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The ridiculousness of their outfits only becomes that much obvious a little later, when the Ice Girls perform their key function at the game: shovelling snow off the ice surface during breaks in play. That they do this in outfits made up of a sports bra and a tiny skirt — or possibly tiny shorts; it’s hard to tell from the press box — is not unique to Anaheim. Several teams employ some version of Ice Girls, though most don’t throw them out on a cold ice surface in beach wear.

Infamously, the Philadelphia Flyers decided to change to ice men last season, and after an outcry they went back to the girls in the tight shirts and the short shorts.

My daughter is nine years old and plays hockey. If she were to witness the Anaheim Ice Girls in action, I’m pretty certain she would ask why they were wearing such little clothing while shovelling. And I’m not sure what I would say.It’s for the entertainment of the people watching the game, but not, you know, you. Mostly the men.

Later in that same series, some fans at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg started a chant to mock Anaheim’s Corey Perry. “KA-TY PER-RY!,” they yelled. When commissioner Gary Bettman was later asked if he was concerned about the sexist nature of the chant, he said the taunting “wasn’t intended to be sexist in the slightest.”