BOISE, Idaho — The BSU Women's Hockey Club is set to begin their first season as a team, excited to show off all the skills they have learned over the last year.
- The BSU Women's Hockey Club has been practicing and training since last September.
- This will be the first official set of games for the club since before Covid.
- The club will be playing in the Boise Parks and Rec adult women's hockey league.
- The first game is Thursday, September 19th at 9:30 pm.
- The team now has a full roster but is encouraging others who are interested to come and practice with the team.
- You can see what the club is up to on Instagram here.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
The Boise State Women's Club Hockey team is making history. I'm your neighborhood reporter Alexander Huddleston, and over the last year, I've shown you their progress. Starting with only five players, to now a full roster! I met up with the new club president to talk about her journey on this team ahead of their first game of the season.
"It is just so exciting. The people who have stayed, you have seen so much improvement from them," said Club President, Franchesca Garcia-Poulsen.
The BSU Women's Hockey Club has come a long way from their first practice last September when around 25 girls showed up. Many of them with no experience playing hockey, or even ice skating. One of them, Franchesca Garcia-Poulsen is now club president.
Garcia-Poulsen continued, "I had to start from scratch. Learn all my edges, all that, because I had no clue how to skate properly. The more that I've played this sport, the more I've fallen in love with it."
Being so new to a difficult sport comes with learning curves. But, Franchesca says it was the overwhelming support from her teammates that brought her back for another year.
"When you're on the ice, when you master your crossovers, or finally learn how to skate backward, its such a rewarding feeling. Then you have a team that supports you. They have each other's backs and I really appreciate that. When we are learning something I can go up to my teammates and ask how they do something, and they will explain it to you. They are willing to help," explained Franchesca.
The team is doubling down this year, trying to make the club known. They have a volunteer coaching staff and will play in the Boise Parks and Rec Adult Women's Hockey League for now; hoping to eventually face off against other schools in the future.
The club president finished by saying, "So, that's the big thing moving forward, is that like next year or a year or two later we will be playing against other universities. Right now, our roster is full, but we are still open to girls coming and practicing with us. We just want to grow women’s hockey in general. Like, make Boise State a college where girls come to play hockey for a university.
You can join me and others in the bleachers on Thursday night at 9:30 here at Idaho Ice World to cheer on the team.
