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On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, in conjunction with the NHL and NHLPA, announced the formation of the Pittsburgh Pennies Girls Hockey Program, which aims to provide more access and inclusivity to the game of hockey and promote equity within the sport.
The namesake is in honor of the Pittsburgh Pennies Women’s Hockey team that formed in 1972, which was the first women’s hockey team in the city of Pittsburgh. The team has since disbanded, but because of the efforts of the Penguins Foundation and youth programs such as Sidney Crosby’s Little Penguins, girls and women’s hockey has spiked in Western Pennsylvania.
According to Ladd Wagner of USA Hockey, girls’ hockey has increased threefold in the Pittsburgh region since the inception of the Little Penguins program. Girls hockey and girls going on to play at higher levels of women’s hockey is also growing at a similar rate in Western Pennsylvania to that of traditional hockey hotbeds like New York, Minnesota, and Boston.
The Pittsburgh Pennies Program itself will feature a $300,000 investment from the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund and the Pens’ Foundation for the next two seasons. The hope is to grow the sport to segments of the girls youth population that has not previously had the access to be able to participate and keep promoting diversity within the sport of hockey.
The Pennies had their kickoff event on Monday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
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