USA's Scamurra has a night to remember

By Budd Bailey

Saturday’s women’s hockey game in the KeyBank Center between teams from the United States and Canada won’t be remembered by most for very long.

The exception is Hayley Scamurra, who will never forget it.

The Buffalo native had the chance to play for Team USA in front of friends and family in the exhibition contest. Not only did she take part in a ceremonial opening faceoff and make the starting lineup, but she even scored a goal in the Americans’ 6-1 win. That added up to quite a nice homecoming.

“It was absolutely incredible. I couldn’t have written it any better,” Scamurra said. “Honestly, I could hear them up there when my name was called, and when I scored they were extra loud. Just to have that physical presence of the people who have been with me for this whole journey who helped me get to this point and celebrate with them was unbelievable.”

Scamurra began her hockey odyssey at Nichols High School as a ninth-grader. She moved to Canadian leagues during the rest of her high school days, and played four years of college hockey at Northeastern. It was on to the Buffalo Beauts’ pro team in 2017, where she helped that team win a championship. Scamurra has been a pro ever since, taking time out to win a silver medal with Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

There have been plenty of big moments along the way, but this one fell into a different category.

“Honestly, all of their support really fueled me for this game,” she said. “It gave me that extra push when I was a little bit tired, and go a little bit farther. I was not expecting to start, and to do that in front of everyone – they were super-excited and I was too. Then to score the goal was the cherry on top.”

This game was part of the so-called “Rivalry Series” between the traditional two best teams in women’s hockey. The U.S. won the world championship earlier this year, while Canada is the defending Olympic champion. America won in Cleveland on Thursday night, and the teams will suit up again for two more contests in Edmonton in December.

\One of the most interesting questions about this game before it happened centered on the attendance. You may have heard that many Canadians are angry about American tariff policies these days, and are staying away from any visits to the U.S. in protest. Would those feeling carry over to an exhibition hockey team involving Team Canada in Buffalo?

It seemed as if that was the case. The crowd was in the 4,000 to 5,000 range (lower bowl only), and there wasn’t a great deal of cheering for Canada along the way. Those games in Edmonton might carry more emotion from a Canadian standpoint.

The first two periods were quite well played. All three goals came within a span a minute and 52 seconds in the second period. Captain Hilary Knight and Kelly Pannek scored for Team USA, while Marie-Philip Poulin answered for Canada.

“I thought Canada came out really strong tonight, and we needed a team performance led by (goalie) Gwyn Philips,” USA coach John Wroblewski said. “Her play in the first 40 minutes was pivotal. I thought that (Canadian goalie) Kayle Osborne was sharp too, but Gwyn was really good. That kept the game in our favor.”

Then the Americans turned it up in the third period. Laila Edwards’ score off a rush into the zone game to give her team momentum. Knight scored on a tap-in at the goalmouth on the power play off a pass from Hannah Bilka. Scamurra was set up in front on a spectacular pass from Taylor Heile. Finally Knight completed a hat trick with an empty-netter.

“The other night was like a really good PWHA game, speed-wise, but this was a full-on national team medal game intensity from both sides,” Wroblewski said.

What’s this all mean? Not a whole lot, of course. The players now head to their respective college or pro teams to play for several weeks except for the break in Edmonton. The teams’ rosters will be different then, and the lineups will change again before the Olympics next winter – when the pressure on all sides will be turned up a zillion times. You’d rather win a game like this than lose it, but everyone will turn the page quite quickly.

Except for Scamurra, of course.  

“She maybe more than any other player on the team screams ‘Olympian,’” Wbroblewski said. “I say that with in high regard with who we have in Knight and everyone else. In terms of the Olympics, the preparation, the dedication, the elite athleticism, combined with an innate desire to be your best and persevere through some dark times … I think she’s a true Olympian and somebody we value so much in this program.”