Girls High School Hockey Growth

The growth of girls high school hockey continues in Wisconsin. The WIAA began girls hockey just 5 years ago with 7 original teams. Only one joined over the next 3 years, but 6 new programs joined for 2005-2006. With the April 1st deadline looming for new teams, there exists the possibility of around 8 new teams for 2006-2007 from what I'm hearing. The programs involved are predominantly in the Northern part of the state, and include Menominee, Northland Pines, Appleton, Eau Claire, Reedsburg/WI Dells and possibly another Madison team. Altoona was shot down by their school board last year so who knows if they may have better luck this year, should they decide to keep trying to join the WIAA.