Hockey Moms

They are working moms — a chemist, a music teacher, a drafter, a pharmacist, a market researcher, a former corrections officer. Most of them are at their jobs all day before coming home to cook dinner and put their kids to bed. And then, long after the sun goes down, they drive to the rink, lace up their skates and play hockey.

For the love of the game.

What a treasure it is to have something you love so much that it defies expression — and to share it with others who feel exactly the same as you. For the hockey playing moms on the Hatchicks of Burnaby, B.C. — a women’s team that plays in the recreational Adult Safe Hockey League — their time on the ice is that treasure. It is unlike any other moment in the day. A freedom, a relief, a joy. “Playing hockey, for me, is the one time I’m not thinking about work or kids or anything,” says Wendy Dennis, now a public servant. “Like I’m not thinking I have to pick up a gallon of milk when I’m out on that ice. It all goes away.” The Players’ Tribune embedded with the Hatchicks for almost an entire season, until Covid-19 shut their league down right before the playoffs. In honor of the many moms on the team — and all moms everywhere — here’s a behind-the-scenes look at their season. Happy Mother’s Day.

Photographs by Maureen Cavanagh/The Players’ Tribune

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