Penguins don special warmup jerseys for women's team
The Pittsburgh Penguins had a different team name during warmups on Sunday.
The team honored the Pittsburgh Pennies -- the city's first women's hockey team -- before the game against the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena, wearing special jerseys designed after the Pennies' old logo.
Tweet from @penguins: These Pittsburgh Pennies-inspired warmup jerseys are lookin' fresh 💯This auction supports the @pensfoundation girls youth hockey initiatives and programming.Bid now: https://t.co/sZzxA1eMXn pic.twitter.com/9mgwMtNBMt
Tweet from @penguins: Later today, the Penguins will wear special warmup jerseys in honor of Pittsburgh's first women's hockey team, the Pittsburgh Pennies 💛💙 pic.twitter.com/pgFFIZRhaV
The Pennies formed in 1972 and had 30 women on the roster within its first two years. The team started out by playing boys JV teams in the area before eventually starting to travel and compete against other women's teams.
They went to play teams in Philadelphia, Buffalo and even Canada. In 1975, the team joined the Mid-Atlantic Women's Hockey League and found more local competition.
Tweet from @penguins: Kathleen Berg: ���We wanted to play hockey, so we did.��� pic.twitter.com/c1CG0CPDFI
Sunday was Her Hockey Day in Pittsburgh and, in addition to the special warmup jerseys, there were hand-drawn signs from local girls hockey players greeting the Penguins players as they got to the arena.
Tweet from @penguins: You go, girls! When the players arrived at PPG Paints Arena today, they were greeted with hand-drawn signs from local girls hockey players (and big Penguins fans) about why they play hockey. pic.twitter.com/RIRHjDpOKf
Fair to say the Pennies have left their mark in Pittsburgh, even after 50 years.