ENFIELD, CT — In this weekly series, Enfield Patch normally publishes a photo of a business or landmark in town that is no longer in existence, but today will be slightly different, and much longer than usual.
Winter sports season is well underway at the newly-consolidated Enfield High School, with teams known as the Eagles. However, the original Enfield Eagles were a group of teenage girls who experienced considerable success at the then-brand new Enfield Twin Rinks nearly four decades ago.
The Eagles got their start by playing broomball for two seasons, but with most of them having brothers playing ice hockey, they decided they wanted to try that sport. Richard Berozsky, who became their head coach, consulted with the rink's owner and got the girls into a league with five other teams from western Massachusetts around 1976.
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Most of the Eagles were between 12 and 14 years old, while other teams in the league, including Ludlow and Greenfield, consisted of women and older girls, Berozsky recalled.
"Some were married, and others were college age," he said.
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In their first season, the young Eagles shocked everyone by upsetting the long-established West Springfield Squaws for the league championship. Enfield proceeded to capture the title in five of six seasons.
The program dissolved when most of the girls graduated from high school. One player, Debbie Patsky, went on to play hockey at Boston University.
Enfield Patch invites readers to share their memories in the comments section below.
Do you have a photo of a former Enfield business or landmark? Email it to tim.jensen@patch.com and we’ll feature it in an upcoming column.
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