GIRLS’ VARSITY HOCKEY: The Need For a League of Our Own.

The numbers In the Winter season, the Williamsville High Schools offer 6 sports for boys, as compared to 3 offerings for girls. This number does not include the JV and Modified boys’ hockey teams, which would increase this ratio to 13:8. There are currently dozens of high-school-age female hockey players living within the boundaries of the Williamsville School District, without the opportunity to play high school hockey.

Local Leagues: Travel The Great Lakes Girls’ Hockey League plays in Tier-2 tournaments across Western New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. It includes teams from Wheatfield, Buffalo (Regals), Monroe County, and Perinton. There are only 3 local Tier-1 programs: the Rochester Edge, the Buffalo Bisons, and the Amherst Knights. The Knights do not have a 19U program, and so after they become too old for 16U (the next lowest age bracket), many Tier-1 girls have nowhere convenient to play.

Local Leagues: House The rapidly-growing Amherst house program for girls has become a haven for developing players of all ages; the Developmental League consists of girls ages 11-16, many of whom are of high school age. These girls attend school in Williamsville, Amherst, and Sweet Home.

Local NCAA Women’s Hockey The number and quality of local collegiate women’s hockey is also growing exponentially as more girls become involved in the sport. However, in order to get noticed in this increasingly competitive international arena, our girls need somewhere notable to play.

Local Division 1 Teams:  Union  Cornell  RPI  Niagara  St. Lawrence  Mercyhurst  Clarkson  Syracuse  Colgate

Other local college teams: Buffalo State Cortland State Elmira Oswego State Plattsburg State SUNY Potsdam RIT Utica Hamilton DIVISION III:

UPSTATE NY GIRLS VARSITY ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE (c. 2000) Albany Academies (new for season) Canton Chazy-Beekmantown (new for 08-09) Ithaca Lake Placid Massena Oswego Potsdam St. Lawrence Central (new for 08-09) Salmon River Saranac Lake Skaneateles Thousand Islands (new for 08-09)

PROPOSED WNY GIRLS VARSITY ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE (c. December 2008) Amherst Catholic Schools (combined) Clarence Hilton Kenmore-Tonawanda Lancaster Orchard Park Sweet Home West Seneca (East and West) Williamsville (East, North, and South) Nichols “B” Team We are also planning on reaching out to other districts which have recently joined the boys’ hockey Federation, such as Lockport, Niagara Falls, Niagara Wheatfield and Depew.

WESTERN NY GIRLS VARSITY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Girls Hockey Teams in WNY Amherst Youth Hockey Buffalo Regals Buffalo Bisons Wheatfield Blades Buffalo Hornets West Seneca Wings Hamburg Hawks Niagara Falls  Purple Eagles  Coyotes Cazenovia Chiefs Nichols Fredonia Olean