That eventually led Jorgensen, 46, to join a growing number of "mature" women who are playing in organized ice hockey leagues in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. She is a winger for the Americans, members of one of the newer leagues, the United Women's Hockey League.
"We started the UWHL about five years ago," said Ginger Greenhawk, a Delaware resident and founder of the league with her husband, Gary. She does not play ice hockey but has a daughter who does.
"We only had a few teams to start, but the first year, people heard about the league and left other leagues to join us," said Greenhawk, noting that she serves as league secretary simply because she loves the game.
The UWHL has 18 teams - 11 "C" teams and seven "D" teams. U.S. Hockey classifies teams by skill level, with "A" being the top level. The Middle Atlantic Women's Hockey Association serves as an umbrella organization.
"The players are lawyers, doctors, bus drivers, pilots, horse trainers," Greenhawk said. "We have several grandmothers."
Players range in age from the early 20s to the early 60s, Greenhawk said, although players as young as 19 can play with league permission. The league-championship playoff and consolations finals for "C" and "D" teams are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. today at the Ice Works in Aston.
With names such as the Ninth Street Grillers and White Lightning out of Chester County, the Americans and Concord Flames out of Delaware County, and the Hatfield Predators out of Montgomery County, the women let you know they are serious about their ice hockey.
Sixty-one-year-old Jackie Tanaka, a biology professor at Temple University and a Philadelphia resident, is one of the grandmothers on the Americans. She missed some of her team's recent games because she was watching her grandchildren in Chicago. Tanaka got hooked on the sport because a niece played it.
A winger and a defenseman with a couple of goals this season, she learned to skate as a child but didn't put on the pads until a few years ago.
"It's infectious," she said of the game. "I love it so much. I like the team concept. A scientist can be a lonely profession, but here, I have teammates supporting me on the ice and in the locker room."
"There's a definite social aspect to playing," added Kirsten Kepner, 37, a winger for the Predators who lives in East Norriton. "We play together, get our exercise, and then go out to a bar for food and drink."
That can sometimes mean a late night because the demand for ice time is high. Games and practices can be as late as 10 or 11 p.m.
Ice time is also expensive. Sponsors, fund-raisers, and the players' own money help finance the teams' operations. Ice time can run up to several hundred dollars per hour.
Kepner became involved with hockey about six years ago after hearing other women talk about playing. She had been an athlete at Lower Merion High School and the University of Vermont, but was not a skater until she took up the sport.
"There's no checking," Kepner said, "but we do get our penalties."
Gioia Pezone, 36, of Downingtown, had her third child five months ago, and she's back on the ice with White Lightning.
"We're almost all moms on the team," said Pezone, the team's captain and organizer. "It's a great way to get back in shape."
Her team has a mother-daughter combination in Marcia and Jessa Welsh of West Chester. Marcia Welsh, 51, started playing about eight years ago. Jessa Welsh is one of the younger players at 23.
"A friend talked me into it," said Marcia Welsh, a defender. "I have a lot of friends from ice hockey, but we are competitive."
And that's what makes it so much fun, her daughter says.
"I plan to keep doing it until my body gives out," she said.
Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 610-701-7613 or dbeideman@phillynews.com.
For Information
To learn more about women's ice hockey leagues and teams, visit www.uwhl.org or www.mawha.com/womens_division.htm.
