A few years ago, Nassau County high school hockey had only a single-digit number of girls playing in its league, which ranges from middle school to high school.

Now in 2025, there are 55 girls playing in the New York Islanders High School Hockey League in Nassau County. And with winter break here, the league added to its history.

The league hosted the first “Girl-Star” hockey game, featuring all the girls who play on boys’ school teams in the Islanders High School Hockey League coming together for one game.

Returning to coach in the game was Danielle Reid (Plainview JFK ’21), who played all four years of high school hockey in the league and plays professionally in Spain.

“It evolved so much. There were just a handful of us girls when I played,” Reid said. “So now to have 55 girls here tonight and see it grow is amazing. When I played, I was the only girl on the team, so now it’s great to see these girls be able to play with each other.”

The game was Blue vs Orange and was split into five periods. Middle schoolers faced off against each other for one period, and high schoolers played the next period in a 3-on-3 format.

The game delivered an exciting 9-9 tie at the inaugural “Girl-Star” game at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Rink in Bethpage on Tuesday.

The contest featured female on-ice officials, an all-female coaching staff and a female scoring official. Each player received her own introduction as music played, the crowd cheered and teammates tapped their sticks in support.

“It’s amazing to get together with all the girls that play hockey,” Wantagh/Seaford/Plainedge goalie Debbie Curry said. “The atmosphere was fun. We had music, we were dancing on the bench, and it was an honor that they did something like this.”

The national anthem was sung by Cold Spring Harbor sophomore Aleksandra Strzelichowski. After her performance, she wasted no time scoring on her first opportunity and fully embraced the Girl-Star experience.

“I was super nervous about the national anthem,” Strzelichowski said. “But once I got here with this environment, I was fine. Once I scored, it felt like a relief. The atmosphere is so positive, everyone is so sweet, and it became a family.”

With middle schoolers and high schoolers rotating on the ice, the sense of community among the girls took over.

“It’s such a great thing for women’s hockey,” Friends Academy/North Shore senior Zoe Varkaris said. “It’s taken a while to get this far. Seeing these younger girls is amazing — there was a lot of talent on the bench, and I would tell them to keep sticking with it because that’s the best thing you can do.”

There were eight MVPs of the game — four for Team Blue and four for Team Orange.

Team Blue’s MVPs were Norah McCallum, Callie Rizzo, Julia Falicki and Debbie Curry. Team Orange’s MVPs were Natayla Chang, Willow Umlauf, Mikaela Cowf and Sophie Marino.

And the possibilities for these players go well beyond this game.

“It’s come a long way,” 20-year hockey coach Linda Caruso said. “It’s been great, and I think these girls really feel something. Seeing Danielle’s credentials or mine makes them think, ‘What can the future bring for me?’ With all these colleges offering women’s hockey now, it’s unbelievable.”

The growth of girls ice hockey is on the rise, and a day to celebrate it, made for quite an event.