,” said defensive player Madison Novotny. “I think it's good for women's sports.”

All the Utica Pioneers present at Westmoreland Upper Elementary – Sheaffer, Whitney, Novotny and forward Erica Sloan – said they were excited to see women’s ice hockey grow.

Sloan noted the Professional Women's Ice Hockey League (PWHL) was founded in 2023, with its inaugural puck drop in January. The first-of-its-kind women’s league features six teams from the U.S. and Canada competing at the professional level.

“I think that it gives the younger girls an opportunity to strive for something that we didn't have for the last few decades,” Sloan said. “So I think it's really important that little girls shoot for the stars when it comes to hockey now, and it's becoming a bigger thing.”

Sheaffer said when she was growing up in New Hartford, her parents would have to drive her an hour or more away just to play on a local team. She’s glad to see that that is no longer the case.

“Having the Nexus Center, and having all these additional teams for girls to play on, and just having it in their hometown so they don't have to go very far, it’s awesome,” Sheaffer said.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: IIHF Women's World Championships: Utica women's team promotes tourney