'Panther Day'; St. Thomas celebrates growing girls hockey association

It’s a celebration of girls hockey.

The St. Thomas Panthers organization held ‘Panther Day’ focusing on recognizing IIAF World Girls Hockey weekend.

“We are just bringing all of our teams and our entire association together and they're all playing a game against an opponent while they're here,” said Quinn Sciberras, Panthers vice-president.

“I think we have 15 teams, all in the same place, all in the same day”

In Canada, new data is not available to showcase how many girls hockey players there are now, but it’s booming especially with the creation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

“We are just so excited to be celebrating and supporting just young females in our community through camaraderie, good sportsmanship and coming together to go above and beyond like they do for their teams, in their community,” said Emily Robertson, Panthers coordinator of special events.

‘Panther Day’ celebrates girls hockey in St. Thomas, Ont., October 5, 2024 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

On Saturday morning, they had a group called the “Fundies” who were taking in their first day of hockey. They had jerseys and tickets, and were excited for their first day of hockey on the ice.

The day began with them, and wrapped up with the 18U group playing at 4 p.m.

“I love watching how much we’ve grown as a community, and how we all get together as a team,” said Payton Eldred, a member of the 18U team.

“Our organization has grown so much, so it just shows how much our the girls are really into it,” said Lizzy Ayres, Eldred’s teammate.

“The dressing room is great, and it feels like a whole another family.”

The Panthers estimate 400 girls will come through the doors of the Joe Thornton Community Centre Saturday.