From her home in Martha’s Vineyard—only a ferry ride and 90-minute drive from the city of Boston—Linda Dixon avidly supported the Bruins. As a result, her daughter, Liane, was laced up and on the ice at an early age. When friends of the Dixon family suggested seeing how young Liane faired wielding gloves and a stick, a lifelong hockey journey began. 

“I took to it kind of like a fish to water,” Liane shares. “And the rest is history, as they say.” 

The woman who first laced up Liane’s skates continued to be her biggest inspiration as she grew through the sport. Living in a single-parent household, there were times when access to the sport looked different: they would dig through donation bins for equipment, and Liane would strap 30-year-old pads onto her 10-year-old body. But different was never a deterrent. In fact, it wasn’t until later in life that Liane looked back and recognized those differing experiences in access and equity. At the time, she was completely captivated by the sport and the pure fun of playing. 

What began as a family affair only grew from there, into an even larger family that stretched beyond the boundaries of blood. Her coaches were nurturing and her teammates always had her back, no matter the situation. For while the rink could feel like its own realm, there were moments when external issues and hostility infiltrated the game.   

“Growing up, I was usually the only girl—not only just the only girl of color—but the only girl, on the team,” Liane says. 

Therefore, if a racial slur or sexist remark was thrown across the ice by an opponent, there could be no mistaking where it was directed. When this happened, Liane had an entire bench by her side.     

“A kid may have called me a name or something like that,” Liane smiles. “But then, you know, my teammates would go out and pound the kid afterwards…

“The negative interactions,” Liane adds, “although they may have happened, they were like little blips, just because there was so much joy.”

Liane recalls the allyship and support she felt from her community with immense gratitude, recognizing that many women and people in the BIPOC community have very different experiences, whether it be in sports or any other aspect of their lives. Throughout her career as a high school health and physical education teacher, Liane has observed the hurt and harm that bigotry and racism have caused in her students. One reoccurring frustration she has noted over the years from those who recount their experiences, is that others see and hear and choose not to say anything. Now a teacher at her alma mater, Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, Liane can still see the challenges, but she can also see the plans and programs that the school has in place in order to stimulate progress.

Back when Liane herself was walking the same halls as a student her freshman year, the high school started their first all-women’s hockey team. After a childhood of being the only girl on the ice, Liane was now only with girls on the ice. And it wasn’t just Liane’s high school that was pushing women’s hockey into greater prominence at that time. In the ‘90s, the conversation of gender equity in hockey gained a global spotlight with the introduction of women’s ice hockey into the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games.

The switch from playing with men to women did not come without challenges. Liane was heavily penalized for her strength and speed. Things that were assets in a men’s game became too aggressive in a women’s game. 

“Unfortunately, in our world, we like to separate sport by gender,” she says. 

Nevertheless, Liane quickly adapted to the change. Not long afterwards, another change occurred in her athletic career, one that she credits as a pinnacle moment in her life as an athlete. 

When Liane was returning from an away trip with her ice hockey team, she was approached by Lisa Knight, the coach of her high school’s field hockey team:  

“You’re Liane, right? You play ice hockey?”

“Yes.” 

“Well, now you play field hockey.” 

While ice hockey remained the foundation that would forever hold her heart, it was clear that Liane’s elite skills stretched far beyond the ice. Field hockey escorted Liane into the next level of competition when she began attending Northeastern University on a full athletic scholarship. The transition into collegiate competition was like stepping out of a small pond and diving headfirst into the ocean. However, thanks to Liane’s talent and drive, along with the community of coaches who had prepared her, the ocean was no match. 

To say Liane’s college career was impressive would be an understatement. During her four years, she received countless honors and awards, including the American East Rookie of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, and Northeastern Female Athlete of the Year. With 142 career points, she is ranked sixth all time in Husky history.  

And it didn’t stop at field hockey. Just as Lisa Knight had paved the way from the ice to the field, Liane’s college teammate, Mari Creatini, paved the way from the field to the street when she introduced Liane to ball hockey.

Liane’s ball hockey career kicked off in 2016 when she represented the USA as a member of the Women’s Masters Team in Banff, Canada. She attended the tournament in one of two underage slots. The USA came away with the silver, and Liane was awarded MVP of the entire tournament, being the only player to score on team Canada’s goaltender. Since then, Liane has not left a tournament without a medal around her neck. Most recently, she played on the 2019 Women’s National Team that took silver in Kosice, Slovakia. Although the global pandemic derailed international play after that, Liane was just named to the 2022 USA Masters Team and is determined to bring back gold for the first time. 

But while Liane loves and clearly thrives in competition, her passion for hockey is, at its core, about community. 

“Ball hockey has given so many new opportunities,” Liane shares. “And I’ve been able to cultivate great new friendships and expand my community that way.” 

When Liane speaks about ball hockey specifically, she speaks of the amazing potential it has for access, equity, and inclusion. All that is needed for ball hockey is a stick, a ball, and some pavement. In places like New York City (described as “the concrete jungle”) pavement is not hard to come by. As long as there is someone willing to provide equipment and offer support, there is no reason why anyone shouldn’t feel like ball hockey is a possibility for them. 

Liane’s first time in New York City was when she visited friend and teammate, Cherie Stewart. Cherie took Liane and her husband to a neighborhood with all basketball courts, yet the street hockey players had set up string to create “makeshift rinks.” They did not wait for a rink to be built. They simply adjusted the infrastructure that was already in place in order to create opportunity. 

“That’s the thing Karen did for the kids,” Liane adds, speaking of her friend and fellow player, Karen Levin, who works to provide children access to hockey in the greater Boston area. Liane worked firsthand alongside her to offer youth clinics through UWBHF (United Women’s Ball Hockey Foundation). 

As Liane speaks of the importance of going into marginalized communities and providing the physical gear, she also emphasizes that growing and diversifying the sport goes far beyond providing material equipment. It is about providing support and giving everyone a sense of agency over the sport. Especially when it comes to a sport that has historically lacked diversity.

“There are definitely more [hockey] fans [now], I think, within communities of color,” Liane shares, and she highlights the importance of reassuring everyone that hockey can be for them if they want it to be. 

“It is for you because anybody can do it.” 

Having lived a life of hockey, Liane knows this to be true. Hockey is hers and she wants others to have the chance to feel the same. 

By Ellie Milewski                  

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