Boston women's hockey team relocates to Worcester

Photo | Grant Welker The Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center will serve as the new home for the Worcester Blades.

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By Zachary Comeau

The PawSox aren’t even the most recent sports team to relocate to the city.

The Canadian Women’s Hockey League announced Monday the Boston Blades hockey team is moving to Worcester.

The team will begin play at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center for the upcoming season after previously playing at Winthrop’s Lawrence Larsen Rink.

The team first came to Boston in 2010 and were the first professional women’s team to play in the state, according to the team’s announcement.

The team has captured its equivalent of the Stanley Cup -- the Clarkson Cup -- twice in 2013 and 2015 and competed for the trophy in 2014, but ultimately lost to the Toronto Furies.

Last year, the team didn’t fare so well, winning just one game and losing 24.

The announcement of the move comes after the team hired a new coach, Paul Kennedy, the former skating coach for the U.S. National Team before retiring from that post in 2014.

The team on Aug. 2 announced a new general manager with Worcester ties, Derek Alfama. He previously worked with the hockey team at College of the Holy Cross between from 2012 to 2013.

The nonprofit CWHL currently consists of six teams throughout North America and China.

The team, now dubbed the Worcester Blades, join the Worcester Railers -- who play home games at the DCU Center and practice at the Fidelity Bank ice center -- as the two professional hockey teams in the city. The Blades will play at the ice rink developed by Railers owner Cliff Rucker. The Blades join local schools and colleges in playing their home games at the ice center, including Worcester State University, Becker College and Worcester Academy.

In a statement, Brian DeVellis, president of ESG Associates, which operates the ice rink, said the rink is thrilled to welcome another hockey team to its ice.

“I personally look forward to continuing a long relationship with Paul Kennedy and Derek Alfama as we help grow women’s hockey in central Massachusetts,” he said.

The Blades' announcement comes just days after the Pawtucket Red Sox announced their agreement to relocate to Worcester's Canal District, which includes the building of a potentially $90-million ballpark and other developments.