By Sandy Moss, Prescott Woman Magazine

“It takes everybody to make it a good show, right down to the players,” Nancy confirms.

Kristin, who’s been with the Sundogs for two years, had never worked in sports before, but has always been a fan.

“I learned to love hockey when I lived in Montana for awhile,” she said.

It’s Kristin’s job to handle all aspects of ticket sales.

“It’s important to find creative ways to get butts in the seats,” she laughs. “It’s exciting, very challenging and fast-paced, but most of all it’s fun.”

Nancy has been involved with hockey for more than 40 years. She came to Prescott Valley about three years ago from the snow country of Denver. Nancy loves sports.

“My husband was a hockey player. We met in college,” she says.

Working with the Sundogs is hard work, but interesting.

“Every day is different and you learn to go with the flow. But things can change quickly” she adds, sounding as if she’s talking about the mercurial game of hockey, too.

There’s no doubt that it’s an exciting job to have, and Claudia says she likes everything about it.

“I like everything about hockey – except the fights,” she says reluctantly, though she understands that fighting is an integral and necessary part of the game.

Hailing from the hockey capital of the world, Montreal, Canada, Claudia has played hockey herself since she was a child.

All the flashing bright electronic signs, bodacious sounds and energetic music during the games is what Claudia makes happen.

“It’s entertaining more than anything,” she says, and admits that she gets sucked into the excitement at games, too.

Working behind the scenes pushing paper and more, the girls know there’s more to hockey than meets the eye.

“So much is going on behind the scenes of a hockey game that now I watch a game differently than before,” Nancy says, speaking of all the intense office preparations, the coaching, and the team practicing that goes into it before people even begin coming through the doors to see the final product on the ice. “We see day-to-day what goes into making it good.”

Is it tough working in a men-only atmosphere?

“We’re very strong women,” Nancy answers. “There’s lots of testosterone here and you have to be able to stand up to the men. We‘re not sissies.”

“We’re stubborn, too,” Claudia adds.

Every one of the women is willing to haul boxes, or whatever else they need to do.

“And we all have bruises to show for it,” Claudia laughs.

“We’re very competitive,” Kristin explains. “We do our best and even go above and beyond.”

Nancy believes it all works so well for the women because they are so passionate about what they do and about the team.

Working with so many reasonably famous hockey players, many women could be a tad star-struck by the fact these guys are celebrities. But not these three.

“They are our co-workers and they’re also the product that we sell,” Kristin explains. “We’re fans in a sense, but it’s the job of sports to us.”

The three women wouldn’t trade their jobs for anything else, they say, though the hours can be long and intense. During the games they’re not watching the games, but rather are bustling around the arena and office until the wee hours of the morning making sure everything goes smoothly for the players and the audience.

“I haven’t actually seen five minutes of any game this season,” Kristin confesses. “But we get to work for an end day – Game Day. We thrive on it.”

“It’s a good balance having the girls here,” says Shane Ferraro, manager of the Sundogs’ Public Relations. “Things would definitely get out of balance if it were all just guys here. I hate to think what that would be like.”

So, thanks to three women in the upper reaches of Tim’s Toyota Center, the Sundogs Hockey Team skates their hearts out to the joy and entertainment of their audience of fans.

“Everybody needs entertainment, and it’s three hours of excitement and fun,” Kristin sums up.  “When you see children and their parents screaming their heads off, it’s great.”


Visit Prescott Woman Magazine online at www.prescottwomanmagazine.com