Global Girls’ Game Puts Idaho Community’s ‘Grassroots’ Hockey Efforts on the Map
Participating in the IIHF Global Girls’ Game goes beyond lacing up the skates for a hockey game in Idaho.
The camaraderie and excitement of the hockey players, once the puck drops, is very rewarding to see for people like Stacey Moore, the youth hockey director for the Teton Valley Foundation Cutthroats.
“Obviously for these girls, it’s an opportunity for them to do something special and get together and bond,” Moore said. “It’s pretty cool.”
The 14U Teton/Nevada combined team was on full display on Saturday, as they played against the Utah Lady Grizzlies at the Teton Valley Girls Jamboree in the featured matchup for the Global Girls’ Game. The visiting Grizzlies earned a 4-0 win at the Kotler Ice Arena in Victor, Idaho.
The game was part of the 2025 IIHF Global Girls’ Game and USA Hockey National Continuous Game, an annual event that was held this past weekend. The Global Girls’ Game is a worldwide initiative when international hockey federations host hockey games in succession across the globethroughout the weekend.
USA Hockey also celebrated with its own continuous game during the weekend (Feb. 14-15). Games were played across the country in succession from Colorado to Minnesota, Virginia to Michigan, California to Vermont, and many, many more places. There were more than 30 games scheduled from Friday evening through Sunday evening.
Moore said one of the Nevada coaches told her, “’Thank you so much. The girls are so excited. They’re making t-shirts.’”
Bringing so many female hockey players together from different areas for this experience is “pretty neat,” Moore said.
This was the third time a game from the Teton Valley Girls Jamboree has been a part of the Global Girls’ Game.
At the end of their game, the girls in the 14U game skated over to the volunteers broadcasting a live stream of the game and provided a shoutout to the next game on the schedule — which was another 14U showdown, this one coming in Rockville, Maryland.
“Our girls get excited to go say a shoutout to the next team and just knowing that they’re part of something bigger than what’s just going on at our Valley,” Moore said. “It’s obviously girls playing hockey all over. So that’s exciting for them.”
The 14U game is part of the jamboree in Idaho with 10U, 12U and 14U games. The Teton Valley Girls Jamboree started three years ago and is held annually on President’s Day weekend. It’s a good fit timing-wise because many girls aren’t traveling this weekend with their co-ed teams, plus the ice at Kotler Ice Arena was also available for the jamboree.
The Teton Valley Foundation has a rink that’s not fully enclosed but rather half-open. They also don’t have a full girls’ hockey program. Ten of the Cutthroat girls participating in the Global Girls’ Game are a split team with Nevada, for example.
They don’t even have a pure girls’ team, and they all play co-ed hockey, Moore said. But they’re also trying to grow the game for young girls.
“We are very grassroots, homegrown,” Moore said. “Labor of love building this whole rink and program of the Cutthroats Youth Hockey.
Moore recalled the sign-off from the Global Girls’ Game the previous year, which she called “adorable” as they sent it to the next game on the global schedule.
“That’s exciting because the girls feel like they’re part of something, again, bigger than them,” Moore said. “Bigger than just what’s going on in little Victor, Idaho. It’s pretty neat.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc
Source: usahockey.com