It was the first time a women’s hockey team ever played for Iowa State — in fact, it was the first time women played hockey at the intercollegiate level in the state of Iowa.

On Jan. 31, the 26 members of the Iowa State women’s hockey team battled against stereotypes, tradition and expectations when they took on the experienced University of Wisconsin-River Falls team.

Fans accustomed to watching men’s hockey noticed the obvious change in the game. “It’s great to see them play, but it takes a while to get it together,” said Jeff Richer, an ISU junior varsity hockey member.

Another hockey enthusiast was not quite as generous. “They aren’t playing their positions well. They’re trying too hard,” said Brennan Cleveland, a senior in psychology. “They might be too worried about doing things right and not about kicking ass.”

Kicking ass obviously was not the primary concern for a team with no established record.

But there was surprisingly more contact than one might expect in a women’s game.

Body checks were thrown at least two times in the first game by the ISU women. Mike Faulise and Eric Swartz, the team’s two volunteer coaches, warned players that using excessive force and pinning an opposing-team’s player against the glass was not acceptable.

Body checking is one of the techniques some of the women have mastered, but they are still novices. The rest of the skills only come with experience.

Defensive player Andrea Hobbs said, “Hey, we’re a team. Most of us have never had hockey skates on before. It’s harder than hell, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Faulise noticed the struggle the women had, especially in the first game.

He taught most of the women to skate when they first starting coming to practice and they have greatly improved, he said.

Joan King, a center, livened the crowd when she scored the first goal for the team during its second game. Although the team lost 11-1, it was better than the previous game’s score of 14-0.

After the second game, the women still could not celebrate their historical mark or even rest.

They had to attend practice at 8:00 a.m. Sunday. Sunday morning practices and hockey clinics teach players to be responsible and to schedule their time.

“I don’t stay out late Saturday night. It’s annoying to get up Sunday, but it gets me going,” said co-president Wendy Martling.

She and co-president Sue Marino know they are required to be at practice on time with positive attitudes. It is all part of the responsibility of being elected captains. That goes hand-in-hand with scheduling ice times, games and meetings.

“It is a new thing for all of us. We don’t have to live up to anything. We learn that numbers don’t count,” Marino said.

Both the captains and coaches said they felt the team would be better prepared for its game last weekend in Madison.

Their next home game is Feb. 21.