Women’s Ice Hockey Returns To Auckland With A Bang — Auckland Is Back Playing In Auckland On The 3rd + 4th September!

Auckland's Women’s Ice Hockey team, Auckland Steel, is taking on Queenstown in the first North Island-based elite ice hockey match in years!

Auckland is hosting the first NZWIHL Women’s Ice Hockey match on home turf in years, with two games going ahead at 4:45 PM on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th at Paradice Ice Skating Avondale.

Auckland’s elite women’s representative team, Auckland Steel, will be taking on cross-island rivals, Queenstown’s Wakatipu Wild in two fiercely action-packed games across the weekend.

The games promise to be a fun-filled match full of goals, speed, dynamism, incredible athleticism and teamwork. With a cash bar, fully stocked with drinks, snacks and hot food of all kinds, both matches promise to be a fun early evening out for the whole family, and newcomers to ice hockey and ice sports alike.

This weekend of ice-hockey marks an important moment in NZWIHL’s sporting history. It’s the first time since Covid-19 broke that women’s ice hockey games, which are usually held in the South Island, will go ahead in Auckland. This exciting change in rhythm was done by the NZWIHL to give fun-loving Auckland crowds a taste of the country’s top level of women’s ice hockey.

New Zealand’s best female ice hockey players will be showing their skills in full force. Many Auckland Steel team members have represented New Zealand internationally as Ice Fernz, in world championships all across the world. Additionally, many of these Ice Fernz have also been dual-representatives, playing for New Zealand in Inline Hockey national championships.

Additionally, it’ll be the first home game led by Auckland Steel’s new Captain, Jaime Jones, as she takes on the role from Veteran and Ice Fernz Captain and prolific New Zealand neuroscientist, Dr Helen Murray.

Auckland Steel is proud to have one of the most diverse and eclectic groups of women make up the team — something that’s not only unique to Auckland, but to the league and women’s ice hockey scene as a whole.

Ranging from high-school aged young women through to 50’s, our team comes from all walks of life.

Teachers, apprentices, account and sales managers, entrepreneurs in the health and social media spaces, health professionals, defence force personnel, police detectives, police fingerprint officers, neuroscientists and writers make up our richly diverse team.

Auckland Steel athletes have a range of experience levels — including some who have been playing ice hockey for twenty years, representing New Zealand as juniors, others just a handful of years!

Additionally, we represent a rich tapestry of cultures, with players proudly representing heritage from South Africa, India, France, Canada, Czech Republic, England and of course New Zealand.

Auckland Steel are one of four elite women's ice hockey representative teams in New Zealand. Other teams include Canterbury Inferno, Dunedin Women’s Thunder and Wakatipu Wild.

Our team is also happy to contribute their passionate voices to comment on a wide range of sport and wellbeing-related subjects. These include:

Former figure skaters who decided to become ice-hockey players

Minority players in minority sports

Being a duel-representative: playing Inline Hockey and Ice Hockey at an international level on

the women’s national representative team, the Ice Fernz

The journey to becoming an Ice Fern

Training and playing ice hockey in international teams: college teams, prestigious

development camps

Representing your country on the international stage, while still being in high school

Details:

Auckland Steel vs Wakatipu Wild Ice Hockey

4:45 PM Saturday 3rd September & 4:45 PM Sunday 4th September

Paradice Ice Skating Avondale: 150 Lansford Crescent, Avondale, Auckland 0600

Tickets are $5 for children, $10 for adults. Free for children under 5 with a paying adult.

Ticket purchase link: https://shop.aiha.org.nz/nzwihl-game-tickets

NZWIHL Website: https://www.nzwihl.com/

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