On a typical game night at UBS Arena, the ice is freshly flooded, the organ is warming up, and the first few fans are already making their way through the gates. But these days, the real show starts long before the puck drops. Long Island’s newest hockey cathedral has quietly become one of the coolest places in the region to see and be seen, especially for women who love the game and love fashion. Eighty miles west of the Hamptons, in the middle of a sprawling entertainment complex, the arena has become a kind of runway for female hockey fans who are trading baggy sweatshirts and plain jerseys for something far more intentional. They are showing up in orange-and-blue bomber jackets, rhinestone-studded jeans, custom sneakers, designer-style cardigans, and accessories that pop under the arena lights. They are dodging ketchup and mustard stains while making bold, loud statements with their outfits, and they are doing it with a confidence that has changed the entire vibe of game day. The old idea of hockey fashion meant throwing on whatever team gear you had lying around. Now, from the blue line to the clothing line, it’s about putting together a complete look that says something personal. The arena has become a place where cheering for the hometown Islanders and donning orange-and-blue is genuinely in style for the season, and where the stands feel as curated as a fashion week front row.
Holly Horvat, the wife of Islanders team captain Bo Horvat, has watched this transformation from the inside, and she loves every second of it. “It’s no longer just about throwing on a jersey or sweatshirt,” she says. “Girls are putting together full looks, incorporating team colors, accessories, boots, jackets and really expressing their own personal style.” Holly knows what she’s talking about. Along with Hillary Trocheck, the wife of New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck, she runs Statement Threads, a boutique brand that has become a favorite among hockey’s stylish set. For Holly, the rise of game-day fashion is about more than clothes; it’s about connection and confidence. She loves seeing young women take inspiration from something a player’s wife or girlfriend wears and then make it completely their own. “Fashion is such a fun way to connect, and I love seeing girls take inspiration from something we’ve worn and make it their own,” she explains. “Most importantly, wear something that makes you feel confident — I find this part of the game has really taken off the past few years, which is so great to see.” That sentiment echoes through the concourses of UBS Arena, where women are no longer hiding in oversized team gear but instead using hockey as a canvas for self-expression. Whether it’s pairing Islanders colors with denim and neutral basics or going all out with custom pieces, the message is clear: you can love hockey and love fashion at the same time, and neither one has to be sacrificed for the other.
Behind the scenes, the Islanders organization has noticed the shift and is actively leaning into it. Kelly Cheeseman, the team’s business operations director, has been focused on getting a new kind of crowd into the building: fashion-forward, TikTok-savvy women who care about the look and the experience as much as the score. Last year, the team reached out to influencers like Xandra Pohl and the famously snarky VIP List ladies, and the strategy worked. The NHL has seen an explosion of interest from female fans, and Cheeseman points to a striking statistic: the league’s female audience grew by 30 percent over the past year. That growth is not an accident. It is the result of a deliberate effort to make hockey feel more inclusive, more welcoming, and more fun for everyone. “A big part of the plan is to focus on the growth of the game,” Cheeseman says. “Get younger, more diverse, and more female.” That means more than just putting more women in the stands; it means listening to what they want and giving them reasons to stay. It means making game day feel like an event, not just a sporting event. It means turning the arena into a place where you can be a die-hard fan and a fashion girl at the same time. And it is working. Social media has become flooded with fit checks from inside the rink, with women filming their outfits before games, during games, and after games. Hockey social media, once dominated by highlight reels and fight clips, now features as many outfit details as body checks. The see-and-be-seen energy is real, and it is drawing in a whole generation of women who might have felt like hockey wasn’t for them before.
No one embodies this new wave better than Marina Heinz, a 29-year-old hairdresser from Hicksville who has been an Islanders fan for nearly a decade. Heinz saw the shift happening and decided to jump off the bench and into the garment game. At the end of last season, she launched an Instagram page called Isles Styles, dedicated to showcasing her two greatest passions: hockey and fashion. Her feed is a joyful mix of game-day outfit ideas, custom designs, and behind-the-scenes peeks at her creative process. She spends hours bedazzling jackets, adding rhinestones to jeans, painting sneakers, and embroidering Islanders logos onto pants that she struts around ice level with total confidence. “One sweater took me seven hours to bedazzle,” she says with a laugh. Her dedication is extraordinary, and it has paid off. She recently started offering a “power play” pre-game hair blow-out bundle at her salon, complete with blue and orange beaded tinsel woven into the style. It is exactly the kind of playful, creative idea that has made her a local favorite. But for Heinz, the best part of this journey has been the community she has found along the way. “My entire feed now is just girls getting ready to go to a game, coming to a game, their experience,” she says. “I feel like I’ve made a lot of friends just through me starting an Instagram page.” She has connected with other women who share her passion, including a Boston Bruins fan she met while waiting to get into a recent Islanders game. That fan had taken old player t-shirts and stitched them into flannels, a perfect example of the kind of DIY creativity that is sweeping through hockey culture. Heinz, who dutifully keeps up with the looks worn by players’ wives and girlfriends, loves these chance encounters. “I see one girl post a video of her wearing a cute sweatshirt. Immediately, I have to comment, ‘Where’d you get that?’” she says. The ripple effect is real, and it has turned hockey fashion into a conversation starter, a friendship builder, and a way for women to claim their place in a sport that once felt like a boys’ club.
The Islanders are doing everything they can to keep the momentum going. The franchise recently revived its vividly colorful and polarizing 1990s fisherman uniforms, a move that thrilled nostalgic fans and sparked endless debate online. But the team is not just relying on throwbacks. Their team store, Isles Lab, feels less like a typical arena gift shop and more like a high-end boutique. The wooden walls, curated displays, and designer-style pieces give it the vibe of a Ralph Lauren store, not a souvenir stand. You can find cardigans, varsity jackets, denim jackets, puffer vests, and other pieces that work just as well at a Stanley Cup playoff watch party as they do at New York Fashion Week. Soon, some items from Statement Threads will be available there too, blurring the line between team merch and real fashion. Heinz is constantly buying patches from the store to sew onto her burnt orange pants and other DIY creations, and she credits the merchandise department for always being on top of what’s hot. “A big part of the plan is to focus on the growth of the game,” Cheeseman says, and that plan includes giving fans more ways to express themselves. The team has also leaned into fan participation in surprising ways. Cheeseman recently headed a widely popular first-time fan vote for the team’s 2027 lighthouse-themed alternate jersey, giving supporters a direct hand in shaping the team’s visual identity. It is a smart move, and it shows that the organization understands something important: today’s fans don’t just want to watch the game, they want to be part of the story. They want merchandise that feels personal, experiences that feel exclusive, and a sense of belonging that goes beyond the scoreboard. By embracing fashion, social media, and fan creativity, the Islanders are building a culture that feels fresh, inclusive, and exciting.
At its heart, this movement is about much more than clothes. It is about women claiming space in a sport they have always loved but haven’t always felt welcomed by. It is about saying that hockey is not just for dads and kids and beer-league players, but for everyone. Marina Heinz puts it perfectly: “Hockey could be for everybody, so why can’t the girls all start getting involved with it too?” That question is at the center of everything happening at UBS Arena right now. The women filling the stands are not just spectators; they are creators, tastemakers, and community builders. They are showing up as their full selves, wearing their team colors with pride and style, and proving that you don’t have to choose between being a hockey fan and being a fashion lover. The ladies’ love of watching the Isles pass the puck won’t become passé anytime soon. It is growing, evolving, and becoming more vibrant with every game. “It’s very special,” Heinz says, and she’s right. The arena is no longer just a place where hockey games happen. It is a place where people connect, express themselves, and feel like they belong. From the blue line to the clothing line, the world of hockey is changing, and it is a beautiful thing to see. Whether it’s a seven-hour bedazzled sweater, a custom pair of sneakers, or just a perfectly styled orange-and-blue outfit, the message is clear: this is our game too, and we’re going to look amazing while we cheer.
