Playing for the U.S. women’s national hockey team requires discipline, skill, and the zeal to be a crusader for a sport that most fans notice only during the Winter Olympics, if they pay attention at all. The speed, sureness and ever-rising level of play make women’s hockey thoroughly entertaining, but those advances haven’t been enough to attract the financial investments and audiences needed to launch a viable professional league. More than 12,000 tickets had been sold by Friday morning, promising a record for a U.S. women’s national hockey team contest in the United States. At the women’s insistence, USA Hockey agreed to promote the sport’s growth among women and girls and create more opportunities for the national team to compete. Most elite players chose not to play in the National Women’s Hockey League this season because they’re hoping a larger and more financially stable league will be created.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 08, 2020 04:30 UTC