During World War II, women who worked at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn fulfilled vital duties at one of the country’s busiest naval air stations, embodying the spirit of Rosie the Riveter, the iconic symbol of American patriotism and empowerment.
This month, the New York Riveters, one of four teams competing in the first season of the National Women’s Hockey League, begin play at Aviator Sports and Events Center at Floyd Bennett Field, aiming to build a similar legacy of inclusion and equality, while spreading hockey’s roots across the borough.
The parallel is not lost on NWHL commissioner and Riveters general manager Dani Rylan, who has drawn inspiration from the image since her youth, when she dressed as Rosie the Riveter for Halloween.
“These women have been so good that they can’t be ignored anymore,” Rylan said. “They’ve done this for themselves, elevating the game to the level that it’s at.”
The NWHL is the first North American women’s professional hockey league that pays players’ salaries, from $10,000 to $25,000 for the 18-game season. Players will also receive 15 percent of their jersey sales.
The money adds credibility, but players said they were driven more by the idea of changing the landscape of American professional sports.
“We see the little girls in the stands, and we know we’re growing the game for a greater reason,” Riveters forward Celeste Brown said.
On Oct. 4, several hundred fans watched the Riveters play an exhibition game at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, many already having bought team apparel. The Riveters’ first regular-season game Sunday against the Connecticut Whale at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, Connecticut, is sold out. The Riveters’ first home game is Oct. 18.
“I hope it continues,” Brown said. “We deserve it as women.”
Originally, the team was to play at Twin Rinks in East Meadow. But the arena filed for bankruptcy in June.
Like the Islanders, who began their first season at Barclays Center on Friday, the Riveters pivoted from Long Island to Brooklyn. They have embraced the possibilities of playing there, despite being on the far end of the borough near the Rockaways, without convenient public transportation.
“I live in Brooklyn, too; our league office is in Brooklyn,” Rylan said. “Brooklyn is becoming a hockey hotbed.”
Players began settling into the area last month and said they had quickly become enamored of the style and energy of their new home, despite a few quirks.
“I have a rat in my apartment; it’s pretty creepy,” Brown said, laughing. “I guess it’s the New York initiation.”
The Austrian Janine Weber, the NWHL’s first signee, rooms with Kiira Dosdall. They also lived together when they played in a professional league in Vienna. Quickly, they learned about the territorialism of Brooklynites. Originally telling people they lived in Park Slope, they now realize it is Windsor Terrace.
The league helped players find housing and jobs, if necessary. Brown, originally from Montana, lives in South Slope with her teammate Beth Hanrahan, of Poolesville, Maryland, a town of about 5,000.
“We’re a diverse team that’s reflective of Brooklyn,” said Riveters goalie Jenny Scrivens, who also handles public relations for the league.
For those who relocated, the past few months have been filled with uncertainty and excitement. A majority of players first heard of the NWHL through social media and, after weeks of reconnaissance, began adjusting their lives for a shot to participate in a venture they believe can change the sport — but also carries the inherit risk of any startup.
Brown, a recent graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, wanted to continue playing after college and attended training camp tryouts for all four NWHL teams: the Riveters, the Whale, the Buffalo Beauts and the Boston Pride.
“Hockey is my identity,” Brown said. “I felt like I couldn’t just stop. I feel like that part of me would have been lost, and I would have been lost in general.”
With about one game and two practices per week, many Riveters are still making sacrifices as they enter a new realm as professional athletes. Ashley Johnston works as a mechanical engineer at a company that produces robotic automated dispensers. She still lives in the Albany area and commutes to Brooklyn twice a week for practices that end at 11:30 p.m., sometimes driving back the same night to work the next morning.
Meghan Fardelmann, 28, played in Austria after graduating from Boston College in 2009, then worked for General Motors in Kansas City, Kansas. She tried to stay competitive in men’s recreation leagues, but it has taken her time to acclimate to a rigorous training schedule. Last Wednesday, players began arriving shortly before 8 p.m. After stretching, the team’s trainer, C.J. Lauriello, took them into a small brick room and coached them through a series of 180-degree box jumps, hamstring curls and other exercises.
The room resonated with the sounds of medicine balls thumping against the floor, heavy breathing and occasional cursing. Soon, a player turned on a stereo, and as the work of a local musician — the Notorious B.I.G., naturally — began reverberating, the players increased their energy level. After one set of hamstring curls, Brown rolled over, her cheeks red from exhaustion. A teammate yelled out, “Yeah, Celeste! Hard core!” and she sprung up and moved on to a kettle-bell station.
At 10 p.m., the Riveters hit the ice, many wearing new helmets provided by the league. Standing in a corner watching along the boards was Thomas Sullivan, 17, who had just finished practicing on the same sheet of ice for the Metro Fighting Moose junior hockey team.
A goalie, Sullivan studied the technique of Riveters goalies Nana Fujimoto, Shenae Lundberg and Scrivens. As players skated past, he stuck his fist against the glass, a symbolic recognition of their effort.
Sullivan, of Floral Park, is an Islanders fan but said he would “absolutely not” trek to Barclays Center to continue watching the team live. But Riveters games are on the table, when his team’s travel schedule allows.
“I love watching the women’s teams,” Sullivan said. “Women’s hockey is better than men’s hockey.”
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