A first of its kind has started in small town Saskatchewan and it’s proving to be a big hit amongst spectators. The Saskatchewan Senior Women’s Hockey League (SSWHL) kicked off this fall with teams in Grenfell, Vibank, Midale, Gull Lake, Rouleau, Dalmany, and more.
“There’s definitely a gap after university going to the PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey league). Once you’re done university, there really isn’t anywhere else to play hockey and when you move back home to Saskatchewan the boys seems to have 20 leagues, but we really wanted to have a league, too, so that’s where the motivation came to start it,” explained league founder Megan LeBlanc.
While many communities have lost senior hockey teams over the years, the SSWHL has found a way to bring the sport back and create excitement amongst fans once again.
“In Vibank, I was just on the phone, and the whole community is so excited; it’s all the buzz. I think that’s the cool thing about what we did. We went to communities where they don’t have senior hockey anymore, they don’t have a team out there, and now we’re putting one there. We’re going out there and lots of teams are doing hockey camps within the community, so there’s a big buzz,” noted league co-founder Jenna Merk.
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