Breaking the Ice

By breakingtheicepodSociety & Culture Sports Relationships Hockey

Breaking the Ice episodes

March 02, 2022 Buying, Renting and Everything In Between with Kirsten Bartley
Kirsten Bartley, wife of Vic Bartley, who finished this season for Kunlan Red Star in the KHL, is a real estate agent, small shop business owner and mom of two. Kirsten is one of the most hardworking people I know and she joins me to share her knowledge of the real estate world. In this episode we talk about

-Juggling working real estate full time, having two kids, solo momming the last three seasons
-Whether you should rent or buy during the hockey season
-Foreign income
-When you’re married to someone from a different country than you
-What the market looks like currently and whether or not you should buy right now
-Airbnb or short term rentals when renting your house out for the season and we share some funny stories about both
-What are red flags that you should avoid when hiring a real estate agent
-Whether or not you can buy a home if you don't have a set contract for next year
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1 hr 9 min
February 23, 2022Learning to be Independent with Gretchen Geraghty
Gretchen Geraghty, girlfriend of Max Willman, who plays for the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL, joins me today on Breaking the Ice. Gretchen currently resides in Allentown, PA and her boyfriend is 1.5 hours away in Philadelphia living the hotel life!

In this episode we talk about:
The uncertainties of the hockey life
When they decided to move in together
Long Distance
Covid and how that affected her day to day
Learning how to be independent in this lifestyle
What it's like having a twin and living far away from them
The comparison game of social media
Making friends as an adult and how challenging this can be
and more!

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50 min
February 16, 2022 Late Night Happy Hour with Danielle Fraser
Danielle Fraser, wife of Jamie Fraser, who plays in Villach, Austria in the ICEHL, joins me today for a late night happy hour! Danielle and I had an absolute blast chatting virtually. We have had so many mutual connections and she has also spent six hockey seasons in Vienna herself! (where my husband plays now). Her and Jamie have been together for 15 years and they now travel the globe with their two kids.

In this episode we chat about everything and anything but a few topics in between all of the laughs are:

-Playing in the US and making the decision to go over to Europe
-Why she doesn’t live in Europe full time and goes back and forth from Canada to Austria
-Giving birth in Austria
-The challenges of living in a foreign country when your kids are older
-How her family has navigated their sons Type 1 Diabetes
-How we discovered we are hypochondriac soul sisters

and SO much more.

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1 hr 16 min
February 09, 2022The Unknowns Made Us Stronger with Jenn Army
Jenn Army, wife of Derek Army, who is the Head Coach of the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL, joins me on Breaking the Ice today!
Even though she is a coach's wife now, she started off as a player's girlfriend/wife and they went through long distance for 9 years! Jenn is a teacher and she shares about how difficult it was to get time off to go visit and really having to plan her time off around what worked for the hockey schedule, which also led us to talking about maternity leave for teachers and how unfair it is (and even more stressful with covid times!)
We also talk about:
Being a Homebody and how this hockey life really pushes you outside of your comfort zone
Long roadtrips in the ECHL as a mom and how it's basically survival mode
We talk about how days off, aren't days off for moms (if ya know, ya know!)
Call ups and send downs when you're long distance and dealing with the frustrations and uncertainties that come with this, especially when you are taking time off from work
How long distance and the unknowns that hockey can bring can make your relationship stronger, if you're with the right person
Transitioning into the coaching role
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56 min
February 02, 2022January Lull, Hockey + Covid and Catching Up with Brittany Wedgewood
Brittany Wedgewood, wife of Scott Wedgewood, who plays for the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL, joins me on the podcast today for the seventh time?!
Brit and I really needed a good catch up episode and I know you all love hearing her on the podcast so we had to make it happen!
Some of the things we chit chat in this episode are:
Brittany and Scott's new home in Arizona
The January Lull and why it seems to affect us all
What's been going on for us both: Moving, Sicknesses, Funny Dog Stories and Check your boobs
Britney Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears drama
Wedding Prep for Brittany
The rules and regulations for hockey during a pandemic and why the constant confusion is exhausting
AND MORE! Tune in for a good convo with your girls & enjoy!

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1 hr 2 min
January 26, 2022 Never Give Up, A Journey to Motherhood with Jamie Machacek
Jamie Machacek, wife of Spencer Machacek, who plays for Wolfsburg in the DEL, joins me over a virtual glass of wine on the podcast today. Jamie + I have been chatting for so long after we discover the same love for the show Nashville. (Naming her son and my dog after it!) We’ve talked about all the mom things over the past year and I was so excited to finally meet her virtually IRL on the podcast.

Jamie and her husband knew they wanted children from the beginning. After trying for quite awhile and going through a few health issues, they realized they needed to look into their options.

In this episode we talk about:

The transition from babyhood to toddlerhood and how being a mom is always evolving and changing

Jamie opens up about her health struggles and what she went through before her first round of IVF

Male Factor Infertility and Endometriosis

Navigating IVF in a foreign country and how hockey played a factor into their journey

When you’re struggling with fertility and family and friends are getting pregnant around you

Keeping this private and not sharing with anyone around them

After undergoing IVF, they found out they were pregnant with twins and lost one of the twins. She talks about what this experience was like for her and her husband

Never Giving up on your Motherhood Journey

THANK YOU Jamie. You are amazing!

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1 hr 40 min
December 29, 2021An Episode on All Things Dental with Dr. Sarah Sweetnam
Dr. Sarah Sweetnam, wife of Erik Gudbranson, who plays for the Calgary Flames in the NHL, joins me on the podcast today.
Before we talked about dentistry, we talked a bit about Sarah's hockey journey, thus far. She shares how her husband got traded six days after Sarah gave birth. She had to wait five weeks before finally joining him in Nashville (They are Canadian!) We also chat about what COVID has been like for her as a first time mom. She shares how her and her husband met her first week of dental school and how they managed both of their busy schedules and careers.
Then, we talked about all things dental.
I asked her about any dental myths she has heard that she can debunk for us
She tells me whether or not sleeping with your mouth open can cause cavities
She answers whether cavities are genetic and what you can do to prevent them
We talk about fluoride and what she recommends
Kids Dental- She tells me the real deal of when your kid actually needs to go to the dentist for the first time. She also shares some great tips on how we can prepare our children for their first dental appointment and change the dialogue so that we aren't implementing fear before their first appointment.

Enjoy this episode, I learned so much!

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58 min
December 22, 2021The Journey to Finding Herself
Ilyssa has lived her entire life in Florida and adventured to the other side of the pond for her first season overseas.
In this episode we dive into:
How you can lose yourself when you begin to date someone new or lose yourself in this lifestyle and how to identify this within yourself
Darkness and how challenging it is when it becomes dark so early
Finding what you love to do and learning about yourself in the process
Youtube. Ilyssa started a Youtube channel this year to cope and communicate with this lifestyle.

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44 min
December 15, 2021 Lockdowns, Cheating and Female Friendships with Jeanie Prapavessis
Jeanie Prapavessis, wife of Matt Prapavessis, who plays in Vienna Austria for the Vienna Capitals, sat down with me over wine and we had a great conversation about all of the things.

We dive into:

Lockdowns- What it has been like as Americans living in Austria during yet another lockdown. We chat about the frustration, confusion on rules and of course, what we’re watching during lockdown.

We talk about wine and how cheap it is in Europe

High School- How we feel terrible about what we put our parents through in high school (lol sorry mom) and now we both think nothing will get past us as moms. Watch out kids, we're onto you.

We talk about mom shaming on social media. We find that sometimes there can be useful tips but also we are not robots and there is no such thing as “perfect parenting” You have to do what’s best for you and your family.

Cheating- that taboo topic that no one talks about but everyone wants to know about….what do you do when you know someone is cheating on their girlfriend from back home or who’s there in person…... You’ll have to listen to this completely unfiltered conversation we had about this. We give our opinions on how to address this situation and whether we think this should be a group approach or single approach.

Female Friendships in the hockey world- How there is sometimes a pressure for everyone to be best friends and it’s not always practical with so many different personalties. However, you can also meet some of your closest friends. Same goes for the guys too!

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1 hr 17 min
December 08, 2021 Solo Travel, Picking Your Battles and Life in Russia with Hilary Miele
Hilary Miele, wife of Andy Miele, who plays in Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL, joins me on the podcast today!
In this episode we dive into:
Long Distance: Hilary & Andy met in college and she had little to no idea where hockey would take them! She shares about her experience with long distance and how she wound up leaving her career to be with him
We talk about Russia and she shares a few funny stories. Hilary and her daughter were apart from Andy for four months while they were waiting on their Russian visas.
Language Barriers
Solo Travel- Hilary loves to travel and she loves going on trips with her daughter to experience the adventures that this hockey life has to offer.
Not losing your sense of self while following your partner
We also talk about one year contracts and how it can be stressful when you are always waiting on the next opportunity. Before the pandemic hit, they signed a two year deal in Arizona in the NHL, but with the unknowns of COVID, they made a family decision to head overseas.

This episode was so fun to record. We had a lot of laughs and I guarantee you will feel like you are sitting down with two friends.

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1 hr 9 min