Friday, December 21, 2018

Memorable Moments in Hockey in 2018

Well hockey fans, 2018 is coming to a close.

Here are some moments in hockey that stuck out to me this calendar year, in chronological order.  Some moments are bigger than others, some might only be big to me. I could never include everything. I know I'm missing the USports Championship by the University of Manitoba, Laura Stacey's Clarkson Cup winning over time goal for the Markham Thunder, and a very similar Isobel Cup winning goal by Alexa Gruschow of the Metropolitan Riveters, to name a few.

Despite what's missing, I hope you enjoy what's here.

February 13, 2018 Some moments look bigger in hindsight. Senior Tony Ann Miano held down the Boston College blueline last season, when three fellow defenders were centralized and then at the Olympics. Miano helped BC to a Hockey East regular season championship, and put up 43 points in 38 games,  including this Beanpot winning OT goal versus Boston University. The second where she celebrates alone, looking like a Patty Kaz statue before throwing her stick and gloves in the air, is magic. The game was a thriller, with BC jumping out to a 2-0 lead, then trailing 3-2 deep into the third. Darryl Watts tied the game with less than five minutes to go, to send it to OT.

BC finished with a 30-5-3 record last year, with Miano on the blue line. She is now a rookie for the NWHL's Boston Pride. (3 minute video)

February 22, 2018 The image of Jocelyne Lamoureux scoring the fifth goal in the USA Canada shootout is iconic to the 2018 Olympics. Before the Olympics started I wondered who might make a name for themselves at these games. The answer? Veterans in their third Olympics.

The Lamoureuxs played their final three years of college hockey at University of  North Dakota, and are known for their skill but also taking penalties, both averaging over 2 penalty minutes a game, in college. This carried into international play. In fact, although Jocelyne tallied an assist in the 2014 Olympic gold medal game, she was in the box when Marie-Philip Poulin scored in overtime to end it (so was Hillary Knight and Canada's Catherine Ward).

At the 2018 Olympics the Lams were on another level and on the score sheet in the best way: goal scoring. J Lam (and Dani Cameranesi) led all Americans with five points each in five games, while Monique had three points in five games.

It was in the 2018 Olympic gold medal game that the sisters made their most memorable mark to date on women's hockey. Monique tied the gold medal game in the third period, after a bad change by Canada. Jocelyne was the offensive hero in the shootout (We remember you too, Maddie Rooney).

Sweet redemption, in the biggest moment in women's hockey in 2018:


March 3rd, 2018 It's difficult to follow the Olympic moment, but someone has to do it. On March 3rd, Mercyhurst defeated regular season champion Robert Morris in the CHA Championship, earning an auto bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Lakers, backstopped by a 22 save performance by red shirt freshman Kennedy Blair, handed #9 ranked Robert Morris their 8th loss of the season. Nestled into the win was a first collegiate goal for one Laker, and a game changing three point performance for another. The win represented Mercyhurst's 12th CHA Championship. They celebrated by absolutely crushing their goaltender. Photo Credit: Omar Phillips
March 10, 2018 Katie Burt, a four year starting goaltender at Boston College, salutes the crowd at Conte Forum one last time, after falling 2-0 to OSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A Massachusetts native, she made 39 saves in her final game, and graduated as the all time wins leader for goaltenders in NCAA history (previous record holder was Minnesota alum Noora Raty).

Burt's record stands at 121-15-10. Given the rarity of a four year starter, and at over 30 wins a year, I imagine that record is going to stick for quite some time. Burt is now the rookie goaltender for the Boston Pride, currently tied for first in NWHL standings. Photo credit: Michelle Jay

March 14, 2018 Last year's Frozen Four featured two teams who had never been there before - the Colgate Raiders and the Ohio State Buckeyes. This alone reflects the evolution in NCAA hockey.

The local Frozen Four media coverage of the Buckeyes reflected more change than that, though. Quality coverage, a female reporter (I believe it's Alison Lukan, whose main beat is the Blue Jackets), and Emma Maltais' (Burlington, Ontario) casual references to multiple female head coaches was striking to me.

OSU's Emma Maltais had a 40 point rookie season, winning the WCHA rookie of the year award.

March 18, 2018 Clarkson freshman Elizabeth Giguere's dominance in the NCAA Tournament was a thing to behold. She scored two overtime goals, and assisted another overtime goal in a three game tournament. In her freshman campaign she scored 71 points in 41 games (fourth in the nation in total points). This year, she is scoring at an even higher rate, and will be a Patty Kazmaier award contender. Good news for future international tournaments, Canada: She's Canadian.

Watch her NCAA Championship game overtime winner below.

July 31, 2018: In June the Hockey Hall of Fame Committee announced Jayna Hefford was being inducted into the Hall, in the player category. This image appeared on the Hall of Fame in July. The induction marks the first time that a woman has been inducted in back to back years, making Hefford the sixth inductee.

Hefford has 4 Olympic gold medals and 1 silver. She has one 7 World Championships, and only Hayley Wickenheiser has more points than Hefford's 291 in World Championship play. Hefford's 30 points in Olympic play tie her for 2nd all time. Her most famous goal is the game winner in the 2002 Olympic gold medal game, a breakaway goal with a second left in the second period. She played in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League, the old NWHL, and the CWHL. She is now the interim commissioner of the CWHL.

At her Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Hefford humbly described her story as a story of opportunity, inviting those who care about the game to continue to create opportunities for people to play.

September 25, 2018: Caroline Ouellette's essay announcing her retirement, penned to her daughter Liv was fantastic. In part, she wrote:

"Throughout my 16-year career with the national women’s team, I believe I embodied what it meant to be an everyday player. I loved it through the highs and always put in the effort to come back from the lows. I wanted to do it over and over again after every event! I participated in four Olympic Games and was part of incredible teams that brought Olympic gold to Canada each time."

She reflected on her time in minor hockey: 

"For eight full seasons, Liv, I was the only girl on my team. It was not always easy and it didn’t help that I was so shy back then. But when you truly love something, you can overlook the darker sides in order to focus on all of the happiness it brings you."

 Hockey Canada and Les Canadiennes released video tributes to honor the four time Olympic gold medalist, six time World Championship gold medalist, and four time Clarkson Cup winner.

Ouellette also won two NCAA Championships with University of Minnesota-Duluth, once as a player and once as an assistant coach. Today, she is the Head Coach of the second place Montreal Canadiennes. Les Canadiennes tribute:


October 13, 2018: This is a silly thing, that probably anyone who has played women's sports can relate to. The women of Minnesota, singing after a win in October. Emma May at the end yes, but don't miss the spin move by Amy Potomak mid video. Watch with sound and try not to smile, I dare you.



October 27, 2018 Mercyhurst's Emma Nuutinen scored a hat trick, including the OT game winner, defeating league opponent Penn State 5-4. In a conference won by two points or less the last three years, there's no such thing as a meaningless game. On the overtime goal (starts around 20 seconds in), stick taps to Maggie Knott for skating the length of the ice to be there as a screen for Nuutinen, and to McDonnell for stopping Penn State's final rush of the game which happened just before Nuutinen's rush, but isn't included below.



November 23rd and 24th, 2018 Wisconsin hosted Harvard for a rare non conference series. Harvard pushed #1 Wisconsin to overtime in both games, but in both games Wisconsin senior forward Annie Pankowski scored in overtime. Pankowski also had a short handed tally on the weekend. Two of her three goals ended up on Sports Center, and it was the first time a Badger had scored overtime goals in back to back games.

A little added drama for fans to enjoy:  Pankowski was  a final cut after being centralized for the 2014 Olympics. The coach of that Olympic team was Katey Stone, the longtime Harvard coach. The Wisconsin faithful have affection for Pankowski and relished seeing her succeed against Harvard, at one point breaking into a chant of "Annie! Annie!" during the second game.

The Badgers sit at 19-1-0 at the break, with their only loss being to number two ranked Minnesota. Watch Annie's OT goals, in two different tweets below.



These are the moments in sports, captured in social media that I thought of when reflecting on the year. I'm sure more year end recaps will come up in the next few weeks and I can't wait to read what stuck out to you.

Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas.
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Sunday, December 9, 2018

My women's hockey Christmas wish list

As a kid, one of the hallmark gifts of Christmas was some sort of hockey gear. Ice hockey gear, road hockey gear, books about hockey, you name it. I remember getting navy blue, leather Hespeler gloves one year. There was a bit of a lull in my minor hockey schedule around Christmas, but I really wanted to wear my new gloves. So, I wore them while playing shinny on an outdoor rink in Northern Canada, when I really should have worn like, snowboarding mitts (or not been out at all). My hands froze of course, and I cried while they thawed when I came back inside.

Great gloves though. It was surely worth it.

Alas, I am no longer a ten year old minor hockey player, and have no need for hockey gear for Christmas. Here is what I want instead:

1- Who's Who in Women's Hockey

This 162 page book is a self published (blurb.ca) player-by-player statistical timeline from modern women's elite hockey leagues, including the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) and National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). It also includes stats from defunct leagues the Western Women's Hockey League, (old) National Women's Hockey League and Central Ontario Women's Hockey League.

This book looks amazing. Huge kudos to the author Richard Scott. As much as I follow women's hockey, beyond college I don't have a great grasp on people's body of work. This should help tremendously, as it contains data on over 2,000 players.

2-  Behind The Bench stickers. Behind The Bench is a website that chronicles the history of coaching staffs by team. They've got  NWHL and CWHL covered, and I look forward to seeing NCAA women's hockey one day as well. The sell Behind the Bench logo stickers (tie and no tie versions) via paypal. I could go for one of each. They are $2 each and sold via paypal at this link: https://www.paypal.me/behindthebenches

3- Just about anything from the CWHL Team Store that relates to the Furies, Inferno, Thunder or Canadiennes. Since I don't have a local team, I am just waiting for my heart to be pulled to a team. The thing is, all those teams have storylines and players or management I like. Even on the logos if I have to pick a best, it's tough. I think...the Furies have a slight lead in my heart, having listened to Sami Jo Small, and read some interviews with her, plus the fact that they stream all their home games now. A Furies toque, sweatshirt, coffee mug, or Clarkson Cup Championship might be nice.

4- Two Mercyhurst wins over Ohio State. What? The best things in life aren't things. Next weekend Mercyhurst travels to Ohio State for a pair of non conference games. According to collegehockeystats.net it's the only Division 1 games happening that weekend, as all other teams will be in holiday mode. Last year, the Lakers split with Ohio State when the Buckeyes traveled to Erie in late December. It was one of Mercyhurst's best wins of the year.

Ohio State versus Mercyhurst is one of my favorite non conference series. In terms of Athletic Department clout it's a bit of a David vs Goliath, yet the Lakers have represented themselves well over the years, going 4-2-0 lifetime.  The 12-6-0 Ohio State Buckeyes were off this weekend, while the 8-7-2 Lakers split with Bemidji State. Common opponents to date include Minnesota and Bemidji State. Hurst split with Bemidji and got swept by Minnesota.  Ohio State split with Minnesota and got swept by Bemidji State.

5- The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL Taking on creating, growing and running a league is an enormous endeavor, as fans of CWHL and NWHL have observed, and as those running those leagues surely know. Sometimes, you just need to laugh at the bizarre stuff that happens, and probably vaguely refer to "the process." Turns out, it's no different than the NHL. The subtitle of Down Goes Brown's History is "the world's most beautiful sport, the world's most ridiculous league" and it is promoted as a lighthearted, informative look at NHL Hockey history.

I wish there was a new tome about women's hockey for readers to devour, but it's not the case so McIndoe's irreverent NHL book will do instead. If you really want to read about women's hockey though, two books from the nineties I recently read include On the Edge: Women Making Hockey History and Crashing the Net. One is written from an American perspective and one Canadian. If you are a long time women's hockey fan, maybe you've already read them. Certainly dated in some ways, could have been written yesterday in other ways, if you are a die hard women's hockey fan, you will appreciate these books.

That's all the hockey stuff I want for Christmas. What about you?

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Tuesday, November 13, 2018

7 Takes: Hockey Hall of Fame and Four Nations Edition

It was a huge week in women's hockey. Let's get at it, with seven takes.

1- Jayna Hefford was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame. For the first time in my life, I sat down and watched most of the induction on TV, especially enjoying Hefford, O'Ree, and St. Louis's speeches. Not surprisingly, Hefford spoke to the importance of creating opportunities for everyone:


2- If you haven't read this profile by Eric Duhatschek at The Athletic on Jayna Hefford, you can enjoy it now, unlocked, no subscription required. I think my favorite part of it was how positive Hefford was about her minor hockey experience, and positive about facing the challenges of growing the sport today. Also, the ringette to hockey comparison. "This isn't hockey." Poor ringette.

3- The occasion of Hefford going into the Hall of Fame  resulted in press and questions for her in  her capacity as interim CWHL commissioner. Some of Hefford's comments, as reported in the Toronto Star: “Everybody says they want to support the game and they want to support women’s hockey. But we really need to see it in a tangible way.” It's a message I am seeing more often, and one I am glad to see.

I think for the longest time the focus was on getting girls to play hockey. Now we need to add everything else, and a huge part of that is fans. Personally I never received any messaging that I should be a fan of women's sports. I think there is a real culture of you (meaning us women) play the game until you're done with it, whenever that might be, then you follow NHL if anything, maybe getting into coaching your own kids one day, and that's it. I feel self conscious sometimes, being a fan of women's sports and it's certainly not accessible to me the way men's sports are. But I love following it, and I'm drawn to it and the accessibility is growing. So, bravo to Hefford for inviting people to be fans, inviting people to find a way to support women's hockey, if that is important to them.

4- Today it was announced that Cassie Campbell-Pascal will join the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. She is the first woman to hold this position, an Olympian with expert knowledge on women's hockey. Women's hockey fans will look to Cassie to be a champion for women deserving to be in the hall. Hopefully she will have the continued assistance of her peers on the committee - to date they have already inducted six players. Cassie has her work cut out for her though, as she is only able to nominate one individual per year. As Eric Duhatscheck, a former selection committee member, has explained, sometimes it takes years to build a case to get someone in the Hall.

This gives Cassie some things to think about. Should she risk not having any woman be inducted, and devote years to building a case for a lesser known but perhaps deserving European player? Next year Wickenheiser is expected to be a slam dunk to be first ballot inductee; is there someone on the committee who will nominate Wick, while Campbell builds a case for someone else? Who will be the champion for American female hockey players? There is lots for fans to debate now, lots for Cassie to consider. Today is exciting, and I commend the Hall of Fame people for putting Cassie on the committee.

As for who should go in next (other than Wickenheiser), it's the builders that I think of. Shannon Miller should go in one day, for her contributions at the minor hockey level, Hockey Canada level, and NCAA level. In terms of NCAA Championships, no head coach has won more than her five, though that record won't stand forever. She's now coaching pro with the Calgary Inferno.

I also think Katie King could in, either as a player or as a builder. She is a three time Olympian, and now a successful college coach at Boston College. Then there is Cassie herself.  Her points and length of playing career were not on par with Hefford or Wickenheiser. Her contribution will dwarf most peoples' though, because of the inroads she made with the NHL as a broadcaster, and the way she has used those relationships to advocate for and bring visibility to women's hockey.

Regardless of which women go in the Hall of Fame and when they go, following women's hockey just got more interesting, with today's Hall of Fame committee announcement.

5- I guess we should talk about the Four Nations tournament. It's no surprise that the USA won, they were favored and had won every major tournament going as far back as 2015. I'm not sure any of us expected the US to look as better than Canada as they did in that final though. The hand wringing is on for Canadian women's hockey fans. The good news, if you're looking for spin and good news (I am) is this: Canada played badly in that gold medal game. Playing badly left them at down 2-1 after one, then the Americans broke it open in the second with two goals very close together in the second to make it 4-1. They tied the third period. Hockey Canada will look at that and say, if we play our best we can win.

More good news is that I think the six month residency period that precedes an Olympics would help the Canadians be better prepared to face the Americans in 'the big one,' the Olympics.

The bad news is that wow, there seems to be no end to pipeline of highly talented young US players. The Americans beat Canada 5-2 in a Championship game without both Lamoureux twins (maternity leave, plan on returning), and without Carpenter and Stack (USA Hockey has moved on from them). Just a year and a half ago, USA needed all four of those players to beat Canada in OT in the 2017 Women's Worlds. Watching the Four Nations gold medal game, I didn't once think about those four players. But I thought Canada was really missing Agosta and Mikkelson, Canada's oldest players, who are both currently on maternity leave but aspire to return to the team.

Canada has its work cut for it and until they win again, every tournament is the big one. I don't know if it's an issue of player selection, coaching, or just depth of the pool of players. My gut says it's a minor hockey issue. The US is getting something right Canada isn't right now, good luck figuring that out. Regardless, the narrative has shifted; it's still one of the greatest rivalries in sports, but the games aren't the coin toss they once were. The new narrative, is how and when will Canada get back on top?

But about those dynamic young American players. I'm not going to go hunt for comprehensive stats (Hilary Knight led the tournament in points, 3 goals 4 assists in four games), but here is who looks scary good on USA to me: Decker, Coyne, Knight, Cameranesi, Keller, somewhat Brandt and Kessel. Samoskevich who I had never even heard of before this tournament had an impact, scoring multiple goals, as did Brodt. That's nine players. On Canada's roster really it was Poulin and Daoust who consistently shone for Canada on forward. Canada's other lines were amazing, but not on the level of the US. Gold medal hightlights here, if you haven't seen.

It will be fascinating to watch this play out, and I am already excited to watch them play again in a three game series in February, before Worlds in April. (h/t @kmtwhelan)

6- Ok, let's switch it up. Face it women's hockey fans, one day there is going to be one league. Until then, and after, we'll hear more and more about Gary Bettman. Might as well get to know him. Enjoy (no seriously, it's good) this Gary Bettman interview with 31 Thoughts the Podcast. No women's hockey talk, just FYI.

7- And lastly, I thought this Jill Saulnier Player's Own Voice Podcast episode was good too. Did you know she blew her knee out in the Olympics? I didn't. But she's back, and she played in the Four Nations and CWHL fans will know she plays for Les Canadiennes, too.

That's all I got, guys.
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Sunday, November 4, 2018

Mercyhurst loses to Lindenwood, falls to 5-6 on the season

Eleven games into the season the Mercyhurst Lakers are 5-6-0 (CHA 5-2-0). They are 25th in goals for per game, at 2.18, and are 6th worst in goals against per game, averaging 3.45 against. The power play is 21st in the nation at 16.07%, and the penalty kill hovers around 80%.  They sit atop the CHA rankings, leading by a point over Robert Morris and having played one more game than Robert Morris as well.

Last year the Lakers averaged 2.54 goals per game, 2.00 against, had a power play of 12.82%, and the penalty kill came in at 86.78%.

Whether it's too early to compare stats like the above to last year, I really don't know. But I do know that coming into this weekend the Lakers had won five out of their last six, and if they swept the 1-6-1 Lindenwood Lions on the road, they probably would have been ranked tenth in the country, possibly helped their pairwise ranking, and definitely would have brought momentum into next week's non conference match up versus #6 Cornell.

The Lakers dropped game one against the Lions though, and so the outlook changes. Today they will work to earn a split and bring home two league points from the weekend. If the Lakers can earn a split, their road trip to Lindenwood will have gotten the same results as last year's.

Last year the Lakers dropped game one 3-2, then demolished Lindenwood 6-1 the next day. Over four games last year the Lakers outscored Lindenwood 16-5. It's that goal differential that suggests the Lakers really are the better team. Watching yesterday though, it wasn't the case. The shots were in Mercyhurst's favor, but Lindenwood scored on their chances when the Lakers did not. The Lakers failed to keep former Mercyhurst player Nicole Guagliardo off the scoresheet. She had a goal and an assist, playing an inspired game, that included one play where she skated through several Hurst players and getting yet another scoring chance.

In the first period the Lakers controlled the play, outshooting Lindenwood 13-8, but also appeared satisfied with just keeping the puck in the Lions zone, at a ho hum pace of play. When Guagliardo got the go ahead goal for Lindenwood, I thought it might spark the pace of play to a level Lindenwood couldn't maintain. To no avail. In the second period some sloppy play in the Lions zone led to a Lions two on one and goal. At that point it's a two nothing deficit against a team with a capable goalie, on the road, without your leading goal scorer. The Lakers could not dig their way out and fell to 3-1 in the third, and 4-1 with the eventual empty net goal.

It was a bad outing for the Lakers, and all they can do is move forward. Inconsistent play is a feature of college hockey (it is even a feature of NHL hockey). But good teams are consistent at playing near the top of their ability game in and game out, and the more consistent you are at that, the closer you get to great.

In thinking of teams that are ranked in the top ten, one can think they destroy the best teams week in and week out. They don't, really. Mostly, good teams show up and beat most the teams that are on their schedule, regardless of circumstances. The Lakers are still learning how to do that.

The Lions and Lakers meet again today at 1:30. Yesterday Laker fans were hoping for a departure from last year's result of a split. Today, we'd be happy to get one.




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Tuesday, October 23, 2018

7 Quick Takes: Tuesday Night Edition

They are not quick takes, but there are seven.

1- The Mercyhurst Lakers hosted conference rival Robert Morris this past weekend, earning a split and bringing both teams' records to 3-5-0. Both teams take solace in at least getting a win, but a sweep for either team would have been huge. There has not been a sweep in this rivalry since October 2016, when RMU beat Mercyhurst twice. The teams meet again at the end of February. Shots were fairly even in game two, 23-21 in favor of RMU, but the score was 5-1 bad guys. Friday's score was 4-2 Lakers. Friday Hurst highlights are below, RMU’s Saturday  highlights are here.



Next up, the Lakers host Penn State, who are coming off of a  split with Providence this weekend.


2- Separate from the college scene, USA Hockey released their women's hockey roster for the Four Nations Tournament taking place in Saskatoon, on November 6-10. The roster can be found here. As far as I am aware USA Hockey has not announced their coaching staff for this tournament. None of the 2018 Olympic coaching staff was a part of the national team evaluation camp that occurred last month. The Four Nations Tournament is less than three weeks away, so surely a coaching announcement is coming soon. The US drew some criticism for having no women on the Olympic coaching staff; hopefully an all male staff is not the case for the Four Nations. Canada's Four Nations coaching staff includes Head Coach Perry Pearn, with assistants Doug Derraugh, and Caroline Ouellette.

3- Two notable USA Olympians not on the Four Nations team include Meghan Duggan, and goaltender Nicole Hensley. 31  year old Duggan quashed the requirement question when interviewed by Fox Sports Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Badgers game on Friday night. She is not playing professionally or with Team USA right now, but said in regards to playing professionally and with the Olympic team in the future: "Yeah certainly, that's the plan. Once you get that itch, it's hard to walk away." So, it appears she is taking some time off. Duggan was a third/fourth liner in her third Olympics, and earned two assists in that tournament. A three time NCAA champion, a Patty Kazmaier winner, Clarkson Cup Champion, and Olympic gold medal winning Team USA captain, Duggan is one of the most accomplished women's hockey players all time.

4- 24 year old Nicole Hensley is younger than Duggan so no retirement questions surfaced in her case, but her absence is noteworthy. It could be Hensley was a Robb Stauber goalie, and with Stauber seemingly out, so too are his preferred players, at least for this tournament. Hensley's most high profile international game was the 2017 World Championship gold medal game that USA won, in overtime. It could also be she's not one of the best three USA goalies right now, or that USA Hockey simply wants to get fresh looks. The other goalie I thought we might see on the senior team at some point is recent BC grad, Katie Burt, who holds the record for most wins all time in NCAA history, recently beating Noora Raty's mark.

The USA goalies on the Four Nations team include: Emma Polusny (St. Cloud State University), Alex Rigsby (Calgary Inferno), Maddie Rooney (University of Minnesota Duluth).

5- As you can see with the goalies above, the Four Nations tournament will impact college rosters. In the case of Mercyhurst they do not have any Canadians or Americans in the tournament, although it is possible Tanskanen and Nuutinen will play for  Finland.

The weekend of the tournament, Mercyhurst hosts Cornell. Cornell's Micah Zandee-Hart, Jaime Bourbonnais and head coach Doug Derraugh will all be representing Canada. The medal games are played on the tenth so that trio will miss the first game of the series, and I would be surprised if they make it back for the second game of the series, although it's possible. With multiple teams and series affected by the tournament, at the college level it's a weekend ripe for upsets. Cornell is a top ten ranked team, and was picked to win the ECAC this year. Regardless of who dresses for the games, it's a huge opportunity for Mercyhurst.

6- A couple weeks ago, I went to my first Beauts game, their home opener versus the Connecticut Whale. I went with my husband, four year old, and two year old. My parents and brother from Ontario met us there, too. HarborCenter is great, as advertised. My favorite features were the size (seats on both sides, cozy but not cavernous) and the glass panels they have that show the decals of whatever is going on there that weekend. The hockey was as expected, good, but a blowout. Attendance was also as expected, good, but not a sellout.

I'd seen very few of these women play live, and the highlight was watching Dani Cameranesi distribute the puck. Seeing a little girl in a Pfalzer Team USA jersey and seeing the incredible pre game hype video kind of got my emotions a bit; I'd never seen anything like it. Other than that, it was a typical hockey game, the atmosphere kind of reminded me of going to hockey games in my youth to see our local junior B and men's senior teams.

What made the day special was being with my family. My daughter was afraid of the loud music, and my son was afraid of Sabre Tooth the mascot, but both relaxed as the day wore on. My favorite parts were watching my four year old dance to the music at intermission, playing bubble hockey with her and seeing her warm up to Sabre Tooth. I loved seeing my son make friends with two little boys who sat in front of us. My son thought they were so cool, kept cuddling up to them, but they genuinely didn't mind. My husband, not a hockey guy, got in the spirit and bought our four year old a Beauts shirt, and both kids mini sticks. In the case of my two year old, it's his first hockey stick, and it's perfect for him.

Now, my daughter is already a hockey fan. Before her first birthday, she watched the Olympics, saw the Lakers in the Frozen Four, watched me play summer hockey, and went to Erie for her first college game. She identifies as a hockey player even though we mostly just play in the driveway, so far. Women's hockey players doing their thing is completely normal for her, so she didn't bat an eye at attending a Beauts game.

My two year old though, he is a little boy who sleeps on football themed bed sheets, with Cleveland Browns stuff animals and baseball, basketball, and football decals on his walls. He loves sports but relatively speaking, the hockey exposure has been lacking. A few weeks ago when the Browns finally won on a Sunday, my husband added a football to our son's crib, just for one night.

But since the Beauts game, when I rock my son at night and he sleepily and nonsensically goes through his various phrases, I'm hearing about the "hockey stick" almost as much as I hear about "football game." It probably is just a phase but just in case, after I put him in his crib, I occasionally put his Beauts mini hockey stick in there too. After all, hockey is for everyone.

7- Playing bubble hockey! Our first NWHL game was a success. I'm not sure I'll have another chance to watch a game this year, but in a perfect world I'd take my daughter to the neutral site game in Pittsburgh in early December I think, and take myself to the Beauts Whitecaps game at HarborCenter on December 30th.


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Sunday, October 14, 2018

Lakers sweep the Orange, and Prepare for the Colonials

The Lakers completed the sweep of Syracuse yesterday, improving to 2-4 on the season. Here are 7 quick takes:

1- Senior goalie Sarah McDonnell got the start in net, and earned a shut out in the 1-0 victory. With McDonnell getting her first start of the season on Friday, this marked the first time since 2015-2016 that all three goalies on the Mercyhurst roster saw game time in the same season. Saturday's win was McDonnell's ninth career shutout; her last one was January 2018 versus Lindenwood.

2- The only goal of the game came in the second period, on Sam Isbell's first of the year. The Mercyhurst defender kept the puck in the offensive zone, dumping it into the corner. Dobson got a stick on it, Hine took control and fed it to Isbell who was cruising through the slot. Isbell caught the pass on the backhand, patiently stepped around the defender and beat Syracuse goaltender Ady Cohen high blocker side. Nice goal, but my fave is the oohs and ahhs from the crowd:


3- The Syracuse goaltender was Ady Cohen, of Boynton Beach, Florida making her first collegiate start. I didn't know what to expect, but Cohen giving up just 1 goal on 24 shots indicates Cohen and Maddi Welch, 'Cuse's senior netminder, may battle for the starting position this year. Next up, the O-3 Syracuse Orange face the Lindenwood Lions.

Semi related tangent: As an Ohioan with no real rooting interest in the 'Cuse goalie situation, I'll root for Ady, an alum of Gilmour Academy. Gilmour Academy is located in a Cleveland suburb and is home to the only girls prep hockey team in Ohio. I like to hope its youth hockey association could one day be the heart of a girls hockey surge in Northeast Ohio.

4- In the Friday night clash between the Lakers and Orange the power plays executed at 20% (Mercyhurst) and 40% (Syracuse) respectively, with five power play opportunities per team. On Saturday, despite penalties galore, seventeen in total, neither team could convert. Mercyhurst will be happy to have escaped with a win, but surely would have liked to see the power play clicking before heading into next weekend's huge conference series with Robert Morris. A positive is that the penalty kill had a big night, killing seven penalties in a tightly called game, with no room on the scoreboard for error.

5- Meanwhile, Robert Morris heads into next weekend's matchup coming off of a split with Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute. RMU outshot the RPI Engineers 58-18 on Friday, and lost 1-0, thanks to the brilliant play of RPI goaltender Lovisa Selander. Not surprisingly, RPI could not duplicate the magic on Saturday, and RMU won game 2 of the series. Bizarrely, one of the Saturday goals against RPI was a harmless looking wrister from the neutral zone. Different day, completely different set of luck I suppose. You can see the highlights from that game here.

RMU's second goal, and game winner, was more of a traditional RMU goal. Lexi Templeman and Jaycee Gebhard worked the puck back and forth on the power play, with Templeman in the corner, Gebhard coming off the wall, receiving the puck and putting in the back of the net. The Colonials will make every effort to bring their best game to Erie, in one of the bigger series in NCAA hockey next weekend. RMU currently holds a 2-4 record, with splits against SLU, and RPI, and two losses to Clarkson. Surprisingly, the Colonials scored more goals against number one ranked Clarkson, than against their other two opponents thus far.

6- Last year, the Lakers went 3-2 versus Robert Morris. Kennedy Blair got the start in each of those games. Mercyhurst won game one and lost game two, in each of the regular season series. McDonnell last started against RMU on January 21, 2017, a game in which the two rivals tied each other, with McDonnell making 35 saves in a 3-3 tie. So, as has been the case for some time with the Mercyhurst Lakers, the sub plot of "Who will start in net?" endures. The good news is, either of McDonnell or Blair, the likely starters, can get the job done.

7- RMU's Coach Colontino likely has a far easier decision to make regarding goaltening. Lauren Bailey started the first five games of the season for the Colonials, before freshman Arielle DeSmet got the start in game two of the RPI series. In her first start, DeSmet gave up one goal on nine shots, earning her first college win. Most likely we will see senior Lauren Bailey in net for the Mercyhurst series. Although this is her first year as the number one goalie, Bailey has seen game action since her freshman year, and her resume includes a win against Mercyhurst.

The great rivalry starts its 2018-2019 chapter, at six pm on Friday, at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.


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Thursday, October 11, 2018

7 Quick Takes: Pro Hockey and National Team Edition

The week flew by, and hockey is back. This weekend, the Mercyhurst Lakers take on the Syracuse Orange. In game one of the series, Mercyhurst beat the Orange 4-2. But NCAA isn't the only hockey that's back. Some thoughts on non NCAA hockey:

1- Canada released their Four Nations roster yesterday, with one star name missing: Meghan Agosta. As reported in the Globe and Mail, Agosta is not retiring, and has ambitions to play in the 2022 Olympics. She is expecting her first child in December, and will miss the Four Nations and 2019 World Championships, before making her return. Firstly, that's really happy news and congrats to Agosta. She will be missed though, as the 31 year old played on a top line with Poulin and Daoust at the Olympics, scoring two goals and three assists in that tournament. It's been a long time since we've seen a Team Canada without Agosta, who has been a fixture on the team since the 2006 Olympics.

2-  Pension Plan Puppets wrote about   the players that are  on the Canada Four Nations roster. The best piece of news in that article? TSN will be broadcasting the medal games live. Hopefully NHL Network (or anyone) does the same in the United States. The tournament takes place November 6-10, in Saskatoon.

3- In reading an Ice Garden post about the Champions Cup a few weeks back, a line from new Riveters Head Coach Randy Velischek, caught my eye. Mike Murphy wrote, "After the game Velischek admitted that he was still learning many of his players’ names, including the last name of reigning NWHL MVP Alexa Gruschow." As soon as I read it I thought, that's not going to go over well, and sure enough it got a bit of a negative reaction.

One the one hand, I could see that comment getting made by any new coach. Learning the players' names is a process, sure. It's a comment that would go across better at a post practice media scrum though, than after a much anticipated game of two league champions from different countries. It raises the question of why it took the Riveters so long to hire a new coach, considering former coach Chad Wiseman gave his notice months ago. This is a topic I'd like to hear from Dani Rylan, NWHL commissioner on.

Without anyone addressing it we have to draw our own conclusions. Myself, I get the impression it's not easy to find people to coach these teams, if the league is still filling a coaching role weeks before the season starts. Presumably the jobs don't pay too much, but it's odd that the NWHL can find 120 or so women to play hockey for a small stipend, but can't find coaches to also coach for a presumably small stipend. Like a lot of people, I'd like to see more female coaches behind the benches of women's hockey teams. If Dani is not getting applications from female coaches, that's something she could start a conversation about. If women are applying and not getting the jobs - 4 out of 5 teams coached by men; 3 out of 5 teams coached by ex-NHLers - that's also worth talking about. As it stands, people draw their own conclusions, which is probably not fair to anyone.

4- The Athletic's Nate Wells wrote about the Whitecaps coach, Ronda Curtin Engelhardt last week.
To me, seeing Engelhardt coaching and Winny Brodt Brown still playing is amazing. Engelhardt co-coaches with Jack Brodt, founder of the Whitecaps, and father to Winny. Engelhardt has three young kids, works as a high school counselor, and has coached Breck's girls hockey team to a state championship. It's quite inspiring to see her behind the bench of a women's pro team, especially given how apparent it is that she has a lot of additional responsibilities. To see the co-head coach title shared with Jack Brodt hints at the kind of collaboration and support that may make the role possible for someone as busy as Engelhardt. The coaching staff is a beautiful part of the Whitecaps story. Here's a quote from that Athletic story, from Engelhardt:
“I was on the fence for a while and then finally I was like, ‘I’m very passionate about growing the game and giving girls more opportunities.’ I looked at all the other teams and saw there was no female head coach,” she said. “That’s what I fought for. We’re trying to grow the women’s game. Let’s get a woman in that position. I pushed a little back and said, ‘Give me this opportunity.’ That’s how it went.”
Enter Engelhardt, the lone female head coach among the league’s five teams.
“I think it’s a good example of how important it is for people to see people in different positions,” said Engelhardt. “The business world, seeing leaders in the business world. On the ice, role models as players, but also seeing they can be led by a female as well.”

5- The Whitecaps played their first series at home to sold out crowds. The crowd noise! I hope they can sustain this atmosphere; it looks great.



6- In USCHO's weekly Wednesday Women feature, Nicole Haase and Candace Horgan debate what kind of immediate impact the 2018 Olympics will have on the popularity of the college game. From my own perspective, college hockey engagement appears to have increased, just in terms of online engagement during the games. Also, the level of engagement has been low enough that a single change - like the Ice Garden going in on women's college hockey, can make a big change. These are changes that impact the fan base, not the programs themselves. If the programs are looking for a bump in attention or attendance? I think the recipe's always the same: just win.

7- Speaking of attendance, tomorrow I will be watching my first ever NWHL game live, in person! I am so excited. My husband and I and our two kids are driving to Buffalo to watch the Beauts take on the Whale. I fear it will be a lopsided game, but I am excited to see Szabados (hope she starts but I would be happy to see Hensley or DiTondo, two CHA alums as well), Bolden, Cameranesi, Pfalzer, Chesson, Harmon, Janiga, Accursi, Iafallo, Raisanen....seriously the list goes on and on. I am looking forward to seeing Habor Center for the first time (home of the CHA Tournament), getting some Beauts swag, and exposing my kids to a bit of hockey.

As is the case every weekend, let's go Lakers! And this weekend, let's go Beauts, as well.
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