Skate like a Girl. 

It is an exciting time to be a female hockey player. The U.S. Women’s National Team's historic gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea was a huge boost to our sport and to women's athletics in general. Their post-Olympic appearances went mainstream (Ellen, Jimmy Fallon and the NY Stock Exchange), not to mention winning an ESPN Espy for Best Game of the Year! The result?  Names like Hilary Knight, Meghan Duggan, and the Lamoureux twins became known by hockey and non-hockey fans across the country.   

The sport of women's hockey has recently experienced another milestone thanks to former Olympian and professional NWHL player, Kendall Coyne Schofield. When NHL'er Nathan Mackinnon had to drop out of the All-Star Skills competition due to an injury, Kendall took his place. She went head-to-head with the fastest players in the NHL, reaching an impressive top speed of 22 MPH, finishing at 14 seconds and only one second slower than the winner. 

Those 14 seconds not only changed the landscape of women's hockey but transcended all sports. Kendall crushed the stereotypes about athletic ability, giving our daughters an instantaneous role model, and most importantly, raising the spotlight on the need for gender equality.



Fifty Sharks families were lucky enough to see Kendall and two other 2018 Olympians (Hannah Brandt and Lee Stecklein) take on the Connecticut Whale team recently in Stamford. Although the scale was not the Olympics or the NHL All-Star Competition, the talent on the ice was hugely inspiring.  Our U8-10 girls who scrimmaged during intermission will never forget skating on the same ice as professional women hockey players and Olympians 
 
A huge thanks to Kendall and the all other talented female hockey who are paving the way for our daughters. You have brought new meaning to the expression, "skate like a girl"!

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