Otterly Unstoppable
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – The SoCal Sea Otters were swimming in a sea of hugs and smiles on Sunday morning at the 2025 USA Hockey-Long Drink Adult Women’s National Championships.
The Sea Otters 21+ Tier 3 team defeated the Carolina Lady Hurricanes, 3-1, to win their second consecutive national title inside AdventHealth Center Ice.
“It's everything we were hoping for, and it was fun to do so in a close game like this,” said Victoria Benson, who scored twice in the victory. “It's really just great to be here with a lot of the same girls as last year.”
Courtney King, the Sea Otters team manager and co-founder, looked on proudly at her teammates celebrating on the ice before running off to play with the Sea Otters 40+ team.
These were the kind of moments that she and her partner, Jodie Kupsco, envisioned when they founded the SoCal Sea Otters in the fall of 2023.
“We were kind of looking around Southern California and realized there were all these great women who were really competitive and not playing hockey,” King recalled. “Our simple mission statement is we want to create opportunities for great women to play great hockey.
“That is what we set out to do.”
The Sea Otters fielded two teams in Florida this week with women from various backgrounds and skillsets.
As an example, Benson had been playing on her family’s pond in upstate New York since she was 7 years old, while Kupsco did not pick up the sport until she was in her 30s.
Kupsco and the 40+ team fell just short 1-0 in their title game against the Hinotes as Tonya Allen scored the lone goal for the Hinotes, but that didn’t take away from Kupsco’s overall experience.
“Hockey in LA, there’s a lot of rinks that want to get women’s hockey going,” Kupsco said. “They say they will have a women’s division, but the gap in skill can be huge. Some of these girls (in California) have been playing since they were younger and I didn’t start until my 30s. So I can’t skate with them, but (some rinks) have us skating together because there is only one division. We wanted to create more opportunities for the more skilled and competitive players to skate at that level and opportunities for all players.
“That is what is great about this tournament.”
The Sea Otters jersey and team name also pays homage to Southern California. King is from San Pedro, California, and the colors match with the Marine Mammal Care Center.
“Marine life is so important to Los Angeles, and Sea Otters are cute, but super, super durable and very resourceful, especially the moms,” King explained.
Off the ice, the Sea Otters made lasting memories as well during their off time in Tampa as the players rented a large Airbnb during the four-day tournament.
“We had a beach day, a little pool day and just a bunch of hanging out watching hockey,” Benson said. “It's just a great weekend with great hockey, great weather. You get to go to the beach and just the community is great. It's so fun meeting other players.”
King and Kupsco are already weighing ideas for next year’s USA Hockey-Long Drink National Championships, while also continuing to find ways to continue to grow women’s hockey throughout Southern California.
“We are very forward focused on what we do next,” King concluded. “It is a lot of work and planning, but we really want to bring a 50+ team in the future.”
Additional Champions Crowned Sunday In Florida
Samantha Ubl posted a shutout as the LA Lions defeated Petrium Little Caesars 3-0 to win the 21+ Tier 2 National Championship…Gina Iacopucci had two goals and an assist in USA Coast to Coast’s 4-0 victory over the Polar Bears in the 50+ Tier 2 National Championship…Sherry Babcock had two goals and an assist to help Coast To Coast win the 60+ National Championship against the Minnesota Lady Slippers 3-0…Tonya Allen had the game-winning goal in Hinotes 1-0 win over the SoCal Sea Otters…Stacey Hochkins had two goals as Foundry 13 Little Caesars held off the Carolina Lady Hurricanes 3-2 for the 21+ Tier 1 National Championship…Kelleigh Traynor-Hartnett had a hat trick and Angela James netted two goals to power CanAm past the Texas Stampede in the 50+ Tier 1 National Championship 7-1…Beer N Sunshine defeated the South Florida Lucky Pucks 2-1 in the 30+ National Championship.
Source: usahockey.com