Tampa Tribe Wins Rematch to Take Women’s Adult Nationals Title

“Half of our team is from Florida and half of our team is from Michigan, and a lot of us from Florida are from Michigan,” Buchs said. “But we play the Lucky Pucks in our regular league play, so there’s a rivalry there.”

Felice played for Team Michigan in 12U about 30 years ago, and her squad competed in the Chipotle – USA Hockey National Championships but wasn’t fortunate enough to win a title.

Now as an adult, Felice is making up for that lost opportunity as a young hockey player. Along with winning this year’s Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Women’s Adult Hockey tournament, a good number of the players on the Tribe also captured Nationals titles in the 30+ division playing for T-Spoon in 2011 and ’12.

“We were playing as a team for our friend who had cancer and it was her last like big hurrah before she knew she was going to succumb to cancer and we won that year,” Buchs said. “We played the following year and we won back-to-back, so that was kind of cool.”

Felice was happy to get a chance to play for another title-winning team.

“As we get older, you think that you’re going to hang it up at some point and then to come back and play at a competitive level is always exciting,” Felice said. “It’s great to have so many good friends, so everybody on the team that we played with this weekend knew somebody somehow and played together at some point. A few of us have been playing together over 20 years. It’s just great to know that we still have it.”

Buchs runs two tournaments each year locally in Florida. She also skates in about five in-state events and her traveling teammates like to get out to at least two out of state tournaments.

Buchs, who has played hockey for 50 years, enjoys getting away from her daily routine and skating with friends in tournaments.

“It’s just fun,” Buchs said. “Most women, they take care of their family first, so the kids come first, then the husband comes first or the spouse comes first. To get away on those tournaments where you can forget about your kids and just have fun and just do you, it’s awesome and I think that’s what most of the girls like.”

A weekend with the ladies was just what Felice was looking for before heading back to Michigan where she coaches young athletes.

“I feel very fortunate to be able to say that I’m still playing hockey in my 40s when I started skating when I was 6 years old,” Felice said. “The lifelong friends that have come out of it, it’s different than any other sports, because I played college basketball and college softball. But hockey … I see people in the tournaments that I played with when I was 10, 12 years old. The hockey community is just very unique and very friendly.” 

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.