As a freshman at Boston College, one of the aspects of BC culture I’ve most been anticipating was the hockey season. I’ve been an avid fan all my life—a New York Rangers fan since birth—and I was excited to be able to not only root for the ranked men’s hockey team, but likewise support the women’s team.
This support of women in hockey has recently skyrocketed, thanks to the inception of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Just this past fall, the league expanded, adding two new teams to now cover six major cities: Boston, New York, Minnesota, Montreal, Seattle, and Vancouver. Representation of women in hockey has grown, and has resonated particularly with young women and girls across the country who have previously felt unwelcome in the space.
This overdue enthusiasm for women’s hockey was something I thought would translate to BC; after all, we’re a hockey school, aren’t we? We’ve always excelled on the ice, and the men’s games are filled with hundreds of rowdy fans shouting from the stands, berating the goalie mercilessly after every goal, and cheering the Eagles on from puck-drop to the final buzzer.
However, the atmosphere at women’s games is an entirely different story. Conte Forum is empty, save a smattering of parents. It’s quiet. It lacks energy. It feels almost like a different school is taking the ice, one bereft of the energy and passion we see on Friday nights. It’s everything a hockey game should be on the ice, but nothing like it should be in the stands. But most of all, it’s a stark reminder of the general attitude towards women’s sports.
A few weeks ago, I bought tickets and planned to attend the women’s Beanpot—which clearly had less hype than the men’s in terms of sheer advertising and discussion around campus. I took the Green Line, arriving at Boston University for the first round of the tournament against Harvard. Without looking at my ticket, I assumed we would be in Agganis Arena, the newly developed hockey rink that seats over 6000 attendees.
I quickly realized with disappointment that the women were relegated to the smaller, much inferior Walter Brown Arena. While I appreciated that the space was dedicated to the women’s team, it was clearly lacking in terms of functionality and appearance. A slow, very delayed (and sometimes completely blank) jumbotron hung too low over center ice, so low that one of the BC hockey players almost hit the board with the puck when trying to clear it from their side of the ice, something that wouldn’t happen in a regular arena or even one like Conte.
The crowd for this game lacked too, once again filled primarily with parents and graduates rather than actual students. While lack of interest is likely to blame, the timing of the game didn’t help: a start time of 4:30 made it difficult for anyone trying to get there on a Tuesday after classes. Unfortunately, these inconvenient start times are a common problem with women’s sports teams across the country. Even here at BC, the women’s games are often in the middle of the afternoon on both weekdays and weekends, not allowing the anticipation of a Friday or Saturday night game to motivate students to attend.
This same attitude can be seen in the professional realm as well. The Olympics coverage has recently received backlash for its coverage of some of the women’s ice hockey games for its lack of focus on the actual women on the ice. Game time during the semifinal match was dedicated to commentary by the Tkachuk brothers (players on the USA men’s team) that barely related to the women’s team at all.
Additional commentary during the early games in the tournament were spent discussing the men’s USA team, before they had even arrived in Milan Cortina. Complaints also included the many references to players’ husbands, chiefly Kendall Coyne (married to Superbowl winner Michael Schofield) that overshadowed the talents and achievements of the players on the ice.
Equality would prevail, when both the USA men’s and women’s ice hockey teams would win gold at the Olympics Games this past weekend, but it should not go unnoticed how dominant the women’s team was. With only two goals allowed against and several record-breaking players including Hilary Knight’s new all-time U.S. Olympic record in points (33) and goals (15) for both men and women. She also holds the record for most gold medals in hockey, again amongst both men and women.
Hockey right now is a hot topic, regardless of gender. The sport is riding a wave of popularity lately, aided by the Olympics as well as the release of the new hit HBO show Heated Rivalry. New fans have started tuning in as a result of both, with a notable spike in interest from both women and the LGBTQ+ community, and the hockey world needs to be active in continuing to draw these crowds and work to welcome them. Women’s sports are on the rise, the market is there, and hockey can capitalize on the opportunity to do so if the correct steps are taken to ensure women remain valued and welcome in the sport. At BC, we can lead this push by giving our hard working female athletes the respect, admiration, and excitement they deserve.
Castalia Litos
Neuroscience major addicted to coffee, mystery novels, and hockey.
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