Last November, GS freshman and longtime ice hockey player, Lena Whitwell, missed her favorite sport and sought out to bring the game of women’s ice hockey to Georgia Southern. In the same month, Whitwell began writing bylaws for a women’s ice hockey club team that didn’t exist yet. Fast forward to January, Whitwell is the founder and president of the Ice Eagles, a women’s ice hockey club team that now exists and grows every day.

Whitwell was inspired to bring a women’s team to GS after hearing UGA and Auburn female hockey players tell their story of starting a club team on a podcast episode.

“It’s always been a men’s sport,” Whitwell said. “So I feel like starting a women’s team here, we can just grow the interest in the sport.”

The interest in women’s ice hockey is already growing. The Professional Women’s Hockey League kicked off their first season in January 2024. The newest women’s league consists of North America’s best female hockey players and has become known as “a first-of-its-kind women’s hockey league,”.

Currently the team consists of 12 GS women who drive weekly to the Savannah Civic Center ice rink for hockey practice. The team practices with Savannah local hockey coaches, Lilah Dima, Ally Barlow and Mark Gugliuzza, in preparation for the College Hockey South 2024-25 season.

The Ice Eagles are still recruiting any GS women interested in the sport. No experience is necessary and you can fill out an interest form to get started.

“We have plenty of girls with no experience and want to give everyone an equal chance to learn hockey,” Whitwell said. “Not only do you build teamwork, you also learn how to play the sport and compete at a high level.”

Instagram: @iceeaglesgs