SNO-KING AMATEUR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION HOSTS OVER 30 GIRLS HOCKEY TEAMS THIS WEEKEND FOR SEASON KICKOFF

Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association has the honor of hosting the 2022-2023 season kickoff weekend for the Western Girls Hockey League. WGHL provides girls hockey teams throughout the Western US the opportunity to play against other girls teams of a similar age and skill level within a reasonable travel distance.

The league tournament will run from Thursday, September 22nd through Sunday, September 25th with games at all three Sno-King locations including Kirkland, Renton and Snoqualmie. Thirty-one (31) girls hockey teams are planned to participate with twenty-eight (28) visiting teams traveling from areas including Washington, California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association has three competitive girls teams participating, one in each 16U, 14U and 12U age divisions.

Age divisions are scheduled by rink locations: 19U AA teams playing at Sno-King Ice Arenas in Kirkland, 16U AA teams playing at Sno-King Ice Arenas in Renton, and 14U AA/12U AA teams playing at Sno-King Ice Arenas in Snoqualmie. To view the game schedule and results visit: https://gamesheet.app/seasons/1626/stats3/schedule

“We are very excited to be hosting an event such as this to help support and grow girls hockey.” says Hockey Director and 16U AA Girls Coach, Doug Kirton. Over the past ten seasons, girls hockey in the United States has seen a participation increase of 43%*. “Sno-King has seen a similar increase with over 135 female players this season having access to a full-service development program. In the 2022-2023 season, Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association has eight girls teams representing age levels 8U-16U.” stated Hockey Director, Doug Kirton. (*source: USA Hockey)

“We are honored to have the league tournament here and promote girls hockey,” stated Larry Mana’o Executive Director. “Also, we are thrilled to help support local businesses in our communities. This will be the largest tournament hosted by Sno-King and it’s exciting that it provides an opportunity for competitive girls hockey in partnership with the Western Girls Hockey League.” Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association has worked to assist all traveling teams in providing lodging and accommodations to ensure the experience is a positive one. “I think this truly shows the potential in partnering for ice sports related events,” added Mana’o, whose organization hopes to bring incremental value into the local economy for years to come. “The possibilities are endless.”

There is no spectator fee, so the community is encouraged to stop by any of the three Sno-King Ice Arenas to see the action as it happens this weekend. In addition, the Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds teams have planned several fundraisers to help offset travel costs and tournament fees. If you’d like to support the Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds girls teams, you can visit one of these local restaurants where 20% of sales will help support the teams:

• Mod Pizza, 34817 Snoqualmie Parkway, Suite 110, Snoqualmie, WA 98065 Date: Sunday, September 25th (all day)
• Panera, 921 North 10th Street, Renton, WA 98057 Date: Thursday, September 22nd (all day)

For media inquiries please contact Wendy Rogers, Director of Marketing & Development at wendy.rogers@snokinghockey.com or 425-395-6464

Additional info:

Western Girls Hockey League: The mission of the Western Girls Hockey League is to provide girls hockey teams throughout the Western US the opportunity to play against other girls teams at a similar age and skill level within a reasonable travel distance. The WGHL founder is Lyndsey Frye, Olympian Silver Medalist 2014, Harvard 2015.

The league is designed around ‘league weekends’ where teams travel several times throughout the hockey season to play each other in a round robin format, with a Championship weekend at the end of the season. Each weekend consists of five games. Championship weekends are played in a tournament format. The 2022-23 league weekend locations include: Opening weekend, Seattle (Host Sno-King Jr Thunderbirds), Phoenix AZ, Salt Lake City UT and Denver CO (Championship)