The Hagerstown Mayhem (our all-female adult team), hosted the ECWHL playoffs at their home ice rink, Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex. The tournament took place in early March. The Mayhem wishes to thank all the rink staff who helped make this possible; the ladies said they had an incredible weekend and it could not have been done without all the rink staff lending a hand.
This is the first year of the East Coast Women’s Hockey League’s existence (ECWHL). The Mayhem and these other teams left the Mid Atlantic Women’s Hockey League (MAWHL) after last season and formed a league that focused heavily on community - having fun, supporting one another, and celebrating hockey. The league is on the lookout for women’s D-Teams to come join them this fall! Have interested parties find them on Facebook at East Coast Women’s Hockey League or their website (
https://ecwhlhockey.wixsite.com/home) if they are interested in joining the league as a team, or even just as a solo player.
The first round of playoffs featured the Pittsburgh Puffins (1 seed) vs the Chesapeake Bay Lightning (4 seed). The Puffins pulled ahead and won. Next game in first round was Hagerstown Mayhem (3 seed) vs. Prince William Wildcats (2 seed). This game was very close, but ended with Prince William taking the W.
Second round consolation game was Hagerstown Mayhem vs CBL. Mayhem won, clinching third place for the season. Championship game was Puffins vs. PW. The game was tight until the 3rd period, but the Puffins took home the Summit Challenge Cup and were the champions of the ECWHL's Inaugural season.
Sunday evening after the championship game, players held a mixup game which mixed players from all four teams into two teams that scrimmaged. It was a great way to get some extra hockey in and also to allow players to share the ice on the same team with players they usually play against. Positive feedback was given about this mixup game; the Mayhem hope to host another tourament this fall.
During playoffs, the team not only rounded out its season with games, but with a huge league-wide gathering at Benny’s Pub. Players shared food and hockey stories; it was truly incredible to see each team come together and support one another both on and off the ice. Players made new friends from other teams during playoffs weekend, which is what the ECWHL is all about.
Over the summer, the Mayhem hope to host some scrimmages between ECWHL teams at the Hagerstown rink. Also, many of the players will be joining together to play on various tournament teams during the summer, including the Hockey Fights MS Tournaments in Pittsburgh, PA and Bethlehem, PA.
Congrats on a successful season, Mayhem! Best of luck next year!