The IX: Hockey Friday with Erica L. Ayala, March 8, 2019
What equality looks like — Katerina Mrazova interview — Must-click women's hockey links
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Happy International Women’s Day everyone! I’m very lucky I get to post on this day for many reasons. Firstly, to thank you!
If you are reading this, you have joined us on this journey to promote women’s sports. We started with three sports three days a week. Now we are up to five sports, five days a week by five different writers.
This week, we also announced a partnership with The Equalizer. I’ve been a subscriber of The Equalizer for over a year now and very much believe in the work they are doing. Now, The IX subscribers can get The Equalizer at a discount and vice versa! As a loyal subscriber to The IX, you can get your first year of access for 25% OFF using code “TheIX” at checkout.
What I particularly like about this partnership is the aspect of women’s sports writers supporting other women’s sports writers. Women’s sports averages 4% of mainstream media coverage, but I refuse to believe this is the best we can do. It is certainly not what people in women’s sports deserve.
Until the masses catch up with us, the time is now for us to lift each other up! If we continue to support other women’s sports – and the women who coach, play, write, manage, and promote women’s sports – we will create a community that can no longer be ignored.
We will have a world where the Women’s Frozen Four isn’t given men’s championship hats. We will create a world where no CWHL playoff game stream is dependent on crowdsourcing. Where no NWHL salaries are cut midseason.
The possibilities are endless, if we work together! To that end, if you are in NYC, join me in celebrating fellow The IX curator Lindsay Gibbs and the Burn it All Down podcast team at Columbia University today from 2:00-4:00 pm EST for their first live recording. Can’t think of a better way to spend International Women’s Day!
This Week In Women’s Hockey
Reminder: The underlined words are the links. CLICK these! Clicks = Attention from editors, producers, and webmasters. have some suggested reading? Email me at erica@ericaLayala.com
Hailey Salvian with an excellent piece on Toronto Furies rookie Sarah Nurse, a cool-headed but cut throat star on the rise (Paywall).
IIHF Women’s World Championship rosters are trickling out. The United States, and Canada have selected their players.
Noora Räty gives fans a tour of the IIHF 2019 Women’s Worlds facilities. Räty and Team Finland will host the tournament next month.
LISTEN: I spoke to Kiira Dosdall ahead of the 2019 Isobel Cup Playoffs play-in game about the parallels of the inaugural Riveters and the 2018-19 season. SPOILER: There aren’t that many, according to Dosdall.
Candace Horgan and Nicole Haase recap NCAA Division I women’s hockey, including semifinals matchups, top three Patty Kaz finalists, and more.
This is why there may be some hope for the Riveters to repeat in 2019.
The two lowest-scoring NWHL teams combined for seven goals in the opening stanza of the 2019 Isobel Cup Playoffs. The Ice Garden gives you all the goals!
The road to the Clarkson Cup presumably comes through Calgary, writes Mike Murphy. A preview of the 2019 CWHL Playoffs.
Tweet of the Week:
Baby Carter with a few Olympians!
Five at The IX: Connecticut Whale Forward Katerina Mrazova
The Czech Republic National Team member took the NWHL by storm with her ridiculous puck handling skills (see some of our links for a look at her goal from the Isobel Cup Playoffs). However despite collecting a primary assist and a goal, her first season with the Whale ended in a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Metropolitan Riveters. Last night, we spoke to Mrazova about her teammates, what’s next, and why returning to the Whale is up in the air.
Erica L. Ayala: So, tough loss. Not what you wanted, obviously, but I’d like to talk to you about this first NWSL season and what it’s been like to play with this Connecticut team.
Katerina Mrázová: Yeah obviously it didn’t end up how we wanted. And I don’t know. It was a great experience coming to the Connecticut team. You know like … the team was amazing. Every every single one, every every player every like team made it. It was just such a great experience. They made it so so much easier for me to coming like a new kid in the team and I really appreciate what they have done for me and I wouldn’t change a team you know. So I’m really happy I could I could be with them and tit was a great, great year. Obviously didn’t ended up how we wanted.
ELA: If you’re able to maybe get a little more time, if this is a series or something, do you think that would have made a difference?
KM: Well, yeah I think it would. You know like, one game it can go either way. So, ee had it, we had the lead. We didn’t get the one more goal that we needed and they scored. So, you know it can go either way how I said. It just didn’t go the way we wanted.
ELA: So, what’s what’s next for you now?
KM: So, I might go next week or in two weeks to Czech. We have Worlds coming up. So we have a camp [with the] Czech National Team before that. I think I will leave in one or two weeks. So I’m gonna focus on that. I’ll keep practicing, it’s not done. Obviously this, like I said, it didn’t end up how I wanted, but I’m gonna focus on Worlds. After that in the summer, I’ll go back to Czech and there is gonna be a – well it’s called Roller Worlds. So it’s all inline sports. It’s gonna be inline hockey for me. I’m going to play that over the summer. There’s gonna be skateboarding and all the roller stuff. It’s like a mini-Olympics for that. That’s what I’m gonna do in the summer. But now for now, I’m just going to focus on the World Championships.
ELA: Have you thought about – I know I have literally the season just ended – coming back to Connecticut? Is something you’d like to do?
KM: Yeah it’s always that option and we’ll see how it goes. I heard so many rumors about the team and they are gonna keep it or not. So I hope. They will and if possible I would like to come back. We’ll see how that goes. How I said I wouldn’t change a team because the group we have it’s something special and I don’t know. I don’t think what I heard I didn’t like the choice does not everything has it so it’s something special and that’s why I would like to come back.
Note: We inquired about any potential relocation of the Connecticut Whale franchise. The IX was told there are no plans to relocate the franchise and any conversations claiming otherwise are unfounded.
