On the Beat With Samantha Isbell

National Girls and Women in Sports Day was earlier this week, but The Every Day Fan covers women's sports all year. Today, I feature my interview with professional hockey player Samantha Isbell of the Premier Hockey Federation Montreal Force, which is at On the Beat With Samantha Isbell.

Growing up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, it was natural for Sam to find her way to the ice. Her start is a funny story though, involving her older sister. Once entrenched in hockey, Sam played multiple positions, while her sister became a goalie. Sam told the story, including how her sister and her would practice, but not necessarily against each other.

Because I love the answers from the other PHF players I have interviewed, I asked Sam about playing in the NHL. She echoed the sentiments of the other players. Whether or not a woman could play in the NHL is less important now that there are other options, most notably the PHF.

Sam expressed her feelings about being a part of NGWSD. She has more opportunities than women before her and she is helping to create more opportunities for future women players.

A longtime fan of the Montreal Canadiens, Sam was happy to have the opportunity to play for the Force. In 12 games, she has 2 goals and 8 assists (second most on the Force) for 10 points (third most) on only 23 shots (ninth most). She is also second on the team with a +/- of +3.

The Force is 6-7-1, good for 5th place in the 7 team league. They have been outscored 44-36. The Force are 9 points behind Connecticut in 4th place. There is still more than a month of hockey to be played.

Before ending our interview, Sam listed a few activities she does not involving hockey. One of which is spending time with her dogs, who make a couple cameo appearances in the video.

Sam had such a positive energy and like her PHF mates, she is proud and excited to be playing professional hockey. Although lesser known than some women's pro sports leagues, PHF seems to be building a solid foundation. As I told Sam, when the league expands, I hope Chicago gets a team, because I will be a season ticket holder.

The spirit of NGWSD goes well beyond one day. As a young writer, a successful women's pro hockey league wasn't in the picture. Now it is wonderful seeing athletes like Sam making it happen.

On the Beat With Corinne Schroeder

I was back “On the Beat” with the Premier Hockey Federation. This time, I interviewed Corinne Schroeder, goalie for the Boston Pride at On the Beat With Corinne Schroeder.

Born in Elm Creek, Manitoba, Canada, Corinne started playing hockey as a toddler. Like most youngsters, she played multiple positions, before finding her true love in the nets. Unlike most youngsters, she kept playing into adulthood.

After playing on youth teams, Corinne played for seasons for the Boston University Terriers starting in the 2017-18 season. She finished with the best career save percentage (92.9%) and goals against average (1.98) in the school's history.

She went on to play one season for Quinnipiac University as a graduate student. Her first start was a 5-1 win over Maine. In the game though, Corinne made history. After a save by Corinne, the puck found its way into Maine's empty net, resulting in a goal being credited to Corinne. Unofficially, this is the highest level of women's hockey to have a goalie score.

While playing for Quinnipiac in the national quarterfinals, Corinne made an incredible 73 saves against top seeded Ohio State. Quinnipiac eventually lost in double overtime though.

Following her season, she signed with Boston of the PHF. After 13 games, Boston is in first place with a record of 11-2. In 12 games in the net, Corinne leads the PHF with 11 wins, a 1.86 GAA and a .946 save percentage.

Corinne discussed all of this in our interview. Echoing Kassidy Sauve from my last interview, Corinne felt a woman could play in the NHL, although now there are other options.

I realized true equality isn't women playing in the NHL. It is women having choices previous generations did not have. Corinne talked about being in this class of hockey pioneers, taking what others like Manon Rheaume accomplished to a new level and growing the game for the next generation.

For more info on Corinne and the rest of the players and PHF, go to PremierHockeyFederation.com. Check here and TheEveryDayFan.com for our hockey coverage.