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Heather Gardner introduces us to a new women's ice hockey club based at Alexandra Palace.

Haringey Greyhounds were formed in the spring of 2024 by Lee Mercer, general manage of Haringey Huskies, and Kirsty Bard, founder of Cambridge Kodiaks women’s ice hockey club, in partnership with Alexandra Palace, the iconic Victorian venue in north London whose ice rink is our home.

The club will be managed by team manager Olga Glazer, Greyhounds captain Hannah Dolan-Davies and founders Lee Mercer and Kirsty Bard.

The Greyhounds' story starts in January, when Kirsty Bard took up the post of general manager of Alexandra Palace ice rink. She'd previously been at the Cambridge Ice Arena, where she had set up the city's first ever women’s ice hockey club, the Cambridge Kodiaks. After the Kodiaks impressively made it to playoffs in their first season, she saw a diversity gap at Ally Pally and then made connections with Lee and the Huskies to build the ice hockey community for north London, and is aiming to recreate the success of her previous club and get the Greyhounds to the top of the league.

Lee Mercer had also wanted to start a female version of the Huskies and was thrilled to meet someone with the same vision and passion for the sport. Lee has done such a successful job running the Haringey Huskies and because of his experience and commitment the Huskies' games now sell out to a crowd of 1200 people and is aiming to get the biggest crowd in for the Greyhounds games and raise the bar for spectators at women’s sports games. 

Without hesitation Kirsty and Lee got to work and recruited Hannah and Olga to build the foundations of the club. With the backing of Alexandra Palace and the Huskies, the team already have a loving and loyal fan base.  

The Greyhounds join the Women’s National Ice Hockey League (WNIHL) South 2, after hosting their open trials during the summer at the Palace's rink, open to women of all abilities, with the rink split between two skill levels. While also offering a chance for the Haringey Hounds girls a transition team to carry on playing post junior leagues.

The formation of the Greyhounds is yet another sign of how ice hockey in Haringey is an all-inclusive sport, and bodes well for the future of the sport within the local area and beyond.

From Ally Pally: We're delighted to announce the formation of a women’s ice hockey team: Haringey Greyhounds

The club are now accepting new development players to training sessions - you can contact them via Instagram or Facebook to enquire about coming along.

Come cheer on your new local team and experience a night of thrilling women's ice hockey! Early booking advised (ice hockey games sell fast here 😉)