Saucy Rockets

We sat down with Anya Packer for a wide-ranging interview that covered everything from her beginnings in hockey all the way to playing in NWHL's inaugural game and her retirement and transition into her current role. She previewed the season: who's gonna win it all, players to watch & what each team has going for it this year. She also gave some  insight into the NWHL contract negotiations and partnerships, as well as the future of pro women's hockey. Last but not least, don't miss the entertaining stories woven throughout.  

Welcome to Season 2! We've been unbenched (kinda), and talk about being back on the ice and "coaching." We live our best lives thriving on petty NHL drama and marketing foibles. Also hear confessions from the resident Caps fan about Sid the Kid. In women's hockey, we discuss For Framtiden (For the Future), the Swedish women's hockey team boycott, developments in the PWHPA, and the state of the NWHL. Sidenote, we can't wait until the pro women are actually playing again so we can talk about that, instead of "the state of women's hockey." We conclude with a short retrospective on season 1.  

We interviewed Mel Desrochers, a defender for Les Canadiennes de Montreal of the CWHL and member of the PWPHA.  Not only did we talk about the future of pro women's hockey, but her path to becoming an elite player, from her first experiences playing all the way to the Clarkson Cup final.  Warning:  leg hair was mentioned..   .

Our longest episode yet.  Even though this is a hockey podcast, we talk about the USWNT World Cup victory, and then get into sad off-season moves:  that Kessel trade, the newest Penguin with a 6-year (screams) contract, and the departure of Brett Connolly. In other random NHL news, we discuss the Lisa McLeod-ing of Eugene Melnyk and the brazen Breadman.  We also venture into gross territory with a discussion about things that may have been done to, done in, or put into the Stanley Cup, and Alex Ovechkin's "jewelry."  We wrap up with women's hockey: the CWHL postmortem letter, the Beauts lawsuit, and the future of the NWHL and #ForTheGame. 

We were wrong, much to Mary's chagrin!  About Phil Kessel getting traded.  Which happened the day after we recorded, so will be covered in our next episode.  In other NHL news, we talk about the Burakovsky trade, Athletic's shit-stirring AGAIN with all of those Pens rumors and about that Kadri article, the NHL Awards & the draft.  In women's hockey news, we talk about the new NHL initiatives & what the hell is happening with the Beauts and the NWHL. 

We provide too much information about why we're both benched from hockey. We also cover the Stanley Cup final which FINALLY concluded and that post-season injury list.  We also discuss the first major off-season trade to affect one of our teams and the death of those baseless Pens trade rumors. And last but definitely not least, we discuss what's going on in professional women's hockey: all of those NWHL signing and what they mean for For The Game, and the new NWHL contract. We also discuss what's happening in For The Game.   

We had the privilege of sitting down with Jeff Boyd, who has been involved with the Beauts from day one and has been the team's play-by-play announcer since the second season.  Hear what it's like to do play-by-play and what goes into putting a broadcast together.  Jeff also talks about some of his most memorable times with the Beauts and the NWHL, including the 2017 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh and that Harrison Browne goal.    

Hear about Leah's season ending injury in excruciating(ly) funny(?) detail and how Mary dutifully carried out her hockey wife responsibilities. We also talk about the NHL playoffs, which are kinda dead to us for obvious reasons and complain about all of the people whining about officiating. We'd be whining if our teams were in, but now we can just sit back and be salty. Also included is our hot take on the Athletic's shit stirring when it comes to trade rumors. And most importantly, our first discussion of the state of professional women's hockey since the #ForTheGame movement launched.

We had the privilege of talking to Tammi Lynch, who founded Players Against Hate.  Its mission is "to increase awareness and stop racism and name-calling by youth athletes, their teams and coaches, their families, and spectators," and was founded in response to racist taunts targeted at Divyne Apollon II, one of her son's teammates.  Because of her work with Players Against Hate, Tammi is one of three finalists for the Willie O'Ree Community Award, given annually the NHL at its awards ceremony.  We talked about how the organization began and its plans for the future. Visit the website at playersagainsthate.org to see how you can help spread the word and get involved.      

We're back after a long hiatus! Stupid weddings.  So much happened:  Women's Worlds, the NHL playoffs, and more fallout from the CWHL's closing. We've got some firsthand information about Women's Worlds from someone who was there!  Also included in this bottle of Yikes Hard Lemonade are our takes on the not so great fates of the Caps & Pens, the CWHL auction & NWHL plans for next season.  As always, we discuss our own hockey, with a scintillating exchange about shooting: wrist shot speed & how one of us just might be a secret, less skilled & far less disciplined Sidney Crosby.