Our Girls Play Hockey – The Road to a Walter Cup Championship Part 2 (Hayley Scamurra’s Day in the Life)

SPEAKER_03 0:07

Hello, hockey friends and families. Welcome back. This is part two of our championship edition Day in the Life with Haley Skimora. She is now gonna walk us through the Walter Cup championship round against the Ottawa Charge. If you have not done so yet, go ahead back and listen to part one of this series to see how they got there. But this one is wonderful and exciting. We hope you enjoy it. Let's get into that episode right now. And that that advances you now to the second half of this episode, to the PWHL Walter Cup final against Ottawa, who is returning to the final for the second year of the round, right? After having been defeated by Minnesota the year before. And we're gonna spend some time on game one because this has to be one of the most dramatic games I have ever watched. Um from top to bottom. Uh you know, so I again we're gonna kind of skip to the end of the game a little bit. I think you have to, yeah. All right, but yeah, the the quick recap is it's two to one. Very late in the third. All right. And uh it looks like this is this is over, right? We're in the last minute of the game. Um, Ottawa's playing great. You guys have the good, you know, you're doing what you can, but yeah, it's it's tight. Time's winding down. And then Lara Stacy gets well, not crushed, but something happens and she's on the ice. And again, on the broadcast, Haley, I mean, she's in pain, she is writhing in pain. Yes. Um yeah. I don't know if we can discuss what happened. I'm not necessarily asking, but yeah, uh, she's she's hurting, all right. Yes, uh, to the point that they're not showing her on the broadcast, it's kind of zoomed out. Um right, so we get to that moment. I'm gonna I don't want to reveal the ending yet, but let's get to this. There's there's very little time left. I think that's like less than a minute now, all right. And one of your top players is extreme pain, uh uh married to another player on your team, which is a unique thing, right? There's there's that aspect on it, and she goes off the ice. Where are you at mentally as a team at that point?

SPEAKER_01 2:12

I think everyone was fired up. I think we were all just ready to do anything it took to find a way to score, but we weren't panicking or anything, like there was no panic. Like, obviously, there was concern for Stacey wanting her to be okay, but we're like, we have to do this for her, like we have to find a way to tie this game up. And you could just tell Pooh was on a mission, she was ready to do what needed to be done, right? And uh, she kind of led the offense in that sense uh to get down because we there was only 20 seconds left, maybe.

SPEAKER_03 2:42

Nothing. I mean, it's like the game's over. That that's how it gets to this point.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Yeah, and so she kind of led the charge into the zone, and then she went and got the puck herself to get it out in front of the net, and then uh Nicole Gosling followed it up, and we didn't know if like we didn't know if the horn had gone for the period to end, or if it was the horn for the goal.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

So we're all like looking around, making sure uh it was unbelievable.

SPEAKER_03 3:05

Well, everybody everyone watching knew it was the goal, yeah. Um and and I'm just gonna say this time of the goal, 1957 in the third period. Yeah, all right. And and just to echo you, um, you know, there was this long break from her being injured, like it wasn't a quick thing, it was it was several minutes, like seven or eight minutes before the gameplay started. But you could see it when you lined up, the team lined up. There was a determination of we've got the time we've got, we're gonna have to do something. Yeah, and boy, did you do something. We we shouldn't uh not talk about DBN because there's there's shots here that were turned away as well at this point. So gosling scores, Pulan sets it up. Uh, they have they have uh Maureen Murphy here with an assist on that too. Yes, um, yep. Uh and like now you know you're going overtime. What a shift! I mean, my goodness. It goes from a sure thing this they're gonna lose game one to now they're forced in overtime. I can't even imagine what Otto was feeling because it's like like it's not exactly that there were missed coverages on this goal, it was just poo did what did all right? And she put the puck in front of the net. Yep. Um, again, broadcast, you didn't get to watch it. One of the things I remember from the broadcast is you talked about how how cool Pooh is under pressure, uh, kept going to your trainer to back and forth to the bench, obviously asking about Laura. Yeah, yeah, right. Um, I would say she looked she looked as ice cold as she always does, yeah, but you could feel the concern, right? And it's like I'd say dramatic because they're married. I mean, you're there's this like building up here. Yeah, this is not something you see every day, right? It's like you're the captain of the team, captain of team Canada, your wife has been hurt, yeah, like you're going over time, your emotions are in the washer and dryer going all over the place, and all of a sudden it's like, look, we gotta go out there and play. Yeah, all right. And why don't you take us through the two minutes and 29 seconds that ensued after that? If you can remember.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

I honestly like can't really remember. Um, wait, wait, wait, wait. We had a surprise visit.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Insert video here.

SPEAKER_04 5:14

Insert video.

SPEAKER_03 5:16

Let me let me if I may, Haley. Sorry, I'll set you up a little bit. All right, please. Yeah, we get to the overtime. Yeah, uh we're sure Stacy's done. Not and not not just for the game, like this is like I know she's done for the series, she's hurt, yeah, right. Then you see her warming up at the start of overtime, and everyone, I'm gonna say it, gang, cover your kids' ears. Everyone went, holy what are you doing? And we're even wondering like, is this for show? Like, like, is this just to for show to pump the team up? Uh, it wasn't for show because rock's on the ice, yeah. Uh Stacy passes the puck, yeah, throws it in front of the net, rock puts it in, and you win the game. Like it's miraculous. I mean, I can you even begin to tell us what that was like.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

I mean, just seeing her on the ice, because like so when she was taken down the tunnel, she's on the opposite side of the rink. So none of us could see her or knew what was going on. So, poor, you know, we're trying to find out and didn't have any information based on what we had seen, did not think she was showing up in that game. And uh, so then we get on the ice and we see her freaking ripping laps, being her normal self. I was like, oh, thank goodness. Like our med staff is incredible. They did some magic there. Um, and she was able to go. And you could just tell, like, our whole team, it felt like we knew we were winning the game. We're like, you score with two seconds left, we're winning this game. And I believe that was the one where Maggie shot it from the point, and I think it hit Abby in the face.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

It did.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

And went in, which was just incredible. Like, yeah, it was like, let's go, find a way, you know, like whatever works. And uh um, yeah, and it was nice to kind of finish that out quicker as well.

SPEAKER_03 6:57

Yeah. Um, yeah, the longer that goes, the it actually swings back the other way. That's the momentum things.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Yeah, so that was massive, and it was just incredible. It was such a great win.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

So listen, you win game one in dramatic fashion. Yeah, and I actually think that one of the dangerous side effects of that is you can easily get into this. Well, we're destined to win. You know, somebody wants us to win because this is not what happens. And look, there's part of that that feels good, but you can't get conceited with it. You can't let that get too much in your head to the point that you can't think. Um, so we arrive two days later at game two, um, which you also you love overtime. This team loves overtime. Um, and uh again, first two periods pretty even. Like the game, the game was tied for a while. Uh, you get in overtime. This one goes a little bit longer, all right. Uh Maggie got the game winners uh assisted by Poulan and and Rock. Um, again, a little bit of a simpler game, yeah. Like, like it wasn't as exciting as the first game, but yeah, uh, what it gives you now is this stranglehold on the series, right? And again, gotta say this again. If either one of these games goes an inch the other way, you're in the hole. Yeah, I was on the uh uh uh the way of clinching the series, but yeah, you win game two. Do you remember thing anything about game two? Or or just after game two, you know, you're one away. Um like what is that process like? Because it's so close you can taste it now.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah, I mean, game two is incredible. We have two defensemen who score and show up big for us in that game, which was amazing. Um yeah, I don't remember too many other details from that game, but winning that game, it's like, oh my gosh, like you kind of start visualizing like we win the next game. Walt, like Walter's in the ring, right? Like that's crazy, like that's so exciting. Uh, but you know, we know the last game is gonna be hard because they're gonna play desperate and things like that. And so we knew, but we also fully believed we could have closed it out in game three. Um, but I mean, the well, we can talk about that soon, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 9:00

Yeah, like it's it's not that game three is a passover game, right? It was an exciting game anytime overtime. Yeah, but it really does set up this game three, and again, I'm gonna do a little bit of setup here too. You've two games to nothing, it's looking like a very sure thing. Everyone knows the last game's the hardest to win. The one question I want to ask uh before we get into these games is the series now switches from Montreal to Ottawa, all right? Um, obviously, every fan of a team wants their team to win at home, right? Is there any thought of that from a player perspective? Not like, hey, we we should wait and win at home. I I know nobody thinks that, but does that thought cross your mind of like we're gonna go now? We gotta go win in Ottawa. Um how does that play into it, or does it not play into it in any way at all?

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Not really, I don't think. I mean, obviously, in an ideal world, you would want to win at home, but then by saying that we would have to take it to game five, which none of us wanted to do. Like we wanted to close that out immediately.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

So, and honestly, Ottawa is so close to Montreal as well. So we had so many fans. Like, right, truly, I they said they were booing. I'm like, I didn't hear a boo, I heard cheers for Montreal when we were there. Like, our fans travel well, and um we felt the love, we felt the support, and it was it was a great atmosphere. Like they played at, for those that don't know, they played at Canadian Tire Center, which is where the Ottawa Senators play out of, so there was a lot more capacity. So game one was a record, or game one at their rink was a record for playoffs in the PWHL for attendance, so it was really, really loud and fun and just incredible.

SPEAKER_03 10:35

And and small shout out to the people in Ottawa, real quick. I just want to say this, Mike, because they had the Ottawa charge logo on the ice. And I, you know, in years past, it would have just been the Sens logo. Like they went out of their way to do that. I think it's we should give them a shout-out for that. All right. I appreciate that. Go ahead, Mike.

SPEAKER_04 10:53

Yeah, no, no, exactly. Well, they just show the respect of what they're where they are in the league, right? And that that's their building as well. And and this is something that they are are rallying around. And I think that to Haley's point, I think when you get to these, you know, these these big arenas and at college and and Olympics and pros, like I don't think pro athletes, because I know coaches don't, I mean, they don't hear booze, they just hear energy. Like, so if that energy is going against you or for you, you know, I I get the like maybe now the Montreal team's feeling a little bit out, like, but maybe they don't want to be home, right? Because they're hearing a lot of negative energy, like they're hearing the shoot and you know, you know, all of a sudden like the other energy is, but I think when you're in a big arena like that, in a big stadium in a big game, the booze, like you said, like I don't I don't even know what they were saying. All I know is that it was loud and it was fun and I was energized. I I think you you hear uh an interview that Harry Clunk was recently, and he talks about that. He's like, I don't know, I'm going to Montreal. It's just energy. Like, I don't know if they're booing me or happy for me or what. I think that's a really just to you know, you can take that and embrace it. Like, if you're booing me, whatever. I just like I just love hearing that somebody's out here cheering for us in a positive or ineffective way. You know, that's a great thing.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

You know, one of the things I tell my players, and Hell, you had the the the um time we interviewed them was we were in a hostile environment, and I told them in the locker room, like one day no one's gonna boo you, one day no one's gonna cheer you. Like it's all cheers if you want it to be. It's a response. Yeah, right. Someone cares enough to hate you, right? Like it's like or to root against you. It's a privilege, right? And I'm saying that to our audience, especially the kids listening, because as a kid, that can actually be a little intimidating, even your own fans can be intimidating for sure. And what I try and say is that hey, listen, someone's putting energy, Mike, to your word, into you and your team, and that is a massive privilege, right? So yeah, so uh you're playing in a major world championship here. You played in a world championship, literally. Yeah, there's a lot of energy around that. All right, um, all right, game three. First game.

SPEAKER_04 13:01

But plus when you're at when plus when you're not close to games, you got your family probably traveling too, watching, right? And they're there they're there's some cheers in there, so you're good. You know, it's a close enough, it's a great close enough matchup. But how many miles? I mean, uh, how close was it, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:13

I mean, uh like a two-hour two-hour drive.

SPEAKER_04 13:17

Commute. That's not good. That's crazy, right? So, I mean, there's no really reason why uh you know there there couldn't be, you know, there's a it's obviously you guys have a great following and people enjoy uh making the trip and and and supporting your team. So, you know, all that kind of stuff's great. And I think you just look around and be like, listen, I it's I just look back to this building. Like you said, it's just a record-breaking uh attendance record again.

SPEAKER_03 13:38

Well, I'll I'll also say the broadcast kept showing this crazy guy with a beard and a Montreal every single he's just screaming. Uh obviously, big shout out to to Nick Haley's boyfriend here because like he he found a way to be on every broadcast, they just kept finding him.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

The camera always finds him, he's always giving the energy that they need. It's so funny. I was actually asked about him at exit interviews.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Oh, really? Yeah, that's great.

SPEAKER_03 14:04

You can have to tell us that story, but I uh big big shout out to Nick for being on every broadcast. But uh uh yeah, talk about bringing the energy. Uh, I mean it. Like, I I sent Haley a picture, I think, after the first game of the playoffs of do you know this man? Like, like, all right, let's get to uh let's get to game three, the final. All right. Uh, it's an elimination game. You said it. Walter's in the house. I want everybody to understand. We've been talking about how razor thin these games are. Check out these stats. No goals in the first and second period. Shots, Montreal 28, Ottawa 28. Power play, 0 for 3, 0 for 3. This is razor thin. Okay. First goal, which we're going to talk about for a little bit, came at uh 732 of the third period. It says here that a Haley Skomora scored that goal, uh, assisted by Maureen Murphy. Haley, it was a great goal. It was a it was an absolute skomora type goal. Why don't you walk us through it? Um, and and uh the decision making on it because yeah, we talked in an episode about your placement and timing, and this was the the personification of that.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Yeah, um, we had just been on the power play, and so it was like finishing up, and I remember there was a puck in the neutral zone, and I decided to like carry it in and try to keep possession instead of just dumping it in. I felt like I had enough energy to keep going. Uh, so I enter in the middle of the zone, I cross the blue line, I kick it out to Murph uh on the wing, and then I drive the net and I kind of hit the defender a little bit to kind of like interfere slightly. And uh because I knew Murph would have time to kind of come in and get a shot off, maybe. And she did. I think it just missed the net. It honestly might have hit me. I don't even know, but I was able to kind of track it and it hit the boards and came out perfectly right to me. And I was like, boop, hit it right in. I I was just in shock, so excited. Um, I actually got hit back during my celebration by uh my USA teammate, actually. So that was kind of funny to watch back because I didn't know how I ended up on the ground during the celebration. Like I had no recollection of being hit. And I watched it back, I was like, what the heck? Like I got we were just so excited. Oh my gosh, like I will never forget that. Like, beyond excited.

SPEAKER_03 16:20

Uh I'm gonna tell you this because uh I'm a host on the show and I'm sitting here with you, and it's very rare that I get to talk to a professional player about what was going through my mind, but to your point, you got that in the neutral zone. And I I I want you to understand exactly what I was thinking because it's gonna make you laugh, right? Okay, I saw you make the decision to skate with it, yeah. And I remember you talking about a few episodes ago of I'm more comfortable now skating with that fuck. I used to just throw it in, and I saw you look up, read the play, and you just go in, right? So that was the first thought I have. It's like she said she was gonna do this, all right. Then you're in the zone, you make a brilliant pass to the player that has found the open ice. Another thing we have talked about, right? You drive the net. She shot and I watched this thing ricochet off, and I'm watching um uh you know Phillips, and like you can do on the TV when you're watching, you can do the math in your head of yeah, this is either gonna be the greatest save she's ever made, or Haley's got an open net, yeah, right. And you you said you did a little boop, but I mean you really hammered that puck into the net. Like, I think that was more of a sorry, like, but man, it came right on your stick, and I went nuts. Everybody at the house went nuts um because it was just such a great team goal, but yeah, again, we talked about manifestation, like these are things you said you were gonna do. You made the decision to go in, you made a great pass, you went to the open ice yourself. Okay, maybe maybe a little luck on the on the redirection. We didn't know if she actually meant to do that or not. Yeah, um, and I guess we'll never know. We'll just say it that way. Yeah, um, and again, uh before we get to what happened after, one of the greatest pictures of you I've ever seen uh is you celebrating with your teammates. I hope you frame that. All right. Um, because it was one of the coolest pictures I've seen of you yet. Just in like you said, I don't know what happened. Um amazing. All right. So any final thoughts on your goal before I move forward? Because it was a beautiful goal.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

No, it was just so exciting. I think just the energy I felt going to the bench and seeing how excited everyone was. I was just like, oh my gosh, like we've got this, like let's keep going. Like, come on, everyone. So right.

SPEAKER_04 18:35

So now are your team are your teammates at that point? Are they are they jealous that you're wearing where your sports bubble in that in that situation?

SPEAKER_00 18:43

Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_04 18:46

You're getting the best, uh, you know, the best visuals out there for everybody. You know, with the pictures, it's great to get to see uh, you know, really who the athlete is.

SPEAKER_03 18:53

Yeah, you know, for someone who doesn't go on camera that much, Haley, you've you're prone for the camera, just so you know. Um, all right, so let's keep this game going. Time now is winding down. Um, and you know, obviously, everyone here who listens to this show is like, well, we really hope this game ends with Haley Skimora getting the game-winning goal in the Walter Cup finals. Um, and time keeps winding down and winding down. And you know, it really does look like you have Montreal has control of this game. Um, but the hockey gods are cruel, and the hockey gods believe in karma. And you broke Ottawa's heart in that first game. Yeah, so the hockey gods demand a response, and that's what happens. Now let's give all the credit to Ottawa, obviously. Yeah, um hemp scores 1430 in the third tie game, right? And it sure looks like we're going overtime, a third overtime in a row. Uh, and then uh great player Rebecca Leslie puts that puck in with just under a minute left in the game to give the charge the lead. Um from a viewer point, I didn't feel like Montreal led up. Um I thought the goals were um opportunistic in the sense of you know, there were situations that allowed them to create those opportunities for themselves. But walk us through it. I mean, it's heartbreak, it was heartbreaking um from a victoire stance.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Yeah, I think um I felt we were gripping our sticks a little tight, honestly, after the goal. I think we were excited that like I think we felt the excitement of being able to win it, you know. And I think um there was moments where I thought we were playing a little bit scared or on our heels a little bit. So I think it was a good learning experience for us going into that game four to then kind of turn the tides and not act that way when we had the lead, uh, not the foreshadow. We know how to do it. You know, it was it was uh yeah, true. Um, I guess it was uh, I mean, it was definitely like frustrating. Like I was like envisioning it, like I was seeing it, like us winning that game. And so it was definitely when they tied it up, I was like, okay, like all good, like we'll keep going, no worries. And then they got the second one, and I was like, ah, shoot. All right. Well, might not be our game today. But I mean, like you said, I think they were good goals. They they the rebounds went perfectly onto their sticks, it happens. Um, I didn't really think it was any fault of anyone's. Um I think um, yeah, I think we just got maybe a little too excited, maybe, and we needed to kind of settle back in and keep playing aggressive. And um it just didn't go our way that game, and that was okay.

SPEAKER_03 21:30

Well, I'll I'll tell you this. Yeah, you know, like I said, it's not it's not, I don't want to call I don't like to call it luck. It was just opportunities. The fuck was right where it needed to be. And look, you the the victoire had those two. I mean, look at the overtime in the first game. Exactly. Yeah, this is part of the game, this is part of that razor thin situation on your goal. We can make if you don't go left, if you go right instead of left there, you don't get a goal. So, yeah, um, pretty incredible. I do like that you brought up we started to feel it, all right, because it's impossible not. To it's just it's just almost virtually impossible when you're up by a goal late in the game, you can taste it, yeah. Right, but but I do think, and you kind of alluded to this, Haley, before we get to the last game, um, this became a massive learning because you had it and then you didn't, and then you feel the opposite of you know, oh no, right? And that it's not fear, fear is not the right word. That loss puts you in a totally different mindset for this final game, right? Uh, can you talk about that for a minute? Because it's it's it it must have been like again devastating, but also like good, but it hurts, it hurts when you lose like that.

SPEAKER_01 22:39

It was a different kind of loss. I agree. I think it's like like you said, it's like you tasted it and then all of a sudden you lose it. It's like, oh dang it, we have to play another game for this. Like, we don't want it to go to a game five, like we want to win the game four. Um, and so I think uh it was interesting, so it was definitely really sad. I I was that was a harder loss, I would say. Um, but again, kind of have to have a quick memory, uh, quick memory loss on that one and let it go. And um, I think looking back, I think it did end up helping us in that game four to kind of remember what it was like and remember what not to do in a sense. Um so, but yeah, it was definitely a tough one.

SPEAKER_03 23:22

Um, I do want to give a quick shout out before we get to the final um final game to the broadcast crew because it was during this game that you scored in uh earlier in the game. I'm looking at the screen, and there is an Our Kids Play Hockey, uh a social media post on the screen talking about you and our return episode or Netflix presence episode. Um, so I want to just huge shout out to them for supporting our show, supporting you, and then uh obviously manifesting your goal in that game. Um I wish they had put it back up after your goal a couple times so you could have got a got a couple more there. But um, thank you for that. And then look, this game just shows you again, inches away, centimeters away from winning this championship, and it can all be taken away. One of the best quotes I ever heard was, you know, winning is not your friend.

SPEAKER_02 24:10

Right?

SPEAKER_03 24:11

Winning doesn't owe you anything, it will hurt you, it will fight you, right? If you want to win, you've got to capture it and win it. It's not gonna do you any favors. And I think this this game three showcased that. Yeah right? Winning is hard, it's really freaking hard to the point people don't understand it. Now we've got three games in, they're all one goal games, razor thin. All right, another theme that we're saying, I'm building up the final game here, is one thing I did notice is that Debian is getting better and better and better as the games are going on. Even though you lost this game, she was huge in this game, all right. Um, and you're starting to see her kind of get into this zone of uh not just championship level, but you know, hall of fame level goaltending in a final that's one thing, all right. Now we head into to game four. I want to remind everybody it's a five-game series. So, you know, Ottawa winning game three makes this a lot tighter than if it was a three-nothing lead in the NHL, right? I just given the comparison. They win this game. You're going game five. Yeah, all right. It's dangerous, it's a dangerous situation because they'll have all the momentum, you'll have the Hallmice advantage, but now this game is really important. All right, they're all important. Um stats before we get into the final. Montreal was outshot in this game, 23 to 16.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

In the final game?

SPEAKER_03 25:47

I bet you didn't know that. Alright. Uh third period, Montreal had four shots on net. Alright. Uh Montreal had scored. Huh? Well, we're gonna matter. At the end of the day, well, I'm building this up, all right. Power play opportunities. Montreal had zero power plays, Ottawa had three power plays in this game. Haley, you saw a few of those. Final score in the game, Montreal wins the Walter Cup Championship. Four to nothing, a dominant score. All right, three of the four goals coming in the third period on four shots. Talk about razor thin. Yeah, I'm also gonna say this too, Haley, before we go into it. Uh, let look again. Shout out to Debian. Unbelievable performance in this game. Shout out to win again. She just got better and how many shots that said she took. I mean, it was incredible. Um, 23 for 23 on saves. Um, you particularly in this game. Every time I looked up, you're on the ice. Big moments, penalty kills, big face-offs, end of the game. I mean, you were really activated in this game, and it was obvious. All right. Um, two shots on net, not your best face-off night, but but defensively, you were everywhere, right? Uh, we can talk about that too. About after face-offs, defensively, you were not a liability.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:08

All right. Before we get into the elation of the win, talk to me about the game itself and how that game went.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

I mean, it's funny that you mentioned that with the shots, because it didn't really feel that way, honestly. Like, I didn't really feel that it was that drastic of a shot difference. Like, I felt like we still had control of the game. I felt like we didn't let up too many chances, but when we did, like, like you said, Anne was just solid. Like she had been all playoff series, but like in that game in particular, she was even like an extra level. I felt like just locked in. Um, and you know, with our team, I just think we did so much better when we did get that first goal. Like we kept playing aggressive, we kept, you know, pushing the pace and um found ways to just capitalize on less chances. We were more efficient, if you will. You know, we followed the Montreal Canadians path, I guess.

SPEAKER_04 28:01

Yeah, I mean, I think it's what that's that's a such an interesting thing, too. When you look at like a lot of teams value dots on net um as a as a stat that should be like looked at maybe so much differently, right? Because it's quite the quality of what you're shooting and when. Like, so yeah, sure, you can get over and just dump pucks on net, but what you're doing is when you're putting pucks on net, you're actually giving up possession of the puck, right? So I think the the whole idea that, well, can you maintain possession and pick your spots better? Obviously, that's what you guys ultimately did. Um, but so I see the the argument, I think, at the youth hockey level is shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, you know, as many shots as you can because it's just your percentages are gonna go up just based off the fact that there's more chance than that. But I think when you get to a level where you know, listen, I could take a million shots from the point. There ain't going in. Like it's just not gonna get through. Like it's just really, really hard to score goals at the professional hockey level. I think that's where you know, I think those stats really start becoming much more apparent. I was just talking about, you know, and diving in and digging in and and and and looking at, I know, you know, people at home that you know follow, you know, higher level hockey and and seeing like what that what that scatter shot looks like, you know, where those shots are coming from, when what time of the game are they coming from? I think those are important pieces to really tell a story. But listen, three goals in the third period, uh, you know, in a in a tight, tight, tight matchup is uh that is where that is where momentum is really hard to catch, right? Because you have to some point feel like after goal two, just like you felt after goal one, like, oh, we got that. This is the now what do you feel? What do you feel like after goal two? And feel after you know now at three, now it's three-nothing. Third period.

SPEAKER_03 29:45

Goal two was a bad week, right?

SPEAKER_01 29:47

Yes, it was.

SPEAKER_03 29:48

Yeah, I think it was a jailbreak goal.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

Watching Abby go down, like when for that jailbreak goal, as soon as I saw her skating down the ice, I go, she's doing something. Like, I I think the whole bench could just feel it. Like she was ready to just go score. Like she saw that it was a forward-playing D. She's like, I got this. And she just when she scored that goal, I was like, We've got this game. We're winning, like, we are winning this game. Yes, like our whole team felt it, like it was just incredible. And then I feel like that's when we just really kept putting the pressure on. Uh, because it was funny, we were maybe a little, you know, frantic at times, right? And so we're on the bench at the TV timeout, and Corey's like, All right, guys, I've told you to settle down about a million times. It's not working. What will work to get you all to just like settle? Like, what word's gonna work? And we're all like looking at each other, we're like, how are we gonna pick a like what word? Like, I don't know. And our teammate, Lena Jungblum, she had like a speech like at our office warm-ups before the game, and she went, she meant to say, today is the day. And she said, today is today. And we all just started cracking up. And so Stacy's on the bench and she goes, today. And so Corey goes, Okay, today. So it kind of got everyone to just like laugh and like relax. And I thought we played really well after that. I don't remember, I don't remember after which goal that was, to be honest. It could have been uh it could have been after the second one, but yeah, anyway, I think it really helped the team chill.

SPEAKER_04 31:14

And that's the that's the coach's job, right? It could be seven-nothings in a minute left game and still coaching. You're like, okay, just let's you know, we can still play. We gotta still play. Like, and just that's it's so hard in a game. When when was that? When was the when was the jailbreak goal? How much time was left in the period for the third?

SPEAKER_03 31:29

958 in the third. So I should say that the game was one-nothing Montreal for a while. They scored early in the second, um, and then it just kind of stayed like that. Like, like not, I don't want to say not much was going on. Obviously, hockey was being played, but yeah, the score was stagnant for a while. But 958 in the third, um, rock unassisted, shorthanded.

SPEAKER_04 31:49

Yeah, so that I mean, think about 958 is an eternity, like it's still so much time left in the game. Yeah, you know, like you know, everybody's everybody's feeling it, right? But I'm sure the staff is on like this, you know, just like you said, all of a sudden at the blink of an eye, go the other way, and all of a sudden now you're on the deal. So it really does take so much. It's almost like that's really where you get to coach, right? That's really where you get to get in there. Okay, let's let's see if I can find a way to to keep the energy, but to but to but to harness it better and stay focused on on what's at hand.

SPEAKER_03 32:20

Yeah, I imagine Hilly, too, there's not too much hockey coaching going on now at this point, right? It's like you said, it's just managing the bench and managing the energy and managing the lines. Uh, you know, if you have to coach hockey at this point in the game, something's wrong.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 32:32

Um, yeah, but let's keep going here. So so Rock's got both goals now at this point. Yeah, uh, it it's it's two-nothing, uh, which is a positive place to be in, but it's one you can't let your guard down in. Um, and then at 1354, uh Maggie gets that third goal. It's three-nothing. And I'll tell you what, what what I started to see at this point, yeah, um, was that it wasn't that Ottawa was slowing down, Montreal seemed to be elevating by the second. It was like critical mass was forming. Yeah, and that's why I think like when we say three goals on four shots, uh there's a I don't it's so tough to explain to people who haven't played or haven't been in the situation, but the confidence, it's like a new clear reactor, it just grows and grows and grows and grows, and like you can do almost nothing on. And then funny thing about Lumblom is uh she got that tattooed on herself, didn't she? That today is today with the walls of cup. I think I saw that today that she's got the tattoo of today is today. Uh and she ends up scoring at 1544. Now the score is four-nothing. Okay, so it is safe to say you're going to win the game at that point. Yeah, not that you gotta stop playing, but you all know what you have to do. Yep. Um, so I want to pause here before we get to the ending, all right? In the Olympics, didn't have this luxury. No, right? So in the Olympics, it's in overtime, it's terrifying for the viewer. Yeah, you've got to play your game. I imagine that these are complete opposite situations. Am I right in that? Like, what what was the you you talked to us about the Olympic gold medal scenario? What's this like four-nothing with with four minutes left?

SPEAKER_01 34:07

This was nicer in a way, yeah. Um, it was just like the whole time everyone's just like just cheesing, like ear to ear, like just so excited. But like, I also was very motivated to keep playing really well, like blocking shots, because like I wanted Anne to get that shut out. Yeah, and I was telling everyone, I'm like, let's lock in, like, don't give them anything. Like, I don't want them to have a single goal. Like, we're helping Ann here, like she's been amazing. And so I was really proud of our team. Like, everyone was laying their bodies on the line, blocking shots. It's for nothing, like there's a minute or two left, and we're still doing those kinds of things. And I mean, again, that's just the kind of team that we are and that we built for the whole season, and it really was on display in the last few minutes of that game.

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Well, your coach kept putting you out there, and I'll tell you what, it was noticeable. All right, it was like, look, we need we need yeah, we need Haley out there. Like, we just it was obvious that was what was happening, and I'll say too to the audience listening, always like to give these actionable items. Notice how quickly Haley mentioned how the wind actually changed. So it went from winning the Walter Cup to hey, let's preserve this shutout, because instinctively, you as athletes understand of okay, we have to change the win right now, or we might get complacent. Not that you know what I'm trying to say, not that you would get complacent, but it's like, no, we have to find the reason to continue to be at the most elite level. And and I was gonna say too, joking, like Debian is the only one that could not probably enjoy any of this. Um, she wants she she might not say that, but she wants to end with zero on the board too. For sure. So and she made some big saves. I mean, because uh look, Ottawa pulled the goalie, they did everything they could to try and get themselves back in the game. But yeah, uh, this was for the victoire, and the clock winds down, it hits zero, and then everyone sees if listens to this show. What they want to see is your teeth team completely embrace each other, celebrate. Um, I mean, there's some amazing photographs of these moments, not to mention the video. Walk us through it, Haley. You're a Walter Cup champion in that last second.

SPEAKER_01 36:06

Uh, just incredible. I mean, having like five-game series like this, it's definitely a different beast. Uh, and so to finally be able to like hoist that trophy at the end had some extra, extra meaning, extra excitement, extra just everything. And for everything that we battled through for the playoffs for the season, like for the whole season, we didn't have our full team except for five games. Wow, that's insane. Like we had we truly had everyone on our roster, reserve players included, in our lineup at some point in the season to help us get to this point. And so I think that's something that we all really took notice of and was why we got to this point, and it was an extra reason for celebrating this win with everyone.

SPEAKER_03 36:51

I mean, it's amazing. Uh, and and like you said, the adversity that the team faced, but also the path that we talked about at the very start of this episode of how the engine turned on and got bigger and bigger, and you could see it building the second half of the season, yeah. Um, with with the victories that you had and the storming to the top of the league and your path to the playoffs. So you win, you got to shake hands. I mean, again, this is where it's like we got an inside view here. What is what is that problem? One team is devastated, one team is elated. How does how does that handshake work for you guys?

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Yeah, and I, you know, I know a lot of the girls, like I was on Ottawa at one point, so a lot of them were my former teammates, either with Team USA or with Ottawa, and so I have a lot of love for a lot of the people on that side, and uh, so some of them wanted hugs and said stuff. Other people were maybe a little more devastated and just couldn't do it at the time, which is completely understandable. Uh, but I got to have a lot of great moments with people on that other side. Like Gabby Hughes is one of my best friends, and so she was so gracious. She gave me like the biggest hug, told me she loved me, was happy for me, and um, she she was very gracious to everyone in the line from um other people who had mentioned it too. So a shout out to her. She also played Incredible the whole series. She has a hard job out there, and uh, she's hard to play against. You know, I haven't had to play against her much. I've been her teammate most of the time. So playing against her was tough and um proud of how she battled and proud of how she handled it at the end. And yeah, I got to have a special moment with her, which is nice.

SPEAKER_03 38:23

So the handshake's finish, they set the stage up, and this is it. Now the moment's happening. The Walter Cup is brought to the ice. You're about to watch Pooh pick up this cup, something that's eluded her, by the way, her entire career. This was kind of like the last thing on the list that she hadn't won.

SPEAKER_00 38:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:39

Um I gotta frame this question. We've all watched the Walter Cup or the Stanley Cup be lifted, but none of us have been on the ice for that. Yeah, um, I know there's no way you could begin to describe this, all right. But tell me what it's like to watch Canada's greatest athlete do that.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

And surreal, incredible. Um, I mean, again, just with what she was battling and what she faced through and for her to finally be able to lift that up, because that's the reason she came back. She wanted to win a Walter Cup for Montreal, for the team, for herself, for her family. And so to see what she battled through to do that, like we all saw it firsthand. And so to see her do that and like the kind of playoff run that she had, she was incredible. The whole playoffs was uh, you know, our backbone, obviously, our heart. Um, and so you could just see like the elation, the relief, all of it like on her face. And it was um it was special to watch for sure. And we were all just so happy for her and for the team.

SPEAKER_03 39:43

Well, and I'll say this about her. Uh, you talk about her being injured. Nine games played, playoffs, eight points. Like insane. That's that's insanity. All right, that that's that's how good she is, and it caps off uh yeah, uh what you know, not a career, uh maybe I don't know, but it does cap off the the everything she ever wanted to win. Um, now we gotta do flip this to you too, Haley. Uh, we talked about this before the playoffs a little bit. Um, not that this is why you were playing, but you you accomplished something pretty unique here as the only woman athlete to ever win a gold medal in a Walter Cup in the same year. Is that like when does that come into your mind? Um, do your teammates know that, right? Because here's the funny thing at the broadcast, they were all about it. They kept talking about it on the broadcast. Um, yeah. Um, you know, I know you well enough to to know that like in that moment you're you're with your team, but yeah, uh that's a I mean, I mean, talk about surreal. I mean, trailblazing at its best, right? So when you are handed the cup, first off, how heavy is it? Is it heavier than it looks? It's heavy.

SPEAKER_01 40:51

I was slightly concerned. I'm like, I hope I have the energy to lift this over my head because that could be embarrassing. But uh yeah, it's heavy, it's heavy, and then you're lifting that when it's in the air.

SPEAKER_03 41:02

I'm sure you're looking for your family, you know. Yeah, you're looking around. I mean, are you reflecting at that moment? Are you trying to take it in? Keeping in mind it's the second time you've done something like this within a few months.

SPEAKER_01 41:13

Yeah, soaking it in for sure. Family got to come on the ice, which was really nice. But that was later, I think after we had all lifted the cup and everything like that. Uh, so I actually couldn't find them. There were so many fans that stayed. Another shout out to Ottawa. Like they stayed for a while to celebrate the cup, um, which was really, you know, it's it's hard, right? But I think they were just excited to see a Canadian team win it as well, and obviously bum for their own team. But we had a lot of people who stayed, and then a lot of Montreal fans were there too. So it was really nice to be able to celebrate it with them. And um yeah, I'm like like again, like this is so it's just so surreal. It was just so amazing. And and like I said, though, it was like a different kind of celebration just because you know it was a whole season that led up to this. It was something we didn't know we could dream of that we now can dream of, and that's cool in and of itself. And a part of history, we're the first team other than Minnesota to win it, uh, the first time for Montreal to win it. So there's just all these history pieces that you kind of realize you're a part of, and it's pretty crazy to think about, honestly.

SPEAKER_03 42:16

You know, I'll I'll ask this too. Uh I'll phrase it like this you're going to be asked, you might have already been asked, hey, what's better? The Olympic gold medal or the Walter Cup championship. I think that's a horrible question, right? They're separate things. I don't think you should have to choose one that's just the old, like this or that.

SPEAKER_00 42:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:33

Um this is a question no one's ever been able to be asked before, right? What is winning two major championships in literally one year, like in the same year? Yeah. Not feel like I mean what you mentioned it, like, what are the emotions involved in that? Have you even had enough time to comprehend that, Haley? Like, it's only it's only been really like a week.

SPEAKER_01 42:59

A little bit, you know, we've been celebrating like all week with the Walter Cup and stuff, and it's cute. Like, I I do have teammates who they're like, dude, you want a gold battle and like what? Like, that's amazing, you know? And and the Canada girls were really sweet about it too. They just said, you know, heck of a year for you. Like, yeah, you know, we're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 43:15

How did your Canadian counterparts?

SPEAKER_01 43:17

You know, they you can tell it where it comes from, but they're just they were very they just said how proud they were of me and stuff and how excited, you know, as much as they can be excited for me. Uh so I did appreciate that. But then other girls will say it kind of more quietly or like away from them, sort of thing, and be all hype for me, which was nice. Um, but yeah, it's pretty, it's it's just so cra it's so crazy to me. And it's like you almost have this like you feel like unstoppable, honestly, like in this moment a bit. Like confidence is just like skyrocketing. I also felt like it helped me kind of come into my own as a player as well. Like I was already feeling really good, like the whole season, and then stacking these wins on top of each other has really helped kind of make. me realize like the value that I hold on teams and and what I do as a player that helps make teams successful. And that's what I really focused on this year. And it's not um not surprising in a way, but like it's it's cool to see that once I embraced that, like I've won a gold medal in a Walter Cup champion. Like it's so it's it's it's nice to see that kind of come to fruition in uh all of the hard work I've had up until this point. And then the mindset switch that I've had has helped me kind of realize these two lifelong dreams of mine. Now now now do you get to do a day with the cup yes I don't know when and I don't know where I'll be so we'll uh we'll see when I get it. But yeah well everyone gets like a day or whatever is what I've heard.

SPEAKER_04 44:48

So now you have to find you got to find a way to fit the the gold medal in there I guess too as well.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

So I'll just wear the gold medal everywhere with Walter.

SPEAKER_03 44:59

That's gonna be some some interesting photos you know I'll say this you you you are the first uh in a good way you will not be the last person but everyone's gonna have to wait four years to get another shot at that um so so like you know kind of an eternal joy there to enjoy that um and again the biggest congratulations to you on that I also gotta say you know and we'll we'll do another episode on the manifestation but we've talked about it gang I am a gold medalist I am a Walter Cup champion is something she was saying well prior to either of those championships happening um I think that there's a lesson there.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Kelly what's what's the whiteboard gonna say now there we haven't erased the whiteboard yet so it still says it so I don't know if we'll ever erase that I feel like you gotta leave it up.

SPEAKER_01 45:49

I don't know I like where the headset whiteboard you could put something I am exactly winner of 12 exactly um just amazing stuff okay and again we said it we're recording this the parades tomorrow but like can we briefly just walk through the last week um I mean what what I've loved seeing is you and your teammates together every day during the week you do not want to be apart from each other I hope that that that people have been respectful of that space right but but you've had a pool party there's tattoos happening talk to me about what you can talk about with the last week starting with here's a good question for you yeah when did you actually go to sleep after that final how long were you up for and I don't mean a nap how long were you awake before you actually took a good night's sleep after that oh a while I mean I we said the thing is we went to bed I probably went to bed at like 3 a.m we had to leave at 9 a.m the next morning to get back to Montreal our bus kept on that schedule we were like come on but uh we made it made it home uh I literally napped at home that's where the picture on my Instagram is from yeah I napped for a little bit and then went back out what did we do that night I'm trying to think oh we went to it was a Montreal Canadians game yep and so this sports bar uh hosted us uh Bruno's shout out Bruno Sports Bar and it was so much fun like they had this whole all these tables set up for us they had some gifts for us and then we got to watch the game with some Montreal Canadians fans and that's the game they crushed it like they like so many gills in the first period and we were all just cheering and singing and um oh my gosh we had so much fun that night. Fans were great too to you that was yes yeah yeah they were like chanting for Victois and stuff which was really cool and um yeah it was fun to have two wins to celebrate that night and um and then honestly every night after that we did something. So we went to Anne's for the pool party we did uh that was a ton of fun it was actually a perfect day out too which was nice we uh what else did we do? We went to City Hall uh which was really cool we um went to a basketball game we went to the Montreal Canadiens game we um went to the sports bar before the Canadians game then let's see we went to another city hall yesterday there was two city halls to go to uh and then we had like a fun team dinner at uh this really great restaurant that hosted us uh with the cup and everything last night which was really fun you are the toast of the town we really are yep and so I don't think there's any plans today we might be recovering before maybe some girls will do stuff later tonight but we have the parade tomorrow morning so well I I I want to say this too talking about women's sports uh we are not far removed from a time that none of this would happen no games no parades you just you won and you go home yep um that's also what shows you how the city is embracing you um and look Montreal you could say a start for a championship but the fact that the Montreal faithful of both teams are open arms right now and and that you won and and again too again I I keep forgetting you didn't see the the the broadcast there was a lot of mentions of look this is an all canadian final canada's winning something yeah right which is which is a pretty big deal when you think about it Haley and and you got to be part of that um just an amazing run.

SPEAKER_03 49:15

I I tell the uh the listeners we will we will have one more I think I said it earlier day in the life episode kind of talking about the parade and just kind of closing the the 2526 super season for you at least um but I can't thank you enough for just letting us sit and walk through this with you um my last question and Mike if you have one too just let us know is that there's always a first quiet moment after a victory like this or a loss and I'll say the charge have to go through this too where it's quiet there's no one around and it's just you with your thoughts for the first time. Has that moment happened yet? And and and where did your mind go?

SPEAKER_01 50:00

I don't think it's happened yet because I like honestly like I all I've been thinking about is like we're moving out of here I have to pack but I want to hang out with all the girls I don't want to miss anything um and I feel that that will come when I get back to Maryland.

SPEAKER_02 50:18

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 50:19

I feel like I'll actually have time to just like sit and be like wow that just happened like while I'm here it's like I'm still in celebration mode. Yeah yeah yeah uh which like not that I won't be later but like it's yeah I haven't really well had a quiet moment.

SPEAKER_03 50:33

I'll tease the next episode with which we'll we'll discuss that at some point. Yeah. Um and it also proves and and this is such an important lesson to the young people listening from your description of lifting the Walter cup um and enjoying that knowing how to enjoy that kids I think you rush those championships when you're younger take a moment and take it in it's hard to do when you're younger. The truth is though when you win you don't really know if it's going to happen again. That's why it's so important that you take it in and take a moment. The other thing too Haley that you're I said this to you before you're doing this so right is that you said I'm still in celebration mode I'm still in championship mode. The truth is you have to hold on to that feeling as long as you can because it's that unfortunately not eternal. The moment's eternal the accolades are eternal but the experiencing the experience that you're in right now is not so I love that you're embracing it and I hope it lasts for a really long time because I've said before I you know not that I've won at the professional level as a player but having a kid really is the only comparable thing I've ever been able to feel to what I felt when I won championships um and that's saying something. So so you know amazing stuff in the next episode we will go over that parade we will also talk about uh what is going to be a crucial offseason the PWHL with four expansion teams coming in the largest draft class in history we were talking to Haley a little bit before the show about how contracts work. We're gonna have to do some more research on that because none of us are really 100% sure but the PWHL going into um one of the the the most important off seasons that they're probably ever going to have that's going to set up the future of the league for uh for several seasons. But today was all about you Haley and and celebrating I cannot thank you enough for sharing this experience with us not just today but the entire season uh Mike said it earlier you know when when we reached out to you to be on this podcast you might have known this was the direction you're going but like we we just loved your vibe and how who you were as a person and the type of quality person that you were um not I don't think in our wildest dreams did we think this is what was going to happen until you told us it was going to happen.

SPEAKER_01 52:48

Yeah well thank you it's been so much fun it's really cool to kind of have like the journey recorded in a sense um and to see kind of how far I've come this year and from last season and everything. So um it's been an honor and I love it and can't wait to continue sharing.

SPEAKER_04 53:05

Mike any final thoughts before this off no I was just gonna say we took her actual time that she could have been reflecting and and and thinking about the season away for her and have making her share it with uh a couple of thousand people so we appreciate it and I think uh you know I and I I but I do think it's um it's so and it is an interesting it's really great that you've documented this little journey here and um you know and other athletes are gonna benefit from this the the future of players that you know want to learn and take you know all the nuggets of the information that came about over the last uh months uh you know is going to be beneficial to you know thousands of young hockey players and I think that's such an awesome thing.

SPEAKER_03 53:44

Thanks. And in the next episode we'll teach you how to celebrate correctly. All right that's gonna do it for this uh championship uh day in the life our girls play hockey episode with Haley Skimora uh Haley's gonna be with us all summer gang don't don't worry we won't let her get off the hook that easy uh with a lot of different episodes about about skill work and and obviously what it's like to be a pro in the offseason so forth and so on so thank you for uh for following us but for Haley Skimora and Mike Benelli I'm Leo Elias we will see you on the next episode of Our Girls Play Hockey uh feel free to email email I'll open it up now email us any questions you have at team at our kidsplayhockey.com uh or send us a message at the link accompanying the uh episode and we'll put some stuff out on social media as well as well but uh everybody take care have fun gold medal edition walter cup edition our girls play hockey we'll see you next time we hope you enjoyed this edition of our kids play hockey make sure to like and subscribe right now if you found value wherever you're listening whether it's a podcast network a social media network or our website ourkidsplayhockey calm also make sure to check out our children's book when hockey stops at when hockey stops dot com it's a book that helps children deal with adversity in the game and in life we're very proud of it but thanks so much for listening to this edition of our kids play hockey and we'll see you on the next episode