IRVINE, Calif. - The Rinks and Great Park Ice announced today the Anaheim Lady Ducks, the largest girls hockey program in the Western United States, will host a kickoff weekend in celebration of the club’s 25th anniversary season. Since the program’s inception in 1999, the Lady Ducks have flourished from 25 girls playing on two teams to nearly 200 athletes participating on numerous teams in various divisions. Festivities begin this Friday, Aug. 23 with the Irvine Ice Foundation’s inaugural casino night, A Night at the Tables, at Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena. The following day, the Lady Ducks will host their kickoff event at The Rinks - Anaheim ICE which includes on ice workouts, food trucks, games, Big and Little Buddy reveal, merchandise and a special visit from Wild Wing.
A Night at the Tables will take place this Friday, Aug. 23 at Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena in the lobby outside of Rink 4 from 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets for A Night at the Tables are $50 per person and include $200 in gaming money, a buffet dinner and a drink token. Additional gaming chips, beer, wine and spirits available for purchase at the event. All proceeds raised will benefit the Irvine Ice Foundation, which supports the advancement of Lady Ducks and Jr. Ducks youth hockey players in Southern California through scholarships fund with the goal of making hockey more affordable to everyone.
Tickets for A Night at the Tables are available for purchase now at AnaheimLadyDucks.com. Great Park Ice and FivePoint Arena is located at 888 Ridge Valley Irvine, CA 92618.
On Saturday, Aug. 24, the Lady Ducks will host their kickoff event at The Rinks - Anaheim ICE from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The kickoff event includes a media day, on ice workouts, food trucks, games, Big and Little Buddy reveal, Lady Ducks merchandise and a special visit from Wild Wing. This event is closed to the public.
The Lady Ducks are the leading girls hockey program in the Western United States, with over 250 athletes continuing their hockey careers at the NCAA Division I and III level as well as ACHA College Hockey. The Lady Ducks program has a wide range of teams from beginner to elite, age 5 to 19 years old, and is designed to guide players to grow as individuals, meet expectations and learn to face adversity. The club ranks top five in the nation with the number of girls in the program and are a consistent competitor at the USA Hockey National Championships for both Tier I and Tier II.
USA Hockey recognized The Rinks, the Jr. Ducks and the Lady Ducks as Model Club Associations dedicated to age-appropriate, age-specific skill development, in accordance with USA Hockey's American Development Model. This marked the first time USA Hockey has honored three programs within an organization, while the program became only the 21st in the nation to be honored as a Model Club.
Notable Lady Ducks alumni include two-time Olympian and NCAA National Champion, Cayla Barnes. Barnes was selected by Montreal in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2024 Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Draft.
In celebration of the club’s 25th anniversary season, the Lady Ducks are proud to highlight 25 alumni listed below.
* Denotes the athlete played their entire youth hockey career with the Lady Ducks
** Denotes the alumni who currently work for the program
Cayla Barnes: Boston College & Ohio State Alumni. 2x Olympian, 2x World Champion, National Champion with Ohio State, selected by Montreal in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2024 PWHL Draft
*Katie Beaumier: Clarkson University Alumni, Carbon Capture and Underground Storage Operational Readiness Coordinator for ExxonMobil
*Elizabeth Chapman: Lake Forest College Alumni, Assignment Editor for KTLA5
*Sue Clineff: Vice President of Sales and Marketing for H2I Group
Tatum Coats: St Cloud University, Wildland Firefighter
*Camile Corbin: Union College Alumni, Founder & Owner of REVEL, Team USA Roller Hockey Member
*Lindsay Czarnecki: Concordia College Alumni, Director; Assignment Desk Fox Sports
Kendra Farole:Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alumni, Account Executive Beacon Hill Technologies
*Marissa Gebauer: Lake Forest College Alumni, Audit Associate at Grant Thornton
*Cortney Hanlon: Amherst College Alumni, Doctor of Medicine
*Jessica Hawkins: University of Minnesota Duluth, Former LD Coach, Medical Office Assistant Lead for Examworks
**Celeste Loyatho: Team USA Roller Hockey Player & Coach, Lady Ducks Tier I Assistant Coach, Fan Development Marketing Manager for the Anaheim Ducks Hockey Club
**Ashley Marchant: Chatham University Alumni, Dual Undergrad Degree Student in Biology & Psychology, Masters in Biomedical Sciences, Lady Ducks Tier I Assistant Coach
**Lillian Marchant: Lindenwood University Alumni, Lady Ducks Tier I Head Coach, Lady Ducks Social Media Coordinator, The Rinks Girls Hockey Development Coordinator
*Kayla Nielsen: St. Lawrence University Alumni, Professional Player for EHV Sabres
Alison Pankowski: Princeton University Alumni, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Annie Pankowski: University of Wisconsin Alumni, 3x World Champion, Team Minnesota PWPHA member, University of Wisconsin Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
*Danielle Ramirez: University of Vermont Alumni, Former Lady Ducks Coach, Paralegal
*Cortney Reyes: New England College Alumni, Juris Doctor
*Justine Reyes:St. Lawrence University Alumni, Professional Player for SDHL Linkoping Hockey Club, Connecticut Whale and EWHL ESC Planegg
*Lindsay Reyes: SUNY Cortland/Manhattanville College Alumni; Registered Nurse
Cierra San Roman: Colby College Alumni, Hockey Ops for UVM, Video Coach for PWHL Boston
*Jennifer Shire: St Mary's University Alumni, Doctor of Physical Therapy at CHOC Hospital
*Tia Stoddard: Clarkson University Alumni, Environmental Compliance Engineer, Team USA Roller Hockey Member
**Stephanie Yates: Utica University Alumni, Goaltending Development Director for the Anaheim Lady & Jr. Ducks, USA Hockey Pacific District Goalie Coach-in-Chief, Goalie Coach for Servite High School
About the Anaheim Lady Ducks
The Lady Ducks are the leading girls hockey program in Southern California and all of the Western United States, with over 250 athletes signing at the NCAA Division I and III as well as ACHA College Hockey. The Lady Ducks program has a wide range of teams: beginner/intermediate to elite, ages 5 to 19 years old. The Lady Ducks are recognized as a Model Club program through USA Hockey, and are dedicated to age-appropriate, age-specific skill development, in accordance with USA Hockey’s American Development Model.
About The Rinks and Great Park Ice
The Rinks Development Program launched in 2009, and now consists of eight local hockey and skating facilities throughout Southern California: six ice rinks (The Rinks – Anaheim ICE, The Rinks – KHS ICE, The Rinks – Lakewood ICE, The Rinks – Yorba Linda ICE, The Rinks - Poway ICE and Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena), as well as two inline facilities (The Rinks – Corona Inline and The Rinks – Irvine Inline). The Rinks offer a variety of hockey and skating programs for participants of all ages and ability levels and are home to thousands of youth and adult hockey players as well as recreational skaters to competitive Olympic figure skaters. Programs include: daily public ice skating and roller skating sessions, youth and adult hockey programs and leagues, figure skating, learn to skate classes, curling, birthdays and group events. Visit a specific Rinks location page for program details, schedules or more information.