From sidelines to centre ice, a new women’s hockey league faces off in Fredericton

Christa Mullaly has always been a hockey mom. Both of her kids grew up playing, and she was right in the stands cheering them on.

It was such fun to watch that around six years ago she decided it was her time to lace up the skates. So, she and other moms took to outdoor rinks to skate around and build their skills.

But there wasn’t an opportunity to play real games without high-level competition.

Now, she has spearheaded an actual recreational league for women over 30 in Fredericton, the first of its kind for the city.

“Play is so foundational to who we are as humans and it is so good for us,” Mullaly said. “I hope that it inspires women to get out and play.”

Christa Mullaly has been planning and organizing the RWHL for around three years, collaborating with the city to secure ice time. (Abby Russchen/CBC)

The Fredericton Senior Recreational Women’s Hockey League, or the RWHL, dropped its inaugural puck on Oct. 18 at the Grant-Harvey Centre. Players will continue to face off in two games every Sunday evening until the end of the season next spring.

It’s targeted for women who started playing as adults, returning to the game after hiatus, or who already play in other women’s leagues and want more ice time in less competitive games. 

“I don’t think it’s ever too late for women to get back to the sports they loved when they were younger,” Mullaly said.

New women’s hockey league in Fredericton fills gap for adult women

Angela Wickett, president of the Central Female Hockey Association, an association that represents and supports all female hockey from ages seven to 18, said she hasn’t hit the ice since 1999. But after learning about the new league, she knew it was time to get back out there. 

“Hockey was always my first love,” Wickett said. “I think it’s just living proof that women in general just can really do it all.”

Angela Wickett said she was inspired by watching her daughter play hockey and make friends with her team, so she decided to do the same. (Abby Russchen/CBC)

The league is made up of four teams, named after PWHL teams to “pay homage” to professional women players, Mullaly said.

In the early stages, it was Mullaly’s goal to have enough interest for four full teams, or 44 skaters, but she was surprised to see just how many women wanted to be a part of the league when they blew past their registration targets.

“I think that speaks to the fact that there was a gap that I didn’t even realize was as big as it is,” Mullaly said. “There are women here who I think didn’t know themselves that they needed a space to just play.”

Each of the four teams have major sponsors which they are named after: the Champions Frost, Prana Sceptres, Lacey Porter Victoire, and Leon’s Fleet. They supplied funding for team uniforms, ice time, and other operational costs. (Abby Russchen/CBC)

There are two other women’s leagues present in Fredericton, the Women’s Independent Hockey League and the Fredericton Valkyries. 

But there is a dichotomy between these two leagues that the RWHL alleviates. 

The WIHL has players of all skill levels, including young women recently aged out of minor hockey and skaters fresh off their university team bench. Teams also span beyond Fredericton in communities like Keswick and Minto.

Whereas the Fredericton Valkyries is a development league for women brand new to the game that focuses on skills and drills with scrimmages among each other, which Mullaly also started.

Until now, there has not been a middle-ground league for women who want higher-level of play than the beginner Valkyries, or who want a less competitive game from the WIHL.

Lisa Robinson, a goalie in the RWHL who has played as a substitute in the WIHL before, but she said the commutes and varying game nights were too great a barrier to fully commit. 

But the regularity of the RWHL’s schedule and home ice was something she could commit to.

Lisa Robinson didn’t play for almost 20 years before joining a summer pick-up league, and now she’s goaltends for the Champions Frost. (Abby Russchen/CBC)

“It is a chance to get out. It’s a chance to play. It’s a chance to connect,” Robinson said. “It gives me a chance to do something that’s really exciting.”

More than a space to play, Mullaly said the league gives women an opportunity to make friends and socialize.

“We have lives, we have jobs, we have kids, we have so much other stuff that takes up all of our space and all of our air,” she said. 

“And it’s so nice that we have this one cool thing on Sunday nights that’s just for us, just about us, where we get to connect with each other and support each other.”

The RWHL’s motto is “good fun, good hockey, great company,” and Mullaly says they’ve lived up to that in their two-game nights so far. (Abby Russchen/CBC)

Marie-Line Forbes hasn’t played since high school and thought it would stay that way, until she saw a flyer for the RWHL while grocery shopping. 

“It’s really, really exciting to feel like playing again, to feel like a child, to just play for fun, no pressure,” said Forbes. “I think that’s really a fun part of playing hockey again, to feel like we can be like kids.”

The RWHL’s first season has so far exceeded Mullaly’s expectations, and she hopes it will continue to give women a space to get out and play for years to come.

“When women support each other, when women play, when women spend time together, when women do sport together, that is so good for us,” Mullaly said.