To the Editor:

This Saturday at 2 pm at Cheel Arena, the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey Team will be playing for a spot in the prestigious Frozen Four as they continue their quest towards a fourth national championship.

I know I’ve written similar letters in the past, but I continue to be amazed at how few people take advantage of the opportunity to watch these world-class athletes who are developing their game right in our own backyard.

One could argue that college athletes are the stars of tomorrow, but in many instances, these ladies aren’t the stars of tomorrow. They’re the stars of today!

Goalie Michelle Pasiechnyk is one of the best in the country. Defender Haley Winn is already a World Champion after winning a gold medal with Team USA last year and fellow defender Nicole Gosling will be representing Canada at the World Championships next month. Winn will likely be there for the second time.

Several other players on the current team including Dominique Petrie, Sara Swiderski and Anne Cherkowski have also recently worn Team USA or Team Canada jerseys with many more doing so at the U-18 level.

This year the team played to a record of 32-4-2 heading into NCAA Tournament play earning a #4 seed and the right to host an NCAA Tournament game on their home ice. Sadly though the team has only had a home audience of 1,000 or more people two times this season.

Women’s sports across the country are on the rise. Nebraska Volleyball had more than 90,000 people in attendance at an outdoor game, while Caitlin Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes played before 50,000 people at an outdoor game. The PWHL is setting attendance records left and right, what a great time to be a young female athlete!

The ladies on this team aren’t only fantastic hockey players, but they are great people too, who give our children, both boys and girls, someone to look up to and aspire to be.

Tickets for the game are only $10 for adults and $5 for children making this affordable fun for the whole family. Cheel Arena has roughly 3,000 seats. Let’s fill them all. Let’s Go Tech!

#PacktheHouse 

Benny Fairchild
Waddington