New York has another championship to brag about. The
Metropolitan Riveters are the National Women’s Hockey League champions. They
played for the NWHL’s Isobel Cup this past Sunday.
It was a packed Barnabas Health Hockey House for the final game between the Riveters and thedefending champions Buffalo Beauts. The game sold out and was probably
oversold, but it happens. We got there about half an hour before the game and
by the time we got to the stands there was not a seat to be had. There was a
strong contingent of dedicated Buffalo fans there taking up a large area of
seating near the visiting bench
The place we usually go to find seats was completely filled.
There was additional seating added on the top walkway of the stands but those
were all reserved. But we were directed to the other side of the rink where
there were chairs and open space against the Plexiglas. This actually worked
out better. Parents pulled chairs up closer to the rink so their kids could
stand on the chairs and get a good view. There was also more room for kids to
move around and we didn’t have to struggle to keep them sitting or to stop them
from kicking people in the back as is an issue with the general admission bench
seating. Also, we were closer to where the Riveters emerge from the locker room,
allowing our girls to give fist bumps to the team as they made their way to the
ice for each period.
The camaraderie among fans that pervaded the season was
still in full effect at the final game. We stood with other die-hard Riveters
fans and it was great to be closer to the action.
Taking young children to sporting events is a hectic
undertaking. One has to keep an eye on the kids at all times, which is not easy
when you’re watching a fast-paced championship game.
The game’s one goal was scored in the first period by Alexa Gruschow, who made
an amazing diving play that showed why she was named the NWHL’s Most Valuable
Player of the season. At one point in the first period, Riveter Madison Packer
was down on the ice after being checked from behind by one of the Beauts. This
earned Buffalo a 10-minute misconduct penalty on top of a two-minute penalty
for hitting from behind. It was no matter though, Packer was back in the game
in the second period. Later in the game I saw Harrison Browne take another
cheap shot from behind from Buffalo.
We discovered a doll with wings that was close to the media
backdrop for the Riveters. With it was a note, claiming the
doll was Izzy, who had come from Buffalo to stay with her favorite team but
needed the Riveters to retriever her cup. A witty good luck gesture, and it
took several readings aloud of the note and the explanation to keep my girls
from playing with the doll or going in search of its owner. I tasked them
instead with making sure the doll was not disturbed. Someone did move the doll to a more prominent location, but
the note, and the good mojo, stayed with the Riveters Nation.
As the final seconds ticked down in the third period, the
excitement was palpable and when the final buzzer rang the team piled on
starting goalie Katy Fitzgerald. This is the team’s first Isobel Cup
championship.
While they currently play in Newark and have forged a
partnership with the New Jersey Devils, who now have an ownership stake in the
team, the Riveters are a product of New York City. They played their inaugural
season in Brooklyn at the Aviator Sports and
Events Center at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. They began as the New York
Riveters and I still have a hat bearing that name.
The Rivetershave made great progress as a team
and brought new fans to women’s hockey and the NWHL. We can say we were there
to see them win their first championship.
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