Women's and Girl's Ice Hockey in Indiana

When someone says "women's ice hockey", the last place that springs to mind for most people is Indiana. Yet women's hockey is alive and growing in the Hoosier state with new women's teams and new girls' leagues popping up everywhere.

The oldest organized women's team in Indiana is the Circle City Sirens based out of Indianapolis. http://www.eteamz.com/circlecitysirens/ They've been around since 1996 and have players at all skill levels. Beginners are welcome, even if they've never skated before. After a player has been with the team for awhile and feels comfortable skating they are encouraged to participate in a tournament or game. The Sirens host 2 tournaments every year - one at the end of October and one in March. The team spends the rest of the season travelling around the midwest to participate in tournaments or to play 1-2 games against a single team. The most common opponents are South Bend, St Louis, Dayton and teams from around the Chicago area and various cities in Michigan.

Another main women's team in Indiana is based out of South Bend - the Michiana Sting. http://www.eteamz.com/MichianaSting/ The Sting and Sirens meet each other often due to their proximity and a friendly rivalry has developed over the years. The Sting actually have a few teams that play at various levels, including a house team that doesn't travel for the beginners.

Quite a few women players play in the BUNS league based out of Carmel and Fishers. It's a co-ed adult league with every skill range from complete beginner to ex-pro. (http://www.bunsonice.com)

At this time, a group in West Lafayette is starting to process of putting together a team and a new women's team is forming in Indianapolis to play at a more competative level above the level of the current Sirens team.

Girls hockey has taken off recently, especially in central Indiana. Both Fishers (http://www.theforum-fishers.com/) and Carmel (http://www.carmeliceskadium.com/) have started a girls hockey program within the past year. Both rinks also house a co-ed youth league in which many girls participate. In northern Indiana, many girls play in the Irish Youth Hockey League http://www.irishyouthhockey.com/. In southern Indiana, the Evansville Youth Hockey Association is thriving with house teams and travel teams but they only have a co-ed program. http://eyha.evansville.net/index.htm