Thanks to Lehner Law Office, FoodSmith, and West St. Paul Chiropractic for their support.
Women’s hockey is having a moment, with the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team just shutting out Canada for the first time in history. That moment has been a long time coming, as evidenced by the 125 Years of Women’s Hockey display at the Dakota County Historical Society.
Catch it now: The display runs through February at the Lawshe Memorial Museum in South St. Paul.
What is it: The display covers women’s hockey in Minnesota, exploring the roots and early growth, through youth sports and high school teams, up to the Olympics and the PWHL with the Minnesota Frost and their back-to-back championships. It features multiple display panels with a narrative of the history, as well as tons of artifacts including jackets, trophies, pucks, and more.
West St. Paul Connections
While the display focuses on the broader growth of women’s hockey, there are a few nods to West St. Paul.
- It starts in the 1970s with girls’ youth teams in Farmington that grew across the metro. By 1973, West St. Paul had a girls’ team. Jane Osieki is pictured in a West St. Paul intracity jersey in the late 1970s.
- Ringette was a gentler version of hockey that appealed to parents as less dangerous and surged in the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1979, more than 100 girls signed up to play in West St. Paul’s ringette league.
- The West St. Paul Ice Arena hosted the first-ever varsity high school girls’ ringette game on December 3, 1991. Two hundred fans came out for the match up between Cottage Grove and Henry Sibley High School.
- 1995 saw the first girls’ varsity hockey state tournament, which featured Henry Sibley High School, South St. Paul, Apple Valley, and Stillwater. Henry Sibley lost to South St. Paul 4-0 in the first round, and Apple Valley won the championship. But the Henry Sibley squad went on to win their consolation game against Stillwater 4-2 with a hat trick from Carrie Stefaniak.
More: St. Paul Voice and Town Square Television have more on the hockey display.
Local news relies on the support of our members. Join now to keep your community informed.
