This past Saturday was Panther Day in St. Thomas, in celebration of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Girls Ice Hockey weekend.
Featuring a full day of activities based out of the Joe Thornton Community Centre.
A highlight of the day was the unveiling of a banner honouring Brittany Howard for her achievements as a professional female hockey player.
She played six years professionally in various iterations of professional women’s hockey leagues and captured the Premier Hockey Federation’s Isobel Cup with the Toronto Six in March, 2023.
Howard played a key role in her team’s successful campaign, leading the Toronto Six in scoring during the regular season with 16 goals and 10 assists in 20 games.
She made her professional debut with the Toronto Furies in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2018.
Prior to that, Howard was an NCAA top female collegiate player finalist in the 2017-18 season. She was a stand-out with Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania.
In September, 2023, Howard was taken in the 8th round by the Toronto franchise in the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League draft in Toronto.
At the end of the 2024-25 PWHL campaign, Howard retired to become a full-time coach in the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite organization working in the U-16 and U-19 girls programs.
We asked her if she missed the on-ice game action.
This August, Howard was named head coach of the Western Mustangs Women’s hockey team, something she calls, “An amazing opportunity.”
Team captain Emma Campbell praises Howard, adding she knows what it takes to win a championship.
Howard admits keeping the emotions in check will be a new experience when standing behind the bench.
Western’s opening regular season game is this Friday (Oct. 10) on the road against York. Their home opener is Oct. 17 at Thompson Arena in London against the Brock Badgers.
Written by Ian McCallum
