Peoria Ice Girls – Hockey game turns into party
High energy and high responsibility
Shaun Bill
Pro Hockey News
Jan 31, 2011
PEORIA, Ill – Yes, they are pretty. Perhaps that is stating the obvious, but it is the truth. The Peoria Rivermen Ice Girls are certainly attractive young women. Dressed in their trademark skin-tight uniforms, they are often the first official faces a fan sees upon entering the arena – greeting fans and handing out promotional items.
And while they are plenty nice to look at, the old cliche still rings true – there is more to them than meets the eye.
The Ice Girls have a big responsibility. In Peoria, they are responsible for the in-stands promotions during stoppages in play and the on-ice activities between periods. Or, in the words of Arena Hostess Megan Miller, “We’re responsible for turning a hockey game into a party.”
Miller is the Master of Ceremonies for these parties. Accompanied by her entourage of eight Ice Girls, Miller and her crew dance with little kids, quiz fans, throw T-shirts, and generally run their tails off for four straight hours, making sure fans are having fun. It’s not just the fans that are having fun, though.
“For me, it’s a great opportunity to be a part of the Rivermen hockey tradition,” said Ice Girl Samantha, a 20-year old student at nearby Bradley University. “I’ve always loved hockey, so when I had this opportunity to get in front of people and socialize, start cheers, and just put a smile on someone’s face, I jumped at it. It sounds corny but the best payment you can get from something is a smile and we get tons of them every game, I love it!”
“We get the best reactions, definitely, from the little kids,” Samantha continued.
By far, the Ice Girls biggest fans are also the littlest fans. Wherever the Ice Girls go around the arena, gaggle of children appear.
“We can’t walk through the concourse without getting mobbed,” Miller added, “They love to dance. It’s just a lot of fun. We pay special attention to our younger fans. They might not remember who won the game but they will remember they had fun. There is more than hockey at the Rivermen games!”
Being an Ice Girl sounds like a pretty good gig. You dance, you give away stuff, you get mobbed by kids – but there is a bit more to it than that. “It is a lot of fun but it is also a lot of work,” said Miller, “We arrive two hours before the game and are working from the moment the doors open until the end of the game.”
You get to see a lot of hockey though, right?
“Not really,” said Miller. “We are running so much. We’ll do a promotion on one ide of the arena and then have to hustle to the other side for another promotion just a few minutes later – sometimes I don’t even know the score of the game.”
It takes more than good looks and the ability to hustle to be an Ice Girl, too. “You really got to have a bubbly, outgoing personality,” Miller says. “It certainly isn’t as easy as it looks.”
Ice Girls on the NHL level often are responsible for shoveling snow off the ice during breaks in play. That job is handled by youth hockey players in Peoria. That wasn’t the original plan, according to Miller.
“We had some beautiful girls come in who also had skating ability. Unfortunately, they just didn’t have the right personality for the job. All our girls are gorgeous, but we are also in charge of the fan experience and they’ve got to be outgoing, personable and smart. It goes way beyond sex appeal.”
So, working with the fans, what does Miller look forward to the most?
“Big, rowdy crowds,” she said emphatically. “The more people we have, it seems, the more they want to yell, dance and sing. We love those nights.”
She anticipates some large crowds coming up.
“April 9th is the final home game of the regular season and Fan Appreciation night. There will be free hot dogs and popcorn that night. It is going to be huge.” Miller said. “March 5 the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders wil be here. That will be another huge crowd. I look forward to working with such a well-known, professional group.”
Miller is also looking forward to March 26. “There wil be a kids jersey giveaway. We love the energy the kid bring to the arena. Oh, and February 19 we’ll have the Wedding On Ice…where a couple will show their dedication to love and hockey at the same time,” she adds with a smile. “It should be a lot of fun.”
And that is what it boils down to – fans having a good time…no matter what the result on the scoreboard.
When the fans laugh, yell and, in the end, walk out of the arena with a smile on their face, the nine, now rather tired, young ladies from the Peoria Rivermen Ice Girls know they helped make that happen.
Contact the author: Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.com
