All Ladies Weekend

PALMER — Women from around Alaska dominated the puck this past weekend in the Ladies C-Cup Ice Hockey Classic.

Hosted at the Palmer Ice Arena, 10 teams from all over Alaska met on the ice to have fun, play hockey and enjoy each other’s company.

“This is an awesome tournament. We all had so much fun and the hockey is great,” said RE/MAX team member Kathryn Ireland. Although Ireland’s team was eliminated from the finals, she still said the weekend was an overall success.

“It was good. We won two games, lost one and tied one,” she said. “And we finished in third. It was awesome. We gave the MVP of the game an embroidered sports bra.”

Ireland has been playing with team RE/MAX for five years, but has played hockey her whole life. “I started playing when I was little and just carried it through from college right on through to adulthood. It is the best sport because everyone gets to play. Plus, it is just fun to get out here and play with your friends.”

Friendship seems to be a common bond between the women playing hockey.

“I just it love because of the sisterhood, camaraderie and exercise,” said 20-year veteran Diane Firmani. “And we just have such a variety of women on the team. This year we have a schoolteacher, a school nurse, a vet, a woman who works for a non-profit organization, a prison guard and some stay-at-home moms. It is a nice mix.”

Although the ladies come to play hockey, Ireland says the organizers always throw in little surprises that make the tournament fun. This year, one the surprises was a bra-decorating contest. The MVPs of each game were then awarded a decorated bra for their hard work.

“But we also had goody bags and cookies for all the ladies. It was just a lot of fun, we just go out there and have such a good time,” Firmani said.

The ladies have a good time and play hard, but they also remember they have to go to work the next day.

“Yeah, we love to play and mix it up, but we also keep in mind that we have to operate the next day,” said Ireland, adding that “for the most part, they are friendly matches.”

Nevertheless, Ireland believes the competition still remains at a high level and all the women are playing to win.

This year the Mat-Su Regional team was announced as the C-Cup winners on Sunday after its championship game with Borealis.

“It was a hard game, but we were victorious in a 2-1 battle,” Firmani said. “Yep, we won the whole things. We have not won in four years and we were totally jazzed.”

The ladies will continue league play until an April tournament in Anchorage called Fools on Ice.

Contact Lanier Hutcheson at lanier.hutcheson@frontiersman.com or 352-2265.