Today in another edition of TXHT Jersey Share, we are going to take a look at a Replica Nike Team USA Hockey jersey that our very own Scott Fairchild got signed by the women’s 2018 Olympic Gold Medal winning team at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
Scott: First of all, the jersey is very comfortable as it has a Dri-Fit feel to it which is very typical of how Nike makes their jerseys and clothes. It also makes the jersey feel very breathable on you and doesn’t feel heavy or itchy at all. I’ve always been a fan of this jersey with the patriotic design and how the red stripes flowing out of the letter “S” like a waving flag.
Now as for it being signed, I was very lucky and fortunate to be able to get the majority of the 2018 gold medal winning women’s hockey team at the Olympics to sign it. I happened to be off work one day due to a really bad wind storm which caused power outages that closed schools, and the team was visiting MedStar Capitals Iceplex (then know as Kettler Capitals Iceplex) to sign autographs and run a kids hockey clinic. I was able to get a good amount of signatures that day and I even got to hold Hilary Knight’s Gold Medal (see picture below). The team was also in town for the 2018 Stadium Series between the Washington Capitals & Toronto Maple Leafs. The whole team was signing autographs and taking pictures with fans at the fan fest before the game began as they were being honored for their accomplishment of winning the Gold Medal at the Olympics.
Here are the signatures featured on the jersey:
Hilary Knight, Jocelyn Lamoreaux-Davidson (game winning goal in the shootout), Monique Lamoreaux-Morando (game tying goal), Amanda Pelky, Kelly Panek, Hannah Brandt, Nicole Hensley, Maddie Rooney (winning goalie of record in the Gold Medal game), Kendall Coyne Schofield, Sidney Morin
Got a hockey jersey in your collection you’d like to share? Let us know, and we can add it to our TXHT Jersey Share series.
A little before noon today over 200 professional female hockey players announced that they will be boycotting this upcoming season until the get a “Long-Term Viable” Professional Women’s Hockey League.
In the statement above that was released by around 200 professional female hockey players it states that it is time to create a sustainable league for Women’s hockey that will give them the abilities to have health insurance, have the ability to train adequately for games, and most importantly, making a livable wage playing hockey.
A couple hours after the #ForTheGame announcement was made, NWHL put out the following statement:
In this statement from the NWHL, the biggest takeaway is that they have all intentions moving forward with the 2019-20 season, and that they will be offering increased salaries, and a 50-50 in revenue from sponsorships and media rights deals after long constructive and positive conversations with the NWHL Player’s Association over the past month.
In regards to the NWHLPA, Director Anya Battaglino had the following statement when reached for comment on the news:
“In the off season the NWHLPA has been working hard to continue to drive the betterment of our professional athletes every day. This announcement halts our ability to finally have the best players on one stage, and unfortunately sets the Women’s Hockey game backward. With the powerful opportunity we have this year to drive unprecedented growth, this new fragmentation will only slow that growth.”
While examining Mrs. Battaglino’s statement here, we have to agree with her assessment on this situation. While yesterday, May 1st, marked the official end of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) as they closed their doors, the NWHL acted swiftly and added two more teams to their league with the prospects of a third team to make it an 8 team league when the initial announcement was made in an effort to give more women an opportunity to play professionally in the NWHL.
Also, look at the growth of Women’s hockey in these last two years specifically. From the US Olympic Hockey Team winning the gold medal against Team Canada, to setting a US attendance record for a Women’s hockey game at the NWHL All Star Game in Nashville, to having Kendall Coyne Schofield becoming the first woman to participate in the NHL All Star Skills Competition. These women have made great gains only to halt it’s momentum to a near dead halt, and it’s a damn shame.
Do these women deserve to play professionally, and make a living wage doing so? Oh hell yes they do. They deserve it, and most importantly they’ve earned it, but what they are doing does not seem like the way to go about it. While we don’t have the answers here ourselves, we do believe that there has to be a better way to accomplish the ultimate goal, and that is to have the ultimate professional Women’s hockey league that brings great stability and a long term viable option for women to play the game.
We do know that one player has spoken out against the #ForTheGame movement as reported by The Ice Garden, and that is Boston Pride player Kaleigh Fratkin.
We will have more here on TXHT as everything unfolds, but to quote our Connecticut Whale writer Christopher Vasilas ( @shaggy901516 ):
“We’re definitely at the crossroads, every decision by the league and players is gonna have huge impact on future generations”
The NWHL hosted their All Star festivities in Nashville, TN this past weekend. The best players from all five teams came down and showcased their talents in front of an electric Nashville crowd. The skills competition was held at the Ford Ice Center, the practice facility for the Predators; while the All Star Game itself was at the Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville.
Here’s how the rosters looked for the weekend:
Photo from nwhl.zone
Skills Competition
It was a full house at the Ford Ice Center for the NWHL skills competition; people gathered to watch the players have fun and show off. The first event was the fastest skater, in which Kristin Lewicki won the event last year. This year had the likes of Michelle Picard, Amanda Pelkey, Lexi Bender, and Kendall Coyne Schofield for Team Szabados; and Lisa Chesson, Jonna Curtis, Kate Schipper, and Allie Thunstrom for Team Stecklein. If anyone saw the NHL’s fastest skater competition, knows that Coyne was going to be the odds on favorite, and she delivered. Coyne was actually faster than when she did the NHL’s event, [14.3 for the NHL and 13.9 for the NWHL].
The next competition was the fastest goalies, in which Amanda Leveille returned to defend her title. All four goalies Katie Burt, Amanda Leveille, Shannon Szabados, and Nicole Hensley skated. The final showdown came in the form of a “battle of the teammates” Szabados v Hensley, and it was Nicole Hensley who claims bragging rights.
Accuracy shooting was up next, where Corinne Buie was the winner last year. The three shooters for Team Szabados were Haley Skarupa, Haley Scamurra, and Savannah Harmon and the three shooters for Team Stecklein were Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, and Emily Pfalzer. In the end, it was Dani Cameranesi who proved to be the most accurate!
Talents were on display during the next event, which was the trick shot challenge. All of the skaters have great hands and great creative minds. For Team Szabados it was Amanda Kessel, Madison Packer, and Katerina Mrázová and for Team Stecklein it was Gigi Marvin, Emily Fluke, and Jillian Dempsey. In this particular event, the fans got to vote for the winner of the competition. The event had everything, from Amanda Kessel doing the Flying V from the Mighty Ducks, to Madison Packer with a smooth spin-o-rama attempt that almost scored, to Emily Fluke throwing a cowboy hat, and having her second shot saved by Katie Burt with her back toward her.
Emily Fluke’s trick shot attempt had a little bit of everything — cowboy hats, backwards goalies… pic.twitter.com/iWEfoDrfrb
In the end it was Team Stecklein who won over the fans and getting their vote.
Up next was the hardest shot competition with players who can really bring the heat on their slapshots. Last years winner of the event was Kelsey Koezler, and the players looking to take the title were, for Team Szabados were Shannon Doyle, Amanda Boulier, Audra Richards, and Blake Bolden; and for Team Stecklein were Michelle Löwenhielm, Alyssa Gagliardi, Courtney Burke, and the captain Lee Stecklein. There were a lot of really hard shots, but Blake Bolden won with her shot reaching 80 mph!
The last event was a go for goal shootout relay in which all the skaters for Team Szabados and Team Stecklein took shootout attempts, and the team with the most goals was declared the winner. After some pretty nifty attempts, it was Team Stecklein who won the event.
This meant at the end of all competitions, both teams were tied at three wins a piece. It meant that to settle it in a tiebreaker, it was captain vs captain in a best two out of three shootout attempts. Szabados made all the saves and her team won the Skills Competition!
Looked like it was tied at the end of all competitions, we went to a shootout captain vs captain. Team Szabados with the win!!#NWHLAllStar#NWHL
Audio from Dani Cameranesi of the Buffalo Beauts [Team Stecklein]
Audio from Kendall Coyne Schofield of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Szabados]
All Star Game
The All Star Game took place at Bridgestone Arena after the Blues v. Predators game, in which the St. Louis Blues proved victorious in overtime.
It wouldn’t be Nashville without someone throwing a catfish on the ice that landed right by Shannon Doyle just before the opening faceoff.
Both teams skated to two 25 minute halves of four on four hockey. In the first half, Team Szabados jumped out to the lead, the goal coming from the Riveters rookie forward Audra Richards. Richards, who has eight goals on the year continues her scoring prowess by getting the opening marker. Later in the half, Shannon Doyle led the rush and made a nice drop pass on top of the circle, and it fell on the stick of leading Connecticut Whale scorer Katerina Mrázová, who roofed the shot over Nicole Hensley. The goal gave Team Szabados a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
The second half had a lot of good back and forth action and then Gigi Marvin took a shot from the point which got redirected by Lisa Chesson and it found the net beating Katie Burt. The goal cut the Team Szabados lead in half. Later in the half, the game would be tied at two as Whale captain Emily Fluke netting a five hole goal!
Both goalies [Leveille and Burt] made really incredible saves and at the end of the second half, the score was tied at two. The game moved into a shootout in which Amanda Kessel was the first shooter and she beat Leveille five hole. Then Katie Burt stopped all three Team Stecklein attempts, giving the victory to Team Szabados!
The best part about the All Star Game weekend was the attendance by the Nashville faithful. The recorded attendance was 6, 120, which set a record for largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in the United States!
Audio from Amanda Kessel of the Metropolitan Riveters [Team Szabados]:
Audio from Jonna Curtis of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Stecklein]:
Audio from Shannon Szabados of the Buffalo Beauts [Team Szabados]:
Audio from Lee Stecklein of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Stecklein]:
Tweet from Women’s Sports Highlights and Anya Battaglino were used with their permission. You can follow them on Twitter here: @WSportHilites and @battaglinoa
