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Islanders won't have ice girls after move to Barclays Center

Brad Penner / USA TODAY Sports

As the New York Islanders make the move to Brooklyn, they're set to nix one long-standing in-game tradition.

Since 2001, the Islanders have employed ice girls, charged with shoveling loose snow off the playing surface while performing various promotional duties both inside Nassau Coliseum and in the community.

The club was the first to form such a group, with several other teams around the league gradually following suit.

But when the Islanders host the opposition within the confines of the Barclays Center, the ice girls won't be there. Instead, a coed ice crew will be tasked with "helping create the best ice possible as mandated by the NHL," Barry Baum, chief communications officer for Barclays Center, told Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated.

"We decided to go in a different direction," Baum said. "We held a number of meetings with our fans on Long Island to ensure we'd bring the best traditions to Brooklyn and we think they'll be very happy with the result."

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