The best game I watched last week wasn’t a contest from the NBA, Major League Baseball or the United Football League.
It was the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship gold medal game which featured one of the best rivalries in sports – USA vs. Canada.
Canada avenged last year’s championship game loss, near Toronto, to the American women with a thrilling 6-5 overtime win. The USA took a ‘too many players on the ice’ penalty which led to the power play goal that clinched the title for Canada.
The tournament also officially introduced Laila Edwards as a force in international women’s hockey. Edwards, who is Black, was cheered on throughout the two-week tournament in Utica, New York by family members, friends and fans.
The 6-1 Edwards hails from Cleveland Heights, Ohio and is the first Black hockey player to make either the men’s or women’s US national team roster.
A forward, Edwards recorded six goals in the seven games played by the USA and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Edwards became just the second player to earn MVP honors at both the U18 and senior Women’s World Championships. She also was named to the Media All-Star Team.
The 20-year-old sophomore, who stars for the Wisconsin Badgers, became the third-youngest U.S. woman to record a world championship hat trick in America’s 5-0 semifinal victory over Finland.
That set the stage for the showdown with Canada. After falling behind 1-0, Edwards tallied the tying goal which brought a roar from the largely American crowd. Edwards also recorded an assist in the game and finished tied for the tournament lead in points with eight.
Before the title game, Edwards told reporters “I think (it’s) gonna be amazing.”
“It doesn’t feel real. This is something I’ve grown up dreaming about.”
She and her sister Chayla, a graduate student who also plays for Wisconsin, participated in figure skating as children. Both moved to hockey with the younger Edwards now becoming an international star.
When the day comes when Edwards no longer plays hockey, she could become a sports or news columnist.
In a brilliant essay on the University of Wisconsin website titled “Finding my place on ice; and history,” Edwards shares her story of being a young Black woman finding her way in the world of hockey.
Her writing is inspirational and moving.
“When my dad signed me up for figure skating, it was so I would eventually be ready for hockey,” she wrote.
“When I left my hometown at age 13 to attend a boarding school in Rochester, New York, separating me from friends, family and everything else I had known up to that moment, it was for hockey.”
She states in the essay, “I remember trying to find ways to blend in, despite always knowing I stood out.”
“I often wonder if having an existing blueprint to follow, would have altered my path. But when I reflect on conversations with parents about how I’ve inspired their child to play hockey, it reminds me of the path I get to create for others.
“For me, it’s always been hockey. But now I understand it’s never just been hockey.”
The Reid Roundup
Jackie Robinson Day was celebrated throughout MLB on Monday April 15. The St. Louis Cardinals started three Black players – outfielders Victor Scott II and Jordan Walker and shortstop Masyn Winn…Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are betting favorites to win the NBA title. Tatum, who averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, is second to Denver’s Nikola Jokic as favorite to win NBA Finals MVP honors…Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns will open a Western Conference first-round series at Minnesota on Saturday, April 20. Beal, who played in just 53 games because of various injuries, averaged a respectable 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and five assists per game…Caitlin Clark was selected by Indiana with the first pick of the WNBA Draft on Monday. It was the most-watched draft in WNBA in the league’s history…Toriano Porter, an award-winning Black columnist for the Kansas City Star, wrote he thinks the Chiefs should part ways with receiver Rashee Rice, who left the scene following an illegal street racing crash that left several people injured.
