March 13, 2017 | The Boston Bruins hosted their first-ever Girls Hockey Day last Friday at TD Garden, welcoming nearly 400 girls and women to the ice.

The festivities began with a Little Bruins public skate session and a 10U half-ice jamboree for teams from Assabet Valley, Cape Anne, Duxbury, the Massachusetts Spitfires, Parkway Youth Hockey and Waltham Youth Hockey. Following the jamboree, Roger Grillo, USA Hockey American Development Model regional manager, led a 12U skills clinic and a 14U body-contact clinic, helping New England girls hone essential skills.

“First of all, a big thank you to Mike Dargin and the Boston Bruins organization for setting up a wonderful day for girls hockey here in New England,” said Grillo. “The girls worked really hard, there was a lot of energy and excitement on the ice and the fun factor was high. Ten professional women’s hockey players from the Boston Pride and Boston Blades joined us on the ice, and their help in running both sessions was a big part of the overall success of the evening.”

A girls high school hockey clinic followed Grillo’s sessions. After that, 30 adults skated through a learn-to-play clinic led by USA Hockey’s Katie Holmgren, adult hockey manager, and five-time United States Men’s National Team defenseman Hal Gill.

“We had a mix of women from the Bruins’ front office and from local adult leagues who were looking to improve and everyone had a great time, regardless of their ability level,” said Holmgren. “We’re happy to have the Adult First Goal program as a means to introduce new adults to the game, much in the same way that the OneGoal program introduces kids to hockey. This was a great example of that. And we were also fortunate to have Bruins alum Hal Gill on the ice with us. Having partnerships with NHL teams who are willing to include adults in their programming is invaluable for us as our numbers continue to grow.”