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Kicking Ice : A Graphic Novel About Women's Hockey

Created by Stephanie Phillips

Kicking Ice is about two young, female hockey players, Bella and Skye, learning to play hockey and dreaming of one day playing in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL). Unfortunately, Bella and Skye deal with bullies who think that playing hockey isn’t for girls. Of course, Bella and Skye prove that kicking ice isn’t just for boys. This project is a celebration of women in sports and the amazing progress of the many pioneers who are helping to make professional women's hockey a reality.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Kickstarter Live with Sophia Agostinelli of the NWHL
about 6 years ago – Fri, Mar 02, 2018 at 03:15:15 AM

We are excited to announce that tomorrow night at 5:00PM ET we will be hosting a special live event with Connecticut Whale forward, Sophia Agostinelli. Sophia will join the Kicking Ice creative team to answer your questions about all things CT Whale and NWHL. 

Sophia, a center with the Whale, was drafted in 2017 following her time playing for the  Hannover Lady Scorpions in Germany. Sophia is also a hockey and lacrosse coach who played Division I lacrosse for the College of the Holy Cross. We are honored to have Sophia joining us live tomorrow night to talk hockey and comics. 

To tune into this event, simply go to the Kicking Ice Kickstarter homepage. The live video will stream from there and you are welcome to participate by posting comments and questions for Sophia and the Kicking Ice team. You are also welcome to send us your questions ahead of time through our Facebook or Twitter pages (@KickingIce). 

We look forward to answering your questions tomorrow night! 

 

Mystery Stretch Goal Revealed
about 6 years ago – Tue, Feb 27, 2018 at 11:28:39 AM

Thanks to all of your help, we have just hit our second stretch goal! This means that all hardcover copies of Kicking Ice will be upgraded to a fancy spot varnished cover. All physical copies of Kicking Ice will come with an illustrated, numbered, and signed bookplate as well. 

Since we have hit the 25K mark that means we have a mystery stretch goal to reveal! 

Drum roll please! 

Our mystery stretch goal will include an added section to ALL books that features articles and essays about the history of women’s hockey. This section is a collaboration between writers who have been helping put women’s hockey on the map, such as Hannah Bevis, Erica Ayala, Mike Murphy, and more! From the US Women’s National Team, to the National Women’s Hockey League, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and college hockey, we plan to give you a look at how the sport has grown. The passionate and talented writers behind many well-known media outlets are working to bring you engaging and informative content. Whether you are new to women’s hockey or a long-time fan, we plan to have something for everyone. 

This bonus content will also come with concept art from Kicking Ice and a sketchbook from our Kicking Ice artist that will show off how a comic page is created from script to final product. We even have some cool guest artists making contributions to the art section, such as Matt Waite and his tribute to the US Women's National Team and their gold medal at the 2018 Olympics. 

Artwork by Matt Waite
Artwork by Matt Waite

 

As we solidify the list of contributing writers, we will keep you all updated! We are so excited to add even more awesome content to each book. Thank you for your continued support. Let’s keep kicking ice to hit this stretch goal!  

500!
about 6 years ago – Fri, Feb 23, 2018 at 04:28:51 PM

Our community is now over 500 backers strong! That's the most kick ice news I could think of. 

We now have more backers than the number of Dalmatians in that one Disney movie.

More backers than the number of red balloons in that catchy German song.

More backers than the amount of problems JAY-Z has.

More backers than the number of Fast and Furious movies (surprisingly).

More backers than... OK. You get. 500 is a LOT. We are thrilled at how quickly the Kicking Ice community is growing. We can't thank you all enough for your continued support with this project. 

P.S. Team USA faces Canada for the gold medal on Wednesday! Follow us on Twitter at @kickingIce for live game updates and more gifs than you really want. 

 

Kick Ice Manicures! (New Reward Levels)
about 6 years ago – Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 10:42:50 AM

Fully funded? Crushed it! 

First stretch goal unlocked? DONE!

New amazing merch thanks to the amazing and creative team at Espionage Cosmetics? Nailed it! 

Kicking Ice has partnered with Espionage Cosmetics to bring you a customized manicure that is guaranteed to help you kick more ice. 

These wraps include an alternating pattern of hockey pucks and Bella and Skye’s Thunder jersey logo. Of course, we also had to make these kick ice designs glow in the dark. Because… GLOW. IN. THE. DARK.    

Image shows nail wrap designs and simulated glow in the dark finish
Image shows nail wrap designs and simulated glow in the dark finish

Each set of wraps comes with 11 different sizes (22 individual wraps total) to fit most nail sizes. The wraps are packaged in custom boxing that includes application instructions and a nail file. The wraps take about 10 minutes to apply using adhesive backing (no heat or additional tools required!) and last around two weeks. 

We have added two new levels for this product: 

New Kicking Ice Reward Levels
New Kicking Ice Reward Levels

You can also add the wraps to a pre-existing order. While these beauts will retail for $15, if you have already pledged to this campaign, you can add the wraps to your order for $12! To add the wraps to your order, go to our Kickstarter page and follow the instructions below: 

1. Select “Manage Your Pledge” at the top right of the page;
2. Select “Change Your Pledge”;
3. Add $12 to the pledge amount and select “continue”;
4. Message us on Kickstarter that you have updated your pledge and we will add the wraps to your order; and
5. Celebrate your new loot! 

We are really excited to work with Espionage Cosmetics to bring you a fantastic, unique product that you can rock on and off the ice. To learn more about Espionage Cosmetics, their products, and the nail wraps, check out their FAQ page. Be sure to look at some of their other amazing nerd manicure options available on their website as well!

Olympic Hockey and NWHL All-Star Game
about 6 years ago – Sun, Feb 11, 2018 at 09:05:09 AM

For those of you who were not up at 2:40am ET, the USWNT played their first game of the Olympics against Finland and came away with a 3-1 win. Outshooting Finland 42-24, goaltender Maddie Rooney made 23 saves and Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.), Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.), and Monique Lamoureux-Morando (Grand Forks, N.D.) each found the back of the net. 

The US will take the ice again on Tuesday (Feb. 13) against Olympic Athletes from Russia. The game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network and streamed on NBCOlympics.com at 7:10am ET. 

USWNT Schedule
USWNT Schedule

Until the USWNT return to the ice, the NWHL All Star Weekend can be streamed for free on Twitter. Team Ott faces team Leveille in a display of some of the amazing talent that the NWHL has to offer. The puck drops at 12:30pm ET. 

The live stream can be found here: https://twitter.com/i/events/956235625979510785

You can also get a recap of the NWHL skills competition from Saturday featuring a shootout, fastest skater, hardest shot, and more! 
http://www.nwhl.zone/news_article/show/885587?referrer_id=2739439