Photo: @hilaryknight/Instagram
Team USA Olympic Gold Medalist Hilary Knight will be an inside-the-glass analyst for the Washington Capitals-Chicago Blackhawks game on March 14 coinciding with the Capitals’ Women’s Celebration Night at Capital One Arena. This is just one of the numerous initiatives from Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) to honor and celebrate Women’s History Month in March.
“I’m excited to be at ice level and see how the game unfolds,” Knight told The Washington Post. The Capitals-Blackhawks game will include a ceremonial puck drop with local female youth players, Capitals Hockey Ambassador and fellow Team USA Olympic Gold Medalist Haley Skarupa, Knight, and Olympian Hannah Brandt. Additional tributes toward females in hockey will occur throughout the evening.
Knight, Skarupa, and former U.S. National Team members Dana Trivigno and Taylor Wasylk will be hosting a youth hockey clinic for girls ages 6-18 on Friday, March 13 at Medstar Capitals Iceplex.
Knight also said, “I’m just excited to be in D.C. and watch a good hockey game.”
Back in January, the NHL All-Star Skills Competition in St. Louis featured an Elite Women 3-on-3 event between the American and Canadian women’s teams. Knight scored the lone goal in the 2-1 loss to the Canadians, but the NHL donated $100,000 to girls’ hockey organizations.
Knight is a three-time Olympic medalist: PyeongChang 2018 (gold), Sochi 2014 (silver), and Vancouver 2010 (silver). In the inaugural season of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) in 2016, she helped lead the Boston Pride to win the first-ever Isobel Cup. Knight is one of more than 200 national women’s players who have boycotted professional teams in North America in hopes of a better, more sustainable pro league.
We may represent different teams, leagues and countries but collectively we stand as one. #ForTheGame pic.twitter.com/O9MOOL8YOt
— Hilary Knight (@HilaryKnight) May 2, 2019
Knight had played in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) for the Les Canadiennes in the 2018-19 season and helped the club reach the 2019 Clarkson Cup Finals. They fell to the Calgary Inferno by a score of 5–2. Four months later, the CWHL ended operations after 12 years.
The Capitals (alongside the Mystics and Wizards) and Monumental Sports Network will be commemorating “HERstory” during the month of March. This month is also Gender Equality Month and Sunday, March 8 is International Women’s Day.
Everyone is invited to follow along during the month of March by using the hashtags #CelebrateHER, #HerTimeToPlay, #PowerofWomen, #ALLCAPS #ALLHER, #CelebrateWomen, and #MakingHerstory.
By Della Young
