Last updated on Nov. 29, 2025 at 05:53 a.m.
If you find yourself attending an Illini men’s hockey game, you may spot people in Illini orange uniforms wandering the stands. These are the Illini Ice Girls, an RSO aiming to build support for the skating and hockey community at the University.
The Ice Girls originally formed in 2017 as a way to promote the men’s hockey team. Their first group included fewer than 10 members, but today their membership has grown to nearly 30 students. While it still serves as a spirit squad for the men’s hockey team, the group also does their own performances at home games.
The group facilitates many fundraisers during games, from 50/50 raffles to chuck a puck, a game where the fan who throws their hockey puck closest to the center of the ice wins. They also runs the merch tables, selling anything from jerseys to stickers. When the group has time between fundraising efforts, many of them try to engage with fans.
“A lot of girls are just going around raffling, talking to different fans, and then also sitting up in the stands and cheering because when we score, we have to get the crowd hype,” said Sara Wodnicki, junior in Media and Ice Girls treasurer.
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Outside of fundraising efforts, the Ice Girls also aim to increase fan interest in the team. Through their social media presence and interactive fan games, the members hope to boost awareness of the D1 men’s club hockey team on campus.
Gabrielle Feygin, senior in Business and vice president of game-day operations, recognizes the importance that interacting with fans has on increasing general knowledge about the team.
“Our main goal is making sure that everybody knows how fun and good Illini hockey is,” Feygin said. “Also, getting the word out for Illini hockey, because a lot of people at U of I don’t know we have a hockey team.”
Wodnicki finds that simply talking about the Ice Girls with other students draws more attention towards the hockey team. She even has friends who attend games after hearing her talk about going to the rink for practices or events.
The Ice Girls put so much time and effort into their performances, events and fundraisers, and while they do it for the hockey team, they also do it for the fans. The fans’ support encourages the Ice Girls and hockey team to succeed throughout the season.
In fact, part of the reason Angela Zhang, senior in Engineering and president, has stuck with the Ice Girls for four years now is because of the fans. Being able to meet them and see their support is her favorite part of the whole experience.
“I know the guys love it when it’s packed and the crowd’s hype,” Zhang said. “But also, for us, being able to meet all the fans that are coming in, being able to interact with them and also perform for them, it’s really fun.”
When attending a hockey game, the high energy can be felt within the crowd throughout the arena. The Ice Girls largely contribute to this atmosphere as they aim to make the experience engaging and entertaining for the fans.
Though the main goal of the group is supporting the University hockey team, the members also gain a lot out of the experience, including lifelong friendships. Feygin understands that most people wouldn’t want to spend their Friday and Saturday nights at an ice rink, but, according to her, the members’ dedication and effort are what truly allow them all to build deep connections and friendships.
The Ice Girls serve as an outlet for students to take part in recreational skating at the university level. But beyond allowing them to participate in something they love, the skaters can also find others with shared passions for skating.
Zhang joined the Ice Girls in her freshman year and recalls spending lots of time building friendships with her other members. According to Zhang, some current seniors even live with girls they met freshman year through the Ice Girls.
“We’d go out all the time together, do all the socials, and it was a lot of fun,” Zhang said. “I think we really bonded through that. It’s really fun to create new friendships and also have a shared bond over skating as a kid.”
Wodnicki also joined the Ice Girls during her freshman year, looking for a space to continue skating. What she wasn’t expecting to get out of the experience, though, was a renewed friendship.
According to Wodnicki, she and one of the other Ice Girls had started skating together when they were toddlers but didn’t keep in touch after Wodnicki moved away in high school. When she showed up for tryouts years later, Wodnicki was shocked to see one of her old friends. Since then, they’ve been able to pick up their friendship right where they left off.
“We ended up here together after years apart, and now we’re still really good friends,” Wodnicki said. “I probably wouldn’t have rekindled that friendship if it wasn’t specifically for Ice Girls.”
Similar to Wodnicki, Feygin grew up skating and found a love for the sport, but she was almost ready to give up skating completely. Feygin didn’t skate at all her freshman year and assumed that chapter of her life was closed. Until she tried out for the Ice Girls, where she found a whole new reason to love skating.
“After high school, I was really ready to quit skating,” Feygin said. “Getting into Ice Girls and getting a new form of skating that I wasn’t used to growing up was really fun. It reignited that spark in skating that I was missing.”
Part of the reason the Ice Girls is so special to the members is that it gives them a new way to experience something they love. According to Zhang, all the members come to the team with different backgrounds in skating, but once they get together, they’re able to bond over and experience skating together.
Competitive skating is often a solo sport, which is very different from the Ice Girls. Their team dynamic may be something some struggle to transition into, but it also could serve as a benefit for the skaters.
For Wodnicki, finding a team dynamic within skating was just what she needed. Finding a team full of different skill sets working together to succeed brought Wodnicki a new meaning behind skating.
“Growing up, I was skating so often, and I was so focused on just being the best at everything,” Wodnicki said. “I was always a solo person, so it was weird experiencing the team and seeing how much I love it. It’s growing my love for skating in a new way.”
The members’ passion for skating and bond with each other shine through in their performances and fan interactions. The Ice Girls usually perform together during the first intermission, where they can showcase both their personal skills and their team skating abilities.
Years ago, the main focus of the group was solely to highlight the hockey team, but now they are able to highlight their skating as well. Zhang feels that the team has grown so much in the past few years, and they are more connected now than ever.
“I think that we’ve made so much progress internally, socially and also as skaters,” Zhang said. “I think that we put out our best performances now, and it just feels good to be a part of the team that has worked so hard to get here.”
