It’s after Christmas, and I hope you found some new Dallas Stars merchandise under the tree. As a wife and mom, many of my friends are surprised to find out I am a hockey fan. It can sometimes be nice talking to another lady about the NHL, but they can be few and far between for me.  However, when I do meet another lady hockey fan, we instantly have something to talk about. These memories got me thinking about the exposure I had to women’s hockey growing up.

The first woman hockey player I remember was Cammi Granato, captain of the US women’s Olympic hockey team, 1998 gold medalist, and sister of NHL star Tony Granato. The other two were the fictional players Connie Moreau and Julie “The Cat” Gaffney, the two female players from the Mighty Ducks movies. Of the three women hockey players I could name in elementary school, only one was an actual person. That’s why I am excited to see the Dallas Stars open up their arena and host a Professional Women’s Hockey League game. 

Although the Stars went into the holiday with a loss against the Detroit Red Wings; they are looking for a post-Christmas comeback as they get ready to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday at home. After the game and hopefully a win, the Zamboni will not have much time to rest before it has to prepare the ice for another face-off on Sunday. No, you didn’t miss a Stars game on the schedule. This game will be the Seattle Torrent verses the New York Sirens, two teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. 

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is the new women’s hockey league. Its first season began in 2024 and is made up of eight teams representing cities across North America. The league and its fans are growing steadily and quickly! The Seattle Torrent recently broke the record for the largest attendance of any women’s hockey game in the United States. It’s one of the teams that will come to Dallas and play on the Stars’ home ice. 

This league is a new, up-and-coming addition to the hockey landscape for fans. There is a growing interest in hockey, including women’s hockey, in North America. Dallas plays a role in this ever-increasing story by hosting a PWHL game. I can understand why the PWHL would want to play in Dallas. Not only does Dallas have a top NHL team like the Stars, but it also has a great fan base. The Stars are a well-known NHL team, so if this PWHL tour is a way for them to scout potential new host cities, it makes sense to play a game in Dallas. 

This game is part of the PWHL’s Take Over Tour. The tour spans 11 featured cities in the United States and Canada, many of which already have NHL teams. Each stop includes a game featuring two PWHL teams, as well as autograph opportunities and open practices, helping the league further connect with current fans and create new ones.

The two teams that will face off in Dallas, the Torrent and the Sirens, will each hold an open practice and autograph session, and the two teams will conclude with a matchup on Sunday at 5:00 PM CT. It’s not the first time the Stars have collaborated with the PWHL. This Take Over Tour game comes less than a month after the Stars hosted a girls’ hockey clinic where ambassadors from the PWHL shared their expertise and love of the game. I am sure many of the clinic attendants will be there Sunday night to cheer on one or both of the featured teams.

If you can’t get to the arena or you are not in the Dallas area, you can watch all the action for this game and other PWHL teams on their YouTube channel or at their website. This tour will build momentum for the sport, expose more fans to hockey, and the tour’s stops may become cities for future teams as the league seeks to expand in the coming years. 

Although my elementary self could only name three women hockey players, two were characters in a movie, I am hoping this Stars and PWHL collaboration game will help more young hockey fans be able to name more than three women hockey players, reveal more lady hockey fans (I know they are out there), and create many more hockey fans here in Texas.