Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're getting
Speaker 1: the hell out of Chicago for the holiday weekend. High's
Speaker 1: of sixty and low's of forty four for Memorial Day.
Speaker 1: It's almost June, Chicago, get your shit together. It's Friday,
Speaker 1: May twenty third, and on today's show, we'll be chatting
Speaker 1: with legendary hockey player Hillary Knight about her season two
Speaker 1: PWHL reflections, her analysis of the current Walter Cup final
Speaker 1: series between the Minnesota frosted Outawa charge, and her announcement
Speaker 1: this week that next year's Winter Olympics will be her last.
Speaker 1: Plus Northwestern's golf team mix history, got the FC's got
Speaker 1: a chance at a championship and a women's hockey what
Speaker 1: the fact that'll make you say, what the fuck? That's
Speaker 1: all coming up right after this Welcome back slices, Happy Friday.
Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know today to golf. Northwestern
Speaker 1: won the NCAA Women's Golf National Championship on Wednesday, upsetting
Speaker 1: top seed at Stanford to win the Wildcat It's first
Speaker 1: ever NCAA title in the sport. It was Northwestern junior
Speaker 1: Diana Lee who secured the title, making a four foot
Speaker 1: putt on the eighteenth hole for the win More Golf.
Speaker 1: The LPGA has announced that Craig Kessler has been selected
Speaker 1: as the organization's next commissioner. Kessler, the Chief Operating Officer
Speaker 1: of the PGA of America, will take over from Molly Marcusseman,
Speaker 1: who stepped down from the role in January. In a statement,
Speaker 1: Kessler said, he's looking forward to redefining what's possible for
Speaker 1: the organization. Quite honestly, we're looking forward to that too.
Speaker 1: We believe in you, LPGA, come on to the NWSL.
Speaker 1: The Boston Legacy expansion team has announced that the club
Speaker 1: will play its inaugural season home games at Gillette Stadium
Speaker 1: in Foxboro, Massachusetts, due to delays with the development of
Speaker 1: the team's planned home venue, White Stadium. In a statement,
Speaker 1: the club said, while construction at White Stadium is underway,
Speaker 1: it's not expected to be finished in time for kickoff
Speaker 1: in March of twenty twenty six. Little background here, ever,
Speaker 1: Since Boston was awarded an expansion team in twenty twenty three,
Speaker 1: the club's plans to renovate White Stadium have been mired
Speaker 1: in controversy and slowdowns. The project is a public private one,
Speaker 1: meaning that renovation costs are being covered by both the
Speaker 1: owners of Boston Legacy as well as public taxpayer funding.
Speaker 1: The long term plan is for the Boston Legacy to
Speaker 1: share the facility with other community and school teams. The
Speaker 1: city and Boston Public Schools will be the owners of
Speaker 1: the renovated stadium and will have priority in scheduling games there,
Speaker 1: which could cause additional scheduling challenges for the Legacy down
Speaker 1: the road. More soccer, The inaugural final of the CONCACAF
Speaker 1: Women's Championship Cup is set. The NWSL's Gotham FC will
Speaker 1: compete against Tigris UNL of Lega Mxfeminil this Saturday ten
Speaker 1: pm Eastern kickoff. This tournament actually began last year, with
Speaker 1: club teams from North, South and Central America competing in
Speaker 1: the group stage from August through October in order to
Speaker 1: advance to this week's semifinals and final. To reach the final,
Speaker 1: Gotham defeated Club America of Lega Mxfeminial three to one
Speaker 1: on Wednesday, while Tigris Unal beat the Portland Thorns two ozho.
Speaker 1: The winner of Saturday's championship game we'll secure a spot
Speaker 1: in both the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty six and the FIFA Women's Club World Cup in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty eight. More soccer. Just because Gotham's competing for
Speaker 1: NWSL Pride down in Mexico doesn't mean the rest of
Speaker 1: the league is on pause. There are two NWSL regular
Speaker 1: season games tonight, with the Utah Royals hosting the Orlando
Speaker 1: Pride at nine to thirty pm Eastern and the Seattle
Speaker 1: Rain hosting the Washington Spirit at ten pm Eastern. Then
Speaker 1: there are three games on Saturday, including one between the
Speaker 1: top ranked Kansas City Current and last place Chicago Stars.
Speaker 1: Gee wonder who's going to win that one? That's right, Chicago, baby,
Speaker 1: I can feel it him a bones. We'll link to
Speaker 1: the full NWSL weekend schedule in our show notes to
Speaker 1: the PWHL where Minnesota and Ottawa met for Game number
Speaker 1: two of the Walter Cup Finals on Thursday night, and
Speaker 1: Ottawa now leads the series two oh or maybe Minnesota
Speaker 1: even at up one to one. Clearly we're recording this
Speaker 1: before the final, but no matter what happened, we're excited
Speaker 1: to see what happens in Game three on Saturday, when
Speaker 1: the series heads to Minnesota. We'll link to the full
Speaker 1: PWHL playoff schedule and results in the show notes, and
Speaker 1: they should hopefully be a little more up to date
Speaker 1: than this recording. Plus we'll have plenty more on the
Speaker 1: PWHL later in this episode with Boston Fleet captain Hillary Knight. Also,
Speaker 1: a fun little music and hockey crossover just happened in
Speaker 1: Mini where a member of Jelly Rolls band was rocket
Speaker 1: a Minnesota Frost jersey on stage as the band performed
Speaker 1: in Minneapolis this week, and my friend Brant Feldbin, who's
Speaker 1: an agent over in the PWHL, sent over some photos
Speaker 1: of a few of jelly Roll's band members skating with
Speaker 1: Minnesota Frost coaches and reserve players who didn't make the
Speaker 1: trip to Ottawa. Very cool to tennis, the French Open
Speaker 1: gets underway on Sunday, with top seed Arena Sabalnka opening
Speaker 1: her tournament against Kamila Rahimova and second seeded Coco Golf
Speaker 1: set to take on Olivia Gadeki. Meantime, Igaspontek will be
Speaker 1: aiming for her fourth straight title at Roland Garros, but
Speaker 1: after a few months of rocky play, she fell out
Speaker 1: of the top four heading into this year's competition, so
Speaker 1: she's seated fifth overall. More French Open News, TNT, the
Speaker 1: new US rights holder, has plans to shake things up
Speaker 1: a little in the tennis world. They want to mike
Speaker 1: up players for interviews with TNT's broadcast team during warmups,
Speaker 1: as well as coaches for conversations in between sets, but
Speaker 1: we'll have to wait and see how it actually pans out,
Speaker 1: per Offle announcing TNT has not yet approached players to
Speaker 1: get their side off, to mikee them on the practice courts,
Speaker 1: or to make up their coaches who are employees of
Speaker 1: those players during matches. We'll see how it goes to
Speaker 1: the WNBA. And an update on a story you might
Speaker 1: have seen on social media. Indiana Fever forward Sophie Cunningham
Speaker 1: has denied allegations that she was involved in an affair
Speaker 1: with Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury CEO Josh Bartlestein during
Speaker 1: her time playing for the franchise, saying that the accusation
Speaker 1: is false and calling out media organizations who published the
Speaker 1: accusation without asking her for comment first. In a post
Speaker 1: on social media, Cunningham wrote, in part quote, I am
Speaker 1: deeply saddened by the recent false accusations made against me
Speaker 1: by Jane Trailer, someone I do not know and have
Speaker 1: never met. Let me be clear, his statements are untrue
Speaker 1: and extremely hurtful. End quote. Cunningham's anger is warranted, but
Speaker 1: I just want to be clear on the fact. So
Speaker 1: Trailer didn't make the accusation, though it was surfaced via
Speaker 1: his lawsuit. Let me explain. The mnba's Phoenix Suns organization
Speaker 1: has been under fire for several years, dating back to
Speaker 1: previous ownership, with accusations of workplace misconduct and discrimination. Now
Speaker 1: promises a big change were made by new owner Matteshbia,
Speaker 1: who bought the Sons In Mercury in twenty twenty three,
Speaker 1: but the accusations have continued, and a lawsuit filed earlier
Speaker 1: this month by Trailer mentions cunning him in it. Trailer,
Speaker 1: the Sun's director of safety, security and risk management, accuses
Speaker 1: the organization of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and one of
Speaker 1: his claims is that he warned the franchise that another
Speaker 1: member of the organization was spreading that rumor about Cuttingham
Speaker 1: and Bartolstein. He says his concerns were ignored even after
Speaker 1: he told Bartlestein himself about the rumors. Earlier this week,
Speaker 1: the Suns issued a denial to the statement of the lawsuit, saying,
Speaker 1: on Tuesday, quote the recent reports concerning Josh Bartlestein and
Speaker 1: Sophie Cunningham are entirely false and morally reprehensible. End quote
Speaker 1: more WNBA news. According to multiple reports, on Thursday, owners
Speaker 1: of the New York Liberty sold shares in the team
Speaker 1: at a record valuation of four hundred and fifty million dollars,
Speaker 1: the highest valuation for a women's pro sports franchise. Per
Speaker 1: the reports, the capital raised from the sale represents a
Speaker 1: percentage share in the mid teens, and the money will
Speaker 1: be applied toward construction of a practice facility in Brooklyn.
Speaker 1: More hoops. This weekend is chock full of WNBA games
Speaker 1: to enjoy. Tonight's selection starts off strong with the Connecticut
Speaker 1: Sun visiting the undefeated Minnesota Links at seven thirty pm Eastern.
Speaker 1: Tune in as the Sun try to pick up their
Speaker 1: first win of the season on Ion or WNBA League Pass.
Speaker 1: Then there are two games on Saturday, one of which
Speaker 1: is the Indiana Fever hosting the defending champion New York
Speaker 1: Liberty at one pm. Eastern on Ion that should offer
Speaker 1: some great pace and offensive fireworks. Then on side Monday,
Speaker 1: four more games, all available on League Pass or local
Speaker 1: broadcast channels. Will link to that full WNBA schedule in
Speaker 1: our show notes. A little motorsports news friend of the show,
Speaker 1: Catherine leg is racing this Saturday in the NASCAR Expinity
Speaker 1: Series bet MGM three hundred event at the Charlotte Motor
Speaker 1: Speedway in North Carolina. She'll be racing in an ELF
Speaker 1: branded car and fire suit, competing with the Jordan Anderson
Speaker 1: Racing Team. Good luck Catherine, and good luck Elf. By
Speaker 1: the way, shout out to ELF for sending me a
Speaker 1: goodie bag of stuff, including this yummy gummy Glow Reviver
Speaker 1: melting lip balm, which has quickly become my new favorite.
Speaker 1: I'm obsessed. Finally, a little news for the put women's
Speaker 1: sports on TV and make am easy to find. Crowd
Speaker 1: streaming platform Fubo TV now has a women's sports hub,
Speaker 1: making it easier for fans to find live games and documentaries.
Speaker 1: The streaming platform already offered comprehensive WNBA coverage, as users
Speaker 1: could already stream games on Ion, ABC, ESPN, CBS, and
Speaker 1: NBA TV, but the new hub means that those games
Speaker 1: will be easier to find. We got to take a
Speaker 1: quick break slices when we come back. It's Hillary Knight.
Speaker 1: I caught up with her yesterday. I had of game
Speaker 1: two of the PWHL finals stick around joining us now.
Speaker 1: She's one of the greatest hockey players of all time,
Speaker 1: at Olympic gold medalist and three time Olympic silver medallist,
Speaker 1: a ten time world champion and five time world runner up.
Speaker 1: She's a member of Team USA, the captain of the
Speaker 1: PWHL's Boston Fleet, and one of three finalists for the
Speaker 1: PWHL's top honor, the Billie Jean King MVP Award. She
Speaker 1: won the inaugural Isabelle Cup in the now defunct NWHL
Speaker 1: with the Boston Pride. Was a two time national champion
Speaker 1: with the Wisconsin Badgers, and she spent part of her
Speaker 1: childhood living in my hometown of Lake Forest, Illinois. Her
Speaker 1: girlfriend is an Olympic speed skater. Her dog is a
Speaker 1: cutie patuna named Bain. She coats her floors and pledged
Speaker 1: so she can skate around on her socks, and she'll
Speaker 1: cook you a meal using her patented slap chopped method.
Speaker 1: Google it people, It's Hillary Knight. What's up, Hillary?
Speaker 2: How's it going? What an intro?
Speaker 1: Thank you? Thank you? Is slap chopped? The most ridiculous
Speaker 1: video you've ever done? Or is there another that comes
Speaker 1: to mind?
Speaker 2: No, honestly, I keep you know, my younger teammates find
Speaker 2: these gems and they bring them up, and I was
Speaker 2: hoping that they were buried. But the internet's a weird
Speaker 2: place where, you know, it just keeps rolling, lives forever.
Speaker 2: I'd like to say yes, but I know you never know.
Speaker 1: Are we still coating the floors with pledge?
Speaker 2: We are not? We are not. Yeah, that was a
Speaker 2: good learning experience. It was fun for a while, and
Speaker 2: then when the dog starts slipping, it's just it's not
Speaker 2: worth it.
Speaker 1: I had a feeling the dog might have come into
Speaker 1: play there. What's the most fun thing you've gotten to do?
Speaker 1: Because you've done a lot of cool stuff in addition
Speaker 1: to the silly and ridiculous. Was it a TV show,
Speaker 1: an awards show, a movie premiere? Like something cool you've
Speaker 1: been asked to do or gotten to do over the
Speaker 1: many years of being the face of hockey.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I've I mean, I've had the privilege
Speaker 2: to do so many fun things. I'd say the first
Speaker 2: thing that pops to mind, and I know afterwards and
Speaker 2: be like, oh, I should have thought of this. But
Speaker 2: I was able to meet Obama and that was like
Speaker 2: the coolest thing. A friend like worked in the White
Speaker 2: House at the time and he's like, oh, like, can
Speaker 2: you just like come visit me for this thing? And
Speaker 2: I was like, yeah, no problem, would love to just
Speaker 2: like follow you around for the day. And he's like, oh,
Speaker 2: just wait right here, and I'm like looking around. I
Speaker 2: was like, this office looks like mighty important. And Obama
Speaker 2: comes in. I was like, what.
Speaker 1: Is so cool?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So that was That's definitely the top of mind
Speaker 2: thing because I was like, it wasn't like the you know,
Speaker 2: you get to meet the president's you know, after the
Speaker 2: Olympics and stuff, and you kind of go through the
Speaker 2: handshake line and you meet all of them. But to
Speaker 2: kind of have that touch point.
Speaker 1: At one on one out of nowhere.
Speaker 2: I was just like, holy moment. And then I was like,
Speaker 2: please be a hockey.
Speaker 1: Fan, right right. I was going to tell you that
Speaker 1: no matter what you said, it couldn't top being on
Speaker 1: Saturday Night Live, because that's my dream, but meeting Obama
Speaker 1: might be the only thing, might be the only thing.
Speaker 2: I knew it like as soon as I said one thing,
Speaker 2: another thing would pop up. But yeah, like Leslie Jones like,
Speaker 2: oh my gosh, Leslie Jones like Olympic coverage is epic.
Speaker 2: And then when she was over there, I was like,
Speaker 2: no way, no way, this is happening. And so like
Speaker 2: when that invite came through, it was crazy because there
Speaker 2: was some sort of not a snowstorm, but something happened
Speaker 2: and the train stopped running and I was in DC
Speaker 2: at the time, like the day before, and I was
Speaker 2: supposed to take the train into the city. And I
Speaker 2: remember calling my agent being like, oh my gosh, like
Speaker 2: I think, like all the trains are down, but I
Speaker 2: am not missing this opportunity.
Speaker 1: So I had an uber Oh my gosh, and.
Speaker 2: I uber to New York City and I messaged the
Speaker 2: guy like when he came to pick me up, I
Speaker 2: was like just so you know, like is it okay
Speaker 2: we drive to New York City? I know it's really
Speaker 2: far away, and he's like yeah, sure, sure.
Speaker 1: That's another level. Like sometimes they cancel when you're like
Speaker 1: going to the airport, but Neil kidding, who'd you expense
Speaker 1: that one?
Speaker 2: To? Oh? I sent now perfect, perfect, But we had
Speaker 2: to stop like halfway a long way and I remember
Speaker 2: being like, oh, this is like he could just like
Speaker 2: leave me here. Yeah, this rest strap if you really
Speaker 2: wanted to, oh man, And he gave me like the
Speaker 2: second key to the car, and I was like cool.
Speaker 1: Whoa, Okay, that's pretty epic. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I wore my metal underneath my sweatshirt when I went
Speaker 2: in to use the restroom because I was like in
Speaker 2: the cars right, yeah, yeah, yeah, Oh my gosh, memory.
Speaker 1: Yeah that's really bad ass. I'm one day I'm gonna
Speaker 1: do it. I'm gonna I've gone to watch twice. I
Speaker 1: am going to be on it. I'm putting that in
Speaker 1: the universe for the eight millionth time. If there is
Speaker 1: a god, she must hear me now, and that will
Speaker 1: need to happen before the day I die. Okay, let's
Speaker 1: talk the news of the week, because you have just
Speaker 1: recently announced that the Milan Courtina Olympics will be your last.
Speaker 1: Tell me about that decision.
Speaker 2: I mean, quite a heavy decision for me, just because
Speaker 2: I've grown up in this program and been with USA
Speaker 2: Hockey for so many years literally kind of while to
Speaker 2: think about, like how long I've played so far, And
Speaker 2: my team kind of brought it up to me, like
Speaker 2: our like agency, it's like, what do you think, like
Speaker 2: will this be your last one? Just like prompting questions, right,
Speaker 2: And I was like, oh my gosh, like I haven't
Speaker 2: even thought about that, And so I thought about it
Speaker 2: a lot throughout this year and I was like, I mean, yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, I feel so fulfilled. I'm really confident with
Speaker 2: where we are on the world stage. Obviously I want
Speaker 2: to continue to keep on winning, but yeah, I think
Speaker 2: it's just it's time and the prospect of signing up
Speaker 2: for another quad, I don't know, you know, so a
Speaker 2: long time. Yeah, So in terms of Olympics, like, yeah,
Speaker 2: definitely twenty twenty six, and I would love to go
Speaker 2: out with a bang. That way would be ideal. I mean,
Speaker 2: anything can happen, right, Like, I still need to plot
Speaker 2: my way and make the team and all that fun
Speaker 2: things and stay healthy. But yeah, I'm really fulfilled from
Speaker 2: an Olympic standpoint. Good, So that's exciting.
Speaker 1: But you have said you planned to play in the
Speaker 1: PWHL after Milan. No need to put a timeline on
Speaker 1: that just yet. But what about Team Usay, if you're
Speaker 1: not gonna play for another full cycle, will you stick
Speaker 1: around after Olympics or does it feel cleaner to be
Speaker 1: done after Milan?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think I think I might stick around. You know,
Speaker 2: I've always had this if I can continue to make
Speaker 2: a positive impact in that program, you know, and sort
Speaker 2: of pass the torch in that way, make sure we're
Speaker 2: in a good spot with you know, all the turnover
Speaker 2: that naturally just happens after the Olympics. And yeah, I
Speaker 2: think you know, I'm still one of the best players
Speaker 2: in the world, so I'd love to continue that dominance
Speaker 2: and bring more World Championship trophies back to the US.
Speaker 2: But yeah, no, I think it's just it's exciting. I mean,
Speaker 2: at first, it was really daunting to even think about
Speaker 2: like an end point for anything. And I was like, well,
Speaker 2: I don't know, would it feels weird to sam done
Speaker 2: after twenty twenty six and then keep playing pro And
Speaker 2: you know, to me, now those are two very separate things.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so, which is nice. You know, you also have
Speaker 1: some records you can add too, so if you could
Speaker 1: keep playing in World Championships, we can build those leads
Speaker 1: you've got because recent World Championships. Just a couple of
Speaker 1: months ago, you helped Team USA to another win four
Speaker 1: three o two win over Canada, your tenth World title,
Speaker 1: which is insane, and then during the tournament you break
Speaker 1: the record for most career assists at Worlds. You now
Speaker 1: have the record at World's four assists, goals and points.
Speaker 1: What's the predominant feeling you have when I read that,
Speaker 1: when I say all that you've accomplished there, Wow.
Speaker 2: No, I mean I've played with some amazing players. I've
Speaker 2: been on some great teams, so like the individual awards
Speaker 2: feel uncomfortable, I'd say to me, And I think definitely,
Speaker 2: at some point in my life when I'm able to
Speaker 2: have like a healthy reflection on everything, be like wow,
Speaker 2: like I was a total badass. But no, the World
Speaker 2: Championship wins like that to me is just epic. You know,
Speaker 2: having ten is just I mean, that's a that's a
Speaker 2: body of work right there. And to be a part
Speaker 2: of those teams, to help lead those teams, to be
Speaker 2: a small or big piece in those teams. Yeah, it's
Speaker 2: really cool to have that number for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And you know, I think it's really hard for
Speaker 1: athletes who are as great as you have been and
Speaker 1: continue to be to figure out do I want to
Speaker 1: just be done at some point, or do I want
Speaker 1: to tell people when I'm going to be done and
Speaker 1: know that everyone at every one of my last games
Speaker 1: will know that this is it. It's going to feel
Speaker 1: like a lot. Maybe all the opponents will give me
Speaker 1: a gift and then it'll feel like a big deal
Speaker 1: and I can't just focus on the hockey. But it
Speaker 1: sounds like you are in a really a place of
Speaker 1: peace about how it all goes down, and it's cool
Speaker 1: that you do get to keep playing after the Olympics
Speaker 1: for something meaningful, Like a few years ago, it would
Speaker 1: have been a lot harder to know whether it was
Speaker 1: worth returning to something like the professional league that you
Speaker 1: were in, whether it was the money or the resources,
Speaker 1: or the interest or the fans. Because the PWHL has
Speaker 1: gotten off to such an incredible start when you choose
Speaker 1: to say goodbye to the Olympics, you can still play
Speaker 1: in a meaningful way after and not have it be
Speaker 1: three years earlier than you want, because that just happens
Speaker 1: to be what the Olympics cycle is.
Speaker 2: That's cool totally, and I think too, like it's no
Speaker 2: like I like to win, right, Like I love winning.
Speaker 2: And you know, when I think about the inaugural season
Speaker 2: with the PWHL, when I think about the landscape of
Speaker 2: pro sports in the city of Boston, I want to
Speaker 2: bring a Walter cumb back to that city. And that
Speaker 2: is like that's gonna be the new Crosshairs, right.
Speaker 1: So okay, look out.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah so and obviously this expansion, everything's gonna get
Speaker 2: blown up and you know, who knows what's gonna happen.
Speaker 2: But I want that so bad for this city too.
Speaker 2: And so you know when I was like, ah, like
Speaker 2: being done with the Olympic and I still play pro
Speaker 2: kind of thing, like is that weird? And it's like,
Speaker 2: how is that weird? You know, I'm just saying, like
Speaker 2: I'm not signing up for another quad. So I really
Speaker 2: want to embrace this twenty twenty six cycle for sure
Speaker 2: and really take it all in. And I'm really glad
Speaker 2: that that question was prompted months ago so I could
Speaker 2: now be more at peace with it. Yeah, and just hey,
Speaker 2: you know, and it too, like it's great for like
Speaker 2: our younger players on the team now, like you know,
Speaker 2: it's whoa like we're gonna step up, you know. So
Speaker 2: I think there's so many great things that come out
Speaker 2: of it. Obviously it's my career is something also to
Speaker 2: be celebrated, and it's cool because you know, even looking
Speaker 2: I don't usually go into dms for Instagram or anything,
Speaker 2: but someone sent me one. But I was just like
Speaker 2: on the couch the older day. I was like, what,
Speaker 2: you know, what does this look like? And they just
Speaker 2: said like thank you, like I inspired them in some
Speaker 2: sort of way, and it was just it was cool
Speaker 2: because we lace up, we play this game that we
Speaker 2: love and sometimes, you know, we talk about it, but
Speaker 2: sometimes we lose that perspective of having that impact through
Speaker 2: the thing that we love, and so like that was
Speaker 2: like a really cool moment where it's like, you know,
Speaker 2: it was sort of bittersweet, right, like yeah, but it
Speaker 2: just goes to show like what these careers can do
Speaker 2: for people. Obviously given me everything, but you know, I'd
Speaker 2: like to think that it's had positive impact on other
Speaker 2: people's wealth.
Speaker 1: So absolutely, you know, I want to get to your
Speaker 1: goals with Boston. But just to wrap on the international stuff,
Speaker 1: I'm curious how it's felt playing Canada in the last
Speaker 1: couple of major international tournaments. Now that you're not relying
Speaker 1: on centralization camps with national teams to prep, but you're
Speaker 1: prepping sort of together against the enemy, has it been
Speaker 1: hard to hate them as much as you used to.
Speaker 2: Kind of and then know? At the same time, I
Speaker 2: will say, like, it's hard from like a you don't
Speaker 2: have the same touch points with like just Team USA
Speaker 2: teammates all the time, and because of the ebbs and
Speaker 2: flows of the pro season, it's like sometimes you're in
Speaker 2: survival mode trying to get to the next game and
Speaker 2: recovering and whatnot, and you really have to be focused
Speaker 2: on the pro landscape and your team. But yeah, I'd
Speaker 2: say that the only downfall is not having as many
Speaker 2: touch points and being as connected I think, like off
Speaker 2: the ice and knowing you know, what everyone's going through
Speaker 2: in personal lives and stuff. But we kind of just
Speaker 2: pick up where we left off when the team gets together.
Speaker 2: But yeah, in some ways, you almost want to beat
Speaker 2: more now, you know. And in the spillover right, like
Speaker 2: it's you know, something happens in an international game, does
Speaker 2: it spill over the Pro series? You know, vice versa.
Speaker 2: It's it's really interesting to kind of see how this
Speaker 2: has become its own beast and you're seeing better games
Speaker 2: now at the international level. It's not just US versus Canada.
Speaker 1: And you're you're all learning from each other in practice,
Speaker 1: learning what each other does well what each other. Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, let's talk p WHL. Because your Boston Fleet
Speaker 1: finished with the same number of points as the third
Speaker 1: and fourth place squads, but just missed out on the
Speaker 1: postseason after a loss on the very last day of action.
Speaker 1: That is a heartbreaking way to see your season and
Speaker 1: when you're that close. I'm so sorry to ask, I
Speaker 1: have to, I.
Speaker 3: Have only like a loss was just it was such
Speaker 3: a heartbreaking experience to go through because I love our
Speaker 3: fans and God blessed them for continuing to stay and
Speaker 3: cheer us on till the very last minute.
Speaker 2: But yeah, like it just goes to show that every
Speaker 2: single game, every single point was standings matters, right, Like,
Speaker 2: we had an opportunity to close out and secure a
Speaker 2: playoff spot, you know, well in advance of that last game,
Speaker 2: and unfortunately came down to the last game and the
Speaker 2: fashion that we lost was super unfortunate. But yeah, it's
Speaker 2: it's frustrating, and then to build off you know, the
Speaker 2: year before we got really lucky. New York did some
Speaker 2: wonky things for us, and we were able to find
Speaker 2: a playoff fit out of nowhere, being what like twelve
Speaker 2: or fifteen points back after Worlds something like that. Like
Speaker 2: it was insane. So it every game matters, and you know,
Speaker 2: I think now being in year two, going to year three,
Speaker 2: you know, it's that's definitely gonna be a mindset shift
Speaker 2: for us in Boston.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what did you think was missing this season? I
Speaker 1: know you did get some luck on the way to
Speaker 1: making it to the finals last year, but you did
Speaker 1: end up in the finals. What was missing?
Speaker 2: Well, I think you always want to be control of
Speaker 2: your own destiny, right, and you never want to leave
Speaker 2: it up to chance. And you know two years we
Speaker 2: kind of we've done that, and so yeah, it uh,
Speaker 2: you know, I joke around talking shop all the time,
Speaker 2: but you know, I think it's just every single shift matters,
Speaker 2: and I think being able to generate and feed and
Speaker 2: build off of one another's momentum will put Boston in
Speaker 2: a better place next year.
Speaker 1: So get everyone to understand the urgency, get everyone else there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and you know it's tough, like we were
Speaker 2: playing a full contact like it is. It is not
Speaker 2: fun sometimes, Like we just came back from break, now
Speaker 2: we're up in Toronto against their fans. You know, it's
Speaker 2: those are hard games. Like we have tough schedules, but
Speaker 2: I think when you realize everyone else has a tough
Speaker 2: schedule in the league, it you know, it's go time
Speaker 2: and we need to be ready to embrace an opportunity
Speaker 2: to really control, you know, where we want to be
Speaker 2: in postseason. And yeah, and I think you know it's
Speaker 2: hard is we have such a great room and so
Speaker 2: like we have that going for us, and so that's
Speaker 2: usually the hardest thing to have in a great room.
Speaker 2: So we just need that to translate and to the
Speaker 2: on ice, and I think we're gonna be in a
Speaker 2: great spot.
Speaker 1: Season finale leaves a tough taste in your mouth, that
Speaker 1: eight to one loss. And it's the Frost who you
Speaker 1: lost to in the Walter Cup finals last season, So
Speaker 1: safe to say they're the biggest rivals.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean they're big. I think everyone in the
Speaker 2: league is, to be honest, like it's small enough. It
Speaker 2: feels like a blood bath out there, you know, regardless
Speaker 2: of who you're playing against. But yeah, I mean I
Speaker 2: was looking at the schedule. I saw Fross as the
Speaker 2: last game we're at home. You know, I think everyone's
Speaker 2: thinking it. We had the three nothing loss in the
Speaker 2: Walter Cup Finals last year, and you know, we were
Speaker 2: really excited going into that game, and it just, you know,
Speaker 2: it just goes a show, like a bounce here, bounce there.
Speaker 2: It's it can be.
Speaker 1: That's the worst part of sports that I always felt
Speaker 1: that way, no matter how hype I got, no matter
Speaker 1: how prep di I got, no matter how much I
Speaker 1: felt like my mindset was right, Like you just don't know,
Speaker 1: and that sucks. It sucks, but it teaches you great
Speaker 1: lessons for life. The season's now over, which means, of course,
Speaker 1: in the hockey world, everyone went to get surgery. Everyone's
Speaker 1: lower body injuries and upper body injuries and all the
Speaker 1: body injuries get revealed to be like extremely severe and
Speaker 1: everyone talks about how were they skating with that? So
Speaker 1: tell us what yours was? What was your injury? What
Speaker 1: was your surgery?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think everyone's just banged up, but
Speaker 2: mine is just uh yeah, I had to get surgery
Speaker 2: on Thursday, So that was not ideal. But you know,
Speaker 2: it's it's just part of the game. I don't know
Speaker 2: if hockey players are just like built different. There's like
Speaker 2: a level of stoicism, there's a love of craziness where
Speaker 2: you just feel so impassioned to fulfill your duty and
Speaker 2: responsibility to other teammates, and sometimes you just need to
Speaker 2: take a step back and be like you were absolutely crazy.
Speaker 2: But yeah, that's taken care of. Yeah, I you know,
Speaker 2: felt like I didn't have as big as an impact
Speaker 2: towards like the end of the year. So yeah, hopefully,
Speaker 2: you know, we'll be going into next year full fully
Speaker 2: rolling and having fun and you know, slicing up the
Speaker 2: game that I want to.
Speaker 1: I noticed you didn't tell me what the injury was,
Speaker 1: and I will let that stand and move on. What
Speaker 1: do you make of the current p WHL final matchup?
Speaker 1: We've got Ottawa versus Minnesota. We're talking to you on
Speaker 1: Thursday ahead of game two. So so far, you and
Speaker 1: I have just watched one game in the series. The
Speaker 1: listeners will have seen Game two by now. But you
Speaker 1: played against these teams all seasons, so give us your
Speaker 1: quick scouting report on them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean the Frost plays with crazy transition speed,
Speaker 2: you know, They've got some great shooters on that team,
Speaker 2: so you want to keep them out of those Grade
Speaker 2: A opportunities and limit those. And then on the flip side,
Speaker 2: like Ottawa plays with this like controlled chaos and has
Speaker 2: some people who can just pull plays out of make
Speaker 2: plays out of nothing, which you know obviously tends to
Speaker 2: be lethal when you're in these playoff games. So it's
Speaker 2: a really exciting matchup. I think Ottawa doesn't necessarily get
Speaker 2: enough credit for the type of team that they have,
Speaker 2: and I know, like I do not like playing against
Speaker 2: Ottawa or Minnesota, so you know, I'm curious to see
Speaker 2: how this unfolds. You've got great goaltending on both ends,
Speaker 2: and that's I mean, that's why you saw a game
Speaker 2: go into overtime.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Gwyneth Phillips, that was actually surprising. Best keeper, I guess, tender.
Speaker 1: What do we say in hockey? I always mix those up.
Speaker 1: Just goalie best goalie, and so soccer and hockey always
Speaker 1: get in my in my brain about that. But best
Speaker 1: goalie in the league all season, had the best goals
Speaker 1: against average, and then she just makes kind of a
Speaker 1: boneheaded play coming out of her net, which ultimately lets
Speaker 1: the frost get into that game and then thankfully for
Speaker 1: Ottawa didn't end up killing them. But that's the whole thing.
Speaker 1: Anything can happen, Even the best goalie out there can
Speaker 1: make a mistake like that. You mentioned expansion that's set
Speaker 1: for the PWHL heading into next season, Seattle and Vancouver
Speaker 1: joining the league. What's the most exciting thing to you
Speaker 1: about either those two cities or the league growing after
Speaker 1: just two seasons.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think both more opportunity for women in sport obviously,
Speaker 2: Like that's that's a no brainer. That's I mean off
Speaker 2: the hop that's what we get, you know, to see
Speaker 2: the success of the league and they make the decision
Speaker 2: to say, you know, we're expanding, and obviously they've got
Speaker 2: their data and numbers that show that it was successful.
Speaker 2: I think as players, when we were all trying to
Speaker 2: ide eate this thing, like we knew how successful it
Speaker 2: would be, and so when people would ask us like
Speaker 2: did you know how successfululd be? Like we've been pushing
Speaker 2: for this thing for years, but Mark and kimber Walter
Speaker 2: just you know, taking you know, an opportunity and really
Speaker 2: building it into this thing that's going to succeed and
Speaker 2: go the day since it's just incredible. And then in
Speaker 2: terms of the actual locations of expansion, like Vancouver sounds
Speaker 2: like it's an unbelievable setup, great hockey market. Obviously played
Speaker 2: some awesome games out there, and Seattle is just like
Speaker 2: a prime women's sports market. And I think people you know,
Speaker 2: on the East in the middle, I like, you forget
Speaker 2: like Seattle is here to play, especially with women's sports,
Speaker 2: and so that's really cool. I think, you know, as
Speaker 2: someone in the league, I'm like, shoot, we don't want
Speaker 2: to lose our players. You know, you never want an
Speaker 2: expansion draft. So yeah, it is for players, it's depending
Speaker 2: on what spot you're in your little it's a little
Speaker 2: nerve wracking because there's so much uncertainty. You don't know
Speaker 2: what's going to happen. You don't know what our team
Speaker 2: is going to look like. And for someone who really
Speaker 2: enjoyed our room and the players that we had on
Speaker 2: our team, like, it's gonna be very tough. You kind
Speaker 2: of have to start from from zero again.
Speaker 1: So well, we talked about that on the show. The
Speaker 1: expansion process the other day, five day exclusive signing window
Speaker 1: with not protected players. So that's cool. It's sort of
Speaker 1: this expansion team free agency before you even get to
Speaker 1: the expansion draft. What do you make of that process?
Speaker 1: And also teams only being able to protect three players.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's wild, but you know, it's exciting.
Speaker 2: It's exciting for fans. The you know, just the opportunity
Speaker 2: of expansion is exciting. You know, as a player, you're like,
Speaker 2: what is happening? I don't want to lose you know,
Speaker 2: certain you know players on our team because we just
Speaker 2: went through this whole process two years now. I'm sure
Speaker 2: gms on inauurgural teams are not having as well because
Speaker 2: they plan for the future. But it just goes to
Speaker 2: show like this is not necessarily development league right now.
Speaker 2: It's like a place in bank and you've got to
Speaker 2: be ready to go. So from that standpoint, it's exciting
Speaker 2: for fans. You know, you're probably gonna see more goal scored,
Speaker 2: you know, and all the fun things that come along
Speaker 2: with more teams and more spots. So that's that's awesome.
Speaker 2: But do you think uncertainty is eating me up?
Speaker 1: I'm just like, yeah, you're essentially such a veteran player
Speaker 1: that I would imagine your coaches and GM come to
Speaker 1: you wanting thoughts about things. Is there any chance they'll
Speaker 1: come to you about who to protect or who to
Speaker 1: who to look out for?
Speaker 2: Oh gosh, no, that's I don't get paid for that.
Speaker 1: Okay, well listen, I do a lot of things. I
Speaker 1: don't get paid for.
Speaker 2: Hillary.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's not how it. I know.
Speaker 2: There's definitely, you know, there's definitely conversations, you know, just like,
Speaker 2: you know, how are we feeling kind of thing? You know,
Speaker 2: what's your ideal scenario?
Speaker 1: You know, write three names down on a piece of paper,
Speaker 1: you hold it and slip it across.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we don't know, but you're the only submission is that? Yeah? No,
Speaker 2: you know it's I think personnel is like super important
Speaker 2: in our room too, And so you know, I keep
Speaker 2: talking about that, whether it's the US team or the Fleet.
Speaker 2: You know, teams win championships. You know, people focus a
Speaker 2: lot on top six time on ice, who's scoring goals,
Speaker 2: but it is so much the in between that don't
Speaker 2: necessarily get those like sexy metrics that win US championships.
Speaker 2: So when I'm looking at like, you know, hopefully I'm
Speaker 2: staying with Boston, right, and so when I'm looking at
Speaker 2: you know, how do we want to win a championship.
Speaker 2: How do we bring a championship here to Boston? You know,
Speaker 2: what do those pieces look like? And so I think,
Speaker 2: like our staff understand like who I am and what
Speaker 2: I can bring, and you know what I harp on
Speaker 2: sort of like as a leader, and I think all
Speaker 2: that will you know, hopefully align. And we're hoping, right
Speaker 2: because we don't want to lose anybody.
Speaker 1: But what if they just don't protect you and then
Speaker 1: Hillary Knight leads Seattle to their first Walter Cup. Screw you, Boston.
Speaker 1: You know the pw W Hotels go ahead.
Speaker 2: I was gonna say, like it's it's like a win
Speaker 2: win for anybody, right, Yeah, you know, you have opportunity
Speaker 2: where you are, and if you know, these things are
Speaker 2: completely out of a player's control, and if you go
Speaker 2: somewhere else, you have an opportunity there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're not even gonna we're not even going to
Speaker 1: talk about you getting an opportunity else. We're not doing that.
Speaker 1: We're not doing that. The PWHL's success stems from a long,
Speaker 1: hard fight from women's hockey players to demand better from
Speaker 1: both the US Hockey Federation and from professional offerings, and
Speaker 1: that included a really notable twenty seventeen threat to boycott
Speaker 1: the World Championships on home soil if USA Hockey didn't
Speaker 1: improve pay and conditions and resources. When you look back
Speaker 1: at that fight and you consider where the game is now,
Speaker 1: what stands out.
Speaker 2: To you The game wouldn't be where it is today
Speaker 2: without that. Yeah, And that's not just saying like that
Speaker 2: specific team, but that team went through it to learn
Speaker 2: how to stand up and fight for something and do
Speaker 2: it so publicly and put everything on the line, but
Speaker 2: also the strength of standing on shoulders before us, right.
Speaker 2: It was you know, a team, team, team behind the
Speaker 2: team effort to get something like that done. And you know,
Speaker 2: I want to give credit to Lambreau, Twins and John
Speaker 2: langle Megs. You know, there's so many people that went
Speaker 2: into being able to galvanize us in that way so
Speaker 2: that when we were looking at the horizon what we
Speaker 2: wanted for professional hockey, we knew what we wanted and
Speaker 2: we could be stern and people looked at us and
Speaker 2: said we were really crazy and we should be grateful,
Speaker 2: as they always will. And you know, look where we
Speaker 2: are for saying no, and it was a good no.
Speaker 1: I have to say, there are some real lessons to
Speaker 1: be taken from women's sports for the fights that we
Speaker 1: have in the rest of our world in society, because
Speaker 1: when you look at how things get done, the hockey team,
Speaker 1: the women's soccer team, fighting for equal pay across the board,
Speaker 1: in these spaces, people are reaching back and asking for help.
Speaker 1: It's people going to Cammi Granado and Billy Jean King
Speaker 1: and Julie Foudy. They're looking back and saying, how did
Speaker 1: you get this done? To Billy Jean back when you
Speaker 1: had the one dollar contract, how did you get this done?
Speaker 1: Faudy says to her. And when we look at how
Speaker 1: the the connections and the strength and numbers affects the
Speaker 1: outcomes of places that feel almost hopeless, like places that
Speaker 1: do not seem like they're going to move off of
Speaker 1: their spot. And then you get enough people together, and
Speaker 1: in your case, you're calling up every hockey player that
Speaker 1: exists and saying they're going to call you, Like these
Speaker 1: college kids whose dream it is to play for Team USA,
Speaker 1: They're gonna call you and they're trying to get you
Speaker 1: to be a scab and play in the World Championships
Speaker 1: because we're not going to be there. You cannot do that.
Speaker 1: You cannot take this dream in this opportunity because it
Speaker 1: will hurt the rest of women's hockey forever. And they
Speaker 1: didn't do it like that kind of solidarity is the
Speaker 1: kind of solidary we probably need to model in the
Speaker 1: other fights that we have. And it's just like endlessly
Speaker 1: impressive to me how women athletes and of the past
Speaker 1: and present rally together for those moments. I wonder what
Speaker 1: your relationship with USA Hockey is now.
Speaker 2: I think it's it's good. It is like to think
Speaker 2: of the the growth that we've had in such a
Speaker 2: small amount of times since twenty seven team because in
Speaker 2: some ways like it was a long time ago, but
Speaker 2: in many it wasn't. We have an incredible support staff,
Speaker 2: you know, fully fully employed behind us, which is awesome.
Speaker 2: But you know, I'm always like it's a starting point
Speaker 2: kind of thing. But yeah, I think you know, you're
Speaker 2: seeing us play on a world stage like we've never
Speaker 2: been able to compete before, and so that's exciting to
Speaker 2: me that we've made so many strides in such a
Speaker 2: short amount of time. And obviously contracts will come up
Speaker 2: for renegotiation and we have to go through those battles again.
Speaker 2: But I continue to think that we show up and
Speaker 2: we prove our worth every single time, and I think
Speaker 2: that's one of the hardest things to do. And I'm
Speaker 2: so glad you brought up BOUTI because you know, she
Speaker 2: in John Laningle like she should be mentioned as a
Speaker 2: name because she was the person that started. Here's the
Speaker 2: catalyst for us to be like, oh, yeah, we should
Speaker 2: do that, and we can do that, you know. Yes,
Speaker 2: I think we look at so many other like amazing
Speaker 2: women and what they've done and you're like, oh wow,
Speaker 2: like that's great, but you don't feel like you can
Speaker 2: be a part of that conversation. And so like she
Speaker 2: was that that catalyst for us. But yeah, it's you know,
Speaker 2: it's incredible what you're able to accomplish as a group.
Speaker 2: And as you put it, it was a dream. You know,
Speaker 2: it's not nothing tangible really that you can ask someone
Speaker 2: not to do. And so I think that was what
Speaker 2: was so powerful as we assembled this old fashioned phone
Speaker 2: tree and had all these moments if you know, can
Speaker 2: you can you say no to this because we promise
Speaker 2: it's going to be better?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Can it even a dream? Ye?
Speaker 1: Sick? So yeah, it's cool, you and I have talked
Speaker 1: on my various shows over the years, uh, probably a
Speaker 1: decade plus going back, and we've often discussed the pressure
Speaker 1: that women athletes feel, not just to be the very
Speaker 1: best at their sport and everything that that entails, all
Speaker 1: the workouts in time and energy, but also sell tickets,
Speaker 1: promote the game, foster growth, be a role model. And
Speaker 1: you have been carrying the load for women hockey for decades,
Speaker 1: one of the only household names in America in the sport.
Speaker 1: That's it's getting better, But do you still feel all
Speaker 1: that pressure?
Speaker 2: Honestly, I feel less pressure now that we have the league.
Speaker 2: I think the CBA negotiations, I think anybody who was involved,
Speaker 2: like every everyone had their own I think lends to it.
Speaker 2: But in many ways it almost ruined me, I think
Speaker 2: in my human life, because it was so exhausting and
Speaker 2: so meaningful, and you felt the weight of all the
Speaker 2: other players that you brought on this journey, and you
Speaker 2: knew that we could not fail and the worst thing
Speaker 2: would be to fail, and so that was that was
Speaker 2: really tough and really trying, and now being in your
Speaker 2: two to like take a breath and be like I
Speaker 2: get to just go play now, you know, that's nice.
Speaker 2: There will always be those pressures I think of, you know,
Speaker 2: how you carry yourself, how you want to have an
Speaker 2: impact on people. I think that's just innatly what comes
Speaker 2: along with that Olympic space and being a leader in
Speaker 2: your sport, and that's what it is specifically also too
Speaker 2: in women's sports. People are going to, you know, really
Speaker 2: dive down and look what you are you interested in
Speaker 2: and what you believe in, and really pick that apart.
Speaker 2: But I think that just comes with the territory.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I think about the impression that you
Speaker 1: can leave on the next generation of players who are
Speaker 1: just starting in the league, and how important it is
Speaker 1: for you to make sure that they know how hard
Speaker 1: you fought for it, because we're seeing that across so
Speaker 1: many women's sports spaces, where the folks who are just
Speaker 1: now retiring or maybe retired a year or two ago
Speaker 1: are like, damn, look at the money they're making in nil,
Speaker 1: look at the contracts they're getting, and it's like they're
Speaker 1: proud that they did that, but they're also like, m
Speaker 1: you lucky ducks, Like look what we help to make
Speaker 1: for you. So you're still around so you can tell
Speaker 1: them all, Hey, this is what it looked like when
Speaker 1: I started, and this is how different it is. So
Speaker 1: be grateful, but also keep pushing because it can all
Speaker 1: be taken away. Don't keep fighting for it in the
Speaker 1: right ways, which is which is pretty cool. You just
Speaker 1: mentioned the CBA, so I'm going to end on this.
Speaker 1: I read an article a couple of years ago where
Speaker 1: you said, maybe after hockey you'd like to go back
Speaker 1: to school after the CBA negotiations. Is that still something
Speaker 1: you want to do or have you decided to hit
Speaker 1: in the books? Is maybe not the thing for you? Well?
Speaker 2: So I always like I went to Wisconsin was history major.
Speaker 2: I have sort of always been like attracted to the
Speaker 2: law right in that way and being able to have
Speaker 2: an impact there. And it's funny because during COVID I
Speaker 2: ended up getting my MBA because I was like, I
Speaker 2: need structure and I went, wow, congrats, yeah thanks, So
Speaker 2: like I wanted to, I didn't. It's so funny, like
Speaker 2: this imposter syndrome thing. I was like, I've just been
Speaker 2: playing hockey my whole life, like I want to make
Speaker 2: sure what.
Speaker 1: Am I doing with myself.
Speaker 2: I'm a waist exactly. But then all the life lessons
Speaker 2: I've learned in this sport are so invaluable and like
Speaker 2: I can apply those anywhere. But yeah, so structure was
Speaker 2: good for me during COVID with that, but I was
Speaker 2: looking this far. I was like, is there an online
Speaker 2: law program? But no, I don't think I will. The
Speaker 2: LSA to me is just daunting and then.
Speaker 1: You can do it. You can do it, Hillary Knight,
Speaker 1: that squire has a real nice ring to if not
Speaker 1: in life, it's a TV show. I would watch it.
Speaker 2: I would watch it. There's so many things I want
Speaker 2: to do and there's just it feels like there's not
Speaker 2: enough time. You know. I love that the same way.
Speaker 1: I mean I do for sure, but also I feel
Speaker 1: like I love that coming from an athlete. So many
Speaker 1: folks are so lost when they're done because they're like,
Speaker 1: I'm only forty, but somehow I'm done with this whole
Speaker 1: purpose of my life, Like what do I do now?
Speaker 1: To me, it sounds like you're both wanting to keep
Speaker 1: playing for as long as you can and also very
Speaker 1: much like excited about all the time you'll have to
Speaker 1: do other things after. Yeah, what a gift. Like that's
Speaker 1: such a great place to be.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean just like h Like, I want to
Speaker 2: invest in women's sports, right, and I want to keep
Speaker 2: like talking about women's sports. I mean, so those are
Speaker 2: like the two like things for me that I just
Speaker 2: absolutely love to do. So awesome. Yeah, I think, you know,
Speaker 2: obviously there's a transition point in time and I've been
Speaker 2: playing for so long, and I will definitely be heartbroken
Speaker 2: in my own way for not being able to wake
Speaker 2: up and just train and do that for my job.
Speaker 2: But you know, I think, you know, I'm so fulfilled
Speaker 2: at the same time as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love the Walter Cup Championship after bringing the
Speaker 1: Walter Cup to Boston, to Boston, yes, and then potentially
Speaker 1: helping bring a team to Chicago so all your Lake
Speaker 1: Forest fans can watch. That's even Chicago too, and.
Speaker 2: Try we're trying to go, you know, honestly to like
Speaker 2: Florida would be great. Like I'm just thinking places like
Speaker 2: I want to travel, putting back.
Speaker 1: To the list. Yeah, oh yeah, that's easy, good travel
Speaker 1: spot throw some places in Europe on there. I've always
Speaker 1: wanted to go to Prague. Why not? Well, we always
Speaker 1: love catching up with you. Congrats on all the success,
Speaker 1: enjoy the recovery from surgery and we look forward to
Speaker 1: what's next.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much to Hillary for taking the time. We
Speaker 1: got to take another break when we come back. Oh,
Speaker 1: what the fact from the not too distant past, Welcome
Speaker 1: back slices, It's time for another What the fact? We
Speaker 1: talked with Hillary about her role helping demand more from
Speaker 1: USA Hockey back in twenty seventeen and how important the
Speaker 1: collective bargaining negotiations were and getting the PWHL off the ground.
Speaker 1: That work has helped create a very different landscape for
Speaker 1: women's hockey players compared to the one Hillary played in
Speaker 1: after graduating from college. So let's go back in time.
Speaker 1: The year is twenty twelve and Hillary Knight just graduated
Speaker 1: from the University of Wisconsin as a two time NCAA champion.
Speaker 1: She's a regular member of the US national team, but
Speaker 1: away from those team camps and tournaments, the women's hockey
Speaker 1: landscape is a tough place. She initially joins the Boston Blades,
Speaker 1: a team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Want to
Speaker 1: know how much money ce WHL players made back then?
Speaker 1: Nothing nada. That league operated as a nonprofit and while
Speaker 1: some expenses were covered, players were not paid to play hockey.
Speaker 1: After a couple seasons with the Blades, Hillary joins the
Speaker 1: NWHL's Boston Pride in twenty fifteen. The NWHL was historic
Speaker 1: in that it was the first league to pay women's
Speaker 1: hockey players, but salaries were low and benefits like health
Speaker 1: insurance and housing stipends were not included. Then salaries were
Speaker 1: slashed in season two as the league ran into financial trouble.
Speaker 1: It was pretty bleak. All that to say, women's hockey
Speaker 1: has come a long way in just a few short years,
Speaker 1: which makes it all the more exciting to see the
Speaker 1: PWHL not only thrive but expand already after just two seasons.
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Speaker 1: dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven
Speaker 1: two two oh four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe,
Speaker 1: rate and review, y'all. It's easy. Watch the Atlanta dream
Speaker 1: play A Society cash App Statement Court rating ten out
Speaker 1: of ten Amazing Esthetics review. The Dreams home opener was
Speaker 1: against the Indiana Fever Thursday Night at Statefarm Arena, and
Speaker 1: the squads hooped on a very special court designed in
Speaker 1: collaboration with cash App and the woman owned streetwear brand
Speaker 1: play A Society. This court is gorgeous, y'all. We'll link
Speaker 1: to pictures of it in our show notes. Between the lines,
Speaker 1: the hardwood is black with a slightly darker black, and
Speaker 1: the painted area and the space surrounding the court is
Speaker 1: a gradient going from an elect green to a forest green.
Speaker 1: Mid court is where things really get good. In bold
Speaker 1: white letters in the text you typically see on all
Speaker 1: of play As Society's popular shirts and other apparel are
Speaker 1: the words pay some respect to women's Sports. You might
Speaker 1: have seen the shirt that Esther Wallace's brand collabbed on
Speaker 1: with cash Apps. Just like that. Shout out to the
Speaker 1: dream because this court gives the arena a super intense vibe,
Speaker 1: almost like what a court might look like in Gotham City.
Speaker 1: And if you got the game, you know it looked
Speaker 1: awesome on TV too. The court will now be donated
Speaker 1: to a local youth organization and the pay Some Respect
Speaker 1: to Women's Sports statement will be featured on the Dreams
Speaker 1: practice jerseys and on March that's available to fans on
Speaker 1: the play A Society website. We'll link to that in
Speaker 1: our show notes. There's some other really great merch there
Speaker 1: as well. Now's your turn rate and review. Thanks for listening, slices,
Speaker 1: see you tomorrow. Good game, Hillary, Good game to that
Speaker 1: uber driver who made sure Hillary got to New York.
Speaker 1: Do you expecting players to compete in a contact sport
Speaker 1: without ensuring that they have medical coverage? Good Game with
Speaker 1: Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership
Speaker 1: with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You could find us
Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
Speaker 1: your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network. Our producers are
Speaker 1: Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett,
Speaker 1: Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are
Speaker 1: Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and Gianna Palmer. Our
Speaker 1: associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah
Speaker 1: Spain