‘Twas the Night Before Oktoberfest

When all through Rhode Island,

The ladies rolled in from Cali to Atlantic Highlands.

Armed with hockey sticks and helmets, massage guns and GU,

They prepped for the games against old teams and new.

Don’t worry, I won’t rhyme the whole article, I just wanted to make sure you were feeling that moment when the FIRST UWBHF TOURNAMENT IN TWO YEARS became a reality. 

The tournament was hosted for the first time at Longplex Family and Sports Center in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Twenty teams and over 300 female athletes competed in the two-day tournament. A key component to developing the women’s ball hockey community includes providing inclusive tournaments for transgender athletes, and that was visible at this year’s Oktoberfest. 

In addition to being the first UWBHF tournament in Rhode Island, it was also the first to feature C/Novice and 16U divisions. This created opportunities for new tournament teams to come together from cities including Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and for the women of the 16U Girls Future Stars Program to play together and compete against their rival state teams. General Manager of the USABH Women’s Masters Team competed on the Novice Steel City Slashers team and wrote of her experience at the tournament — read her article here.

The finals pitted 16U teams from New Jersey and Pennsylvania against each other, with PA scoring the only goal with 11 seconds left in the second overtime period. The A final went into a shootout after two OT periods with Girls Just Want To Have Fun (GJWTHF) coming out over UWBHF draft team Elite. In the Pitcher B final, the Lady Demons defeated the Sweet Heat 1-0 in OT. Women’s Ball Hockey NYC beat Side Hustle in OT in the Pint B final. In the only final of the night that didn’t go into OT, Seaside Hustle beat Ghostbusters 2-1 in the Novice final.

Did you follow our live updates on Instagram and Facebook? Want to relive the weekend? Check out the highlight reel on Instagram and the tournament photo album on Facebook. Thank you to our tourney photographer, Mike Surette, for the awesome shots.

We wrangled some of the players from each division for their thoughts on the tournament – check them out! If you would like to submit a quote about the tournament, please fill out the post-tournament survey here.

This was my first tournament and I had a blast! I really enjoyed the opportunity to play with a full team of amazing women and to find others like me who love the game and are eager to grow their skills while having fun. So happy to add my teammates (and new friends) to my growing hockey family. ~ Janine, Southern CA (Seaside Hustle)

I played in both the A and B division for The DMVs and Lady’s Demon and this weekend was a fun opportunity to build on my skills as a player. I really enjoy playing with some of the top players in the sport because it gives me the motivation to try and keep up with them and improve my game. I played in both the A and B division for The DMVs and Lady’s Demon and this weekend was a fun opportunity to build on my skills as a player. I really enjoy playing with some of the top players in the sport because it gives me the motivation to try and keep up with them and improve my game. ~ Jasmine, PA (Demons and dmVs), Coach of USABH 16U (Team NJ)

I played in the 16U girls division, and my experience at Oktoberfest was unforgettable, especially since I was playing alongside my friends and family. ~ Payton, USABH 16U (Team PA)

Oktoberfest was my first ball hockey tournament and an amazing experience. I was able to watch and learn from professional hockey players as well as cheer on the future stars of our sport. I am indebted to our volunteer bench coaches who helped and empowered my team during the tournament. With each game, we grew as a team. I cannot thank the UWBHF enough for providing the opportunity for all levels of ball hockey players to compete. We can’t wait for the next tournament! ~ Jaimie, Pittsburgh (Slashers)

Oktoberfest was one of the biggest women’s hockey events I’ve attended in the last 10 years of playing ice and ball! I was privileged  to help captain the dmV’s with Lindsey Machak in the A division. I’m excited to share my experience with other women in the DMV and bring more teams to compete at Oktoberfest in the future. The level of play was awesome to watch in all 3 divisions! ~ Rachel, MD (Stanley Cupcakes, dmVs)

Oktoberfest was my first ever ball hockey tournament and it was a blast! I traveled to play C division with Pittsburgh and joined the B division with a team from NYC! Everyone was so welcoming and I met so many awesome people! ~ Alexa, Pittsburgh

Playing in the Novice division at the Oktoberfest Tournament was an amazing first tournament experience! I really enjoyed spending the weekend surrounded by women of all talent levels who just love playing ball hockey. It felt great being out on the court with my friends, playing a game we all love at a more competitive level than we typically do. I look forward to playing in many more tournaments and getting more involved in the UWBHF community. I would highly encourage anyone else considering playing in a UWBHF tournament to DO IT! ~ Ashley, NH

I played in Women’s A and burned the most calories I’ve burned since March 2020. It was awesome! Great parity across teams and sportsmanship made for an amazing weekend! I’m grateful to the organizers for setting up such an awesome tournament. ~ Randi, MA

I was fortunate enough to be able to play for Elite in the A division and Lady Demons in the B division at Octoberfest! We were champions in B and then lost in the 4 overtime/shout-out battle in A against a good Massachusetts team. It was so great to get back after it at an all girls well known tournament run by exceptional staff at a beautiful facility. I loved seeing so many different levels of skill and athletes of all ages coming and competing hard both days. It’s exciting to see what is in store for women’s ball hockey in the future thanks to Octoberfest! ~ Sarah, CT (Demons, Elite)

I played on DMV for A and Lady Demons for B. Oktoberfest was one of the best tournaments I’ve played in all year. The level of competition was extremely high for both divisions which made for some fun, fast paced games! Not to mention playing with and against so many familiar faces really made the weekend such a blast. ~ Colleen, MD (Demons, dmVs)

Saturday Scores

  • 7AM (Novice) Tomatoes 2 – Ghostbusters 2
  • 7:45 (Novice) Seaside Hustle 2 – Slashers 1
  • 8:30 (16U) NJ 1 – PA 0
  • 9:15 (16U) NY 3 – MA 0
  • 10AM (Novice) Slashers 2 – Tomatoes 2
  • 10:45 (Novice) Ghostbusters 1 – Seaside Hustle 1
  • 11:30 (16U) MA 0 – NJ 4
  • 12:15 (16U) PA 0 – NY 0
  • 1PM (A) Elite 1 – G.J.W.T.H.F. 4
  • 1:45 (A) United 1 – The DMVs 2
  • 2:30 (B) WBHNYC 2 – Bad News Boos 1
  • 3:15 (B) Side Hustle 1 – Sweet Heat 0
  • 4:00 (B) Rebelzz 2 – Cupcakes 1
  • 4:45 (B) Ravens 1 – Demons 6
  • 5:30 (A) G.J.W.T.H.F. 1 – United 2
  • 6:15 (A) DMVs 0 – Elite 0
  • 7:00 (B) Bad News Boos 4 – Side Hustle 1
  • 7:45 (B) Demons 2 – WBHNYC 1
  • 8:30 (B) Cupcakes 5 – Ravens 0
  • 9:15 (B) Sweet Heat 5 – Rebelzz 0

Sunday Scores

  • 7AM (Pint B) WBHNYC 4 – Rebelzz 2
  • 7:45 (Novice) Ghostbusters 2 – Tomatoes 0
  • 8:30 (16U) NY 1 – PA 3
  • 9:15 (Pitcher B) Sweet Heat 3 – Cupcakes 2
  • 10AM (A) GJWTHF 2 – United 1
  • 10:45 (A) DMVs 1 – Elite 3
  • 11:30 (16U) NJ 2 – MA 1
  • 12:15 (Pitcher B) Demons 4 – Boos 1
  • 1PM (Novice) Seaside Hustle WON – Slashers x
  • 1:45 (Pint B) Side Hustle WON – Ravens x
  • 2:30 (Pitcher B Final) Demons 1 – Sweet Heat 0 (OT)
  • 3:15 (16U Final) NJ 0  – PA 1 (with 11 seconds left in the second OT)
  • 4PM (A Final) GJWTHF 1 – Elite 0 (Shootout after 2 OTs)
  • 4:45 (Novice Final) Seaside Hustle 2 – Ghostbusters 1
  • 5:30 (Pint B Final) Side Hustle – WBHNYC NYC won in OTs

Photos courtesy of Mike Surette and Jen Free.