Our Teams
Mighty Penguins Host 1st Annual “Sled Face-Off Challenge” at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex
The Mighty Penguins proudly hosted the 1st Annual “Sled Face-Off Challenge” at our home rink, UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex this past weekend. 11 teams from across the country participated in 3 youth and adult divisions including Novice, Junior and Intermediate. Competition was fierce and exciting, but most importantly, all of these amazing sled hockey athletes had fun!
A visit from Lord Stanley on Sunday morning made the weekend complete for players and their families. Seeing our littlest athletes get a surprise on-ice visit from the Stanley Cup was priceless. Thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins & UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, our amazing athletes and hockey fanatics have a memory that will last a lifetime!
A huge thanks to all of our amazing volunteers who selflessly gave of their time this weekend. Our partnership with 2 local youth hockey organizations has been tremendous and the on-ice help from the Central Catholic Vikings and Pittsburgh Penguins Elite was invaluable. We’re not sure who had more more fun, the youth volunteers or the kids!
Thank you to all of our sponsors who partnered with us to make this tournament a huge success! Your continued support of our Mighty Penguins program is helping these athletes achieve their dreams! Thank you to the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, DICK’s Sporting Goods, Federated Investors, Fat Heads Saloon, 84 Lumber, UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Mobility Sports, Langer Material Handling, Olesnevich Fabricating, Tri-State Development & Design, Riggs Communication, Finn Chiropractic and Spina Bifida Association of Western Pennsylvania. Together, we created a fun, challenging and exciting competition for sled hockey athletes from across the country and showcased here in Pittsburgh that “Hockey is For Everyone!”
Congratulations to the winners of each division:
Novice Division: Northwest Ohio Arctic Wolves
Junior Divison: Grand Rapids Sled Wings
Intermediate Division: Texas Blades
Looking forward to seeing everyone on the ice next fall for the 2nd Annual “Sled Face-Off Challenge!”
Our New Home! The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex
We are pleased to call the amazing UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry our home rink! This state of the art, NHL practice facility is an exciting venue for our athletes who have the opportunity to practice and play in the same rink as our Pittsburgh Penguins!
A huge thanks goes out to the building contractor, PJ Dick, Trumbull and Lindy Paving, Inc. for their support in helping facilitate the Mighty Pens move to the new space. They did an unbelievable job helping us navigate the new building as well as ensuring that our storage facilities met the needs of our players. From pre-construction to move-in, our partnership with PJ Dick, Inc. made our move seamless! We are so grateful for all of their support!
Come out soon to check out our Mighty Pens hit the ice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex!
Two Mighty Pens Teams Bring Home 2015 National Titles!
For the first time in club history, the Pittsburgh Mighty Penguins Sled Hockey Club captured two National Championship titles at the 11th annual USA Disabled Hockey Festival in Buffalo, NY
Bringing home their first National Championship title, the Mighty Pens Youth B Team earned their spot in the championship game with a 3-1 record and avenged their only tournament loss with a 5-0 win against the Colorado Little Avalanche in the Finals.
The Mighty Penguins Senior Adult team participated in the Adult A Division and clinched their first National title with a 7-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets!
Congrats to all our Mighty Pens athletes and coaches who have worked so hard this season!
NHL Players Surprise Sled Hockey Players in Gatorade feature!
This amazing video took the internet by storm this week showing NHL players like Pittsburgh’s own Sidney Crosby hitting the ice in sleds to surprise a group of young sled hockey players in Canada. The Cruisers sledge hockey team thought they’d volunteered for a documentary about the sport but what they didn’t know was that they were about to be joined by some of the NHL’s biggest stars for one unforgettable game.
The game of sled hockey, or sledge hockey as it is known everywhere outside of the United States, has grown in prominence over the years and it gives more people with physical disabilities an opportunity to play the game we all love. The upper-body strength and balance of sled hockey athletes is huge and takes a tremendous amount of determination and effort which a few NHL stars had the opportunity to discover firsthand! The videos included point of views from both sled hockey players and NHL stars, offering an exciting insight into our sport.
Working with children and adults in our Mighty Penguins sled hockey program, we see the determination it takes for our athletes to overcome physical disabilities every time they hit the ice. Seeing them succeed and watching their love of the game grow every time they hit the ice is inspiring to all of us who work so hard to make their dreams a reality when they hit the ice! To watch extremely talented NHL players experience first hand how difficult it is to play sled hockey and to witness them gain an appreciation for athletes of all abilities is tremendous for all involved in the sport of sled hockey.
Thanks to Gatorade, the NHL and all of the NHL stars who put our amazing sport in the limelight this week. Your support of sled hockey athletes will provide programs around the world with countless opportunities and avenues for growth. Thank you for sharing your love of the game with athletes of every ability! Hockey truly Is For Everyone!
“A day at the rink should be enjoyed by everybody. Hockey is hockey and it’s great everyone can play in all the different ways we play this sport” – Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks
“Just seeing the poise and the character and the mental strength, they’re really an inspiration for all of us. So, I think, their passion for hockey is something we all share, no matter what our situation or where we come from” – Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins