Rivalry Series Quotables: November Edition

With the November Rivalry Series in the rearview, here's what some of the players and coaches from the United States and Canada had to say about the two games, the upcoming PWHL season and the impending Olympics.

USA defender Haley Winn

On being in the present: "A big thing is just being where your feet are. This year in general has been pretty crazy... we didn't play for six months, and obviously the [PWHL] draft is crazy. It was just a rollercoaster year. Taking it day-by-day and being where your feet are and just enjoying the moment. It's such an incredible opportunity every time you put on that jersey... not taking it for granted and being with the girls, soaking in everything you can."

On prepping for the PWHL: "Every time we play against Canada, it's a super physical and chippy game. It's kind of nice to get some physicality and just games under the belt going into training camp and going into the league. Obviously, it's very physical, which is something I'm excited for. But it was really nice to get that here, get the physicality... and the pace of play here is like no other. It's the highest level."

USA forward Hayley Scamurra

On reaching this point: "Pure joy. It's all culminated to get to this moment... it was a long journey to get here. I didn't think I would ever represent my country. I graduated college thinking that was it, and then I had the chance to play for my hometown with the Buffalo Beauts, and that's what led me to this opportunity to play for Team USA, and I'm forever grateful for that."

On some of the younger talent on the team: "Oh man, they're so much fun to watch, aren't they? They're just incredible. They're dynamic, they're fast, they're creative. They just do all the little things right, and they're just so fun to watch. My goal is to always bring whatever energy I can to help ignite in them as well."

USA captain Hilary Knight

On how important the Rivalry Series is: "It's just so different. It's best-on-best, it's just so special. I hope that the Rivalry Series stays around in some sort of format moving forward. It is odd starting like halfway into [PWHL] training camp, definitely, but it's just so critical for the growth of the game to see best-on-best. It gets the fans engaged. We don't disappear every year from November, now. It's really important."

On this group: "There's definitely the same themes culturally, in the room, that make us really strong and make us really hungry to get back together as a group and sort of long for that connection. You're seeing players who got their feet wet with the first Worlds of this quad. They're really taking up their space and owning it. It's just awesome to see this next generation of players coming up and being super successful on a world stage."

USA head coach John Wroblewski

On the series: "[Thursday] had a feel of, you could kind of manage the flow... in terms of intent, on-ice expectancy of what was going on. [Saturday], you could not. It was a degree and a half up on the intensity level. I would equate [Thursday] to be a really good PWHL game, speed-wise. And tonight [Saturday] was full-on national team medal game intensity from both sides."

On Hayley Scamurra: "Hayley [Scamurra], maybe more than any other player on our team, screams Olympian. I say that in high regard, knowing what we've got with Knight and everyone else, but in terms of the Olympics—the preparation, the dedication and the elite athleticism, combined with an innate desire to compete and be her best—and persevere through what you would call maybe some dark times in terms of what her future might be in the sport. She's a true Olympian and somebody that we just value so much in this program."

On his team's philosophy: "The spirit of the Olympics is different than a World Championship type of team, or just a regular national team type event. We feel like the Olympics has to be player-driven as opposed to team-driven. They have to arrive in Italy as good as they be with themselves. They're up to the challenge to take care of themselves. We've started this countdown a long time ago that, listen, we're leaving you alone. You need to take care of this. You need to arrive in Italy like you're competing in an individual-style sport, so that when you arrive there, you're not just a part of this team. You're an individual that's playing for the United States and representing the United States, and happens in to be in the sport of hockey that's a team sport."

On women's hockey: "That's one of the things I love about women's hockey... how eventful it is. I worry about that with the pro game, that there are teams who are going to a 1-3-1 to try to win. I don't think they call the game as tight as they should. They let the players decide. I don't think it's called the way it should be. I think there's a lot of things [where] I think that women's hockey is a little bit trying to be men's hockey on the pro side of things."

Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin

On the physical game: "That's how we play in the PWHL. It's been quite physical, it's been quite feisty. That's what we love. It's competitive, it's hard work. It's hard hockey, and that's what it's all about. Every time we play the US, it's a battle, and I think both teams love it. We take so much pride in representing our country."

Canada defender Renata Fast

On moving forward: "The whole point of these games is to reflect, to learn and to grow as a group, and that's exactly what we'll do. We have a really, really close-knit group in that locker room who's eager to dive in together and figure out how we can improve, and that's how we evolve. We all go back to our [PWHL] markets, but at the same time that we're competing another team, Hockey Canada is always a priority for all of us—to learn how we can get better as a group, but also individually, how when we come back together we can have more success."

On how the December games will look different: "You can prepare so much in practice and skill sessions. The training blocks we've had, I think we made a lot of progress. But playing games is different. There's game shape, and it doesn't matter how good you feel in practice. When you come to a game, it feels different. Timing's a big component of that. Having a couple games from the PWHL under our belt will be super valuable for all us. We'll be super motivated coming into those games on home soil, and our last two games before the Olympic team is named."

Canada head coach Troy Ryan

On the losses: "I think there's parts in there where I probably could have minimized the damage myself a little bit. But I think a big part of this is putting some people in situations you maybe normally wouldn't put them in, and seeing how they respond and seeing how they react. I think the worst thing that I could do right now as a coach in a situation like this is to let the score dictate how I'm going to make decisions."

On the roster choices: "Fast is a nice, solid player to play with. What we did is, we kind of did it a little intentionally. We left Larocque at home; Larocque is usually that person that gets all those players, someone who's solid. Chloe [Primerano] would've played with Larocque if she was here. But it's like, you don't always want to completely bubble wrap everybody, right? You want to give them a little bit of experience... it's honestly about putting them in some different situations, seeing how they react. Some of it is you want to protect them, but some you want throw them into the wolves a little bit and see how they handle it." (He also spoke here about starting Micah Zandee-Hart with Fast to see if she could maximize the opportunity.)