Hey TIG subscribers! I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to cover the Boston-based games of the PWHL Finals in person, so I thought I’d give you a little behind-the-scenes look into what’s going into that. I’m not usually much of a journaler, so I’m not sure how this will go, but welcome to my PWHL Finals diary!
I want to begin by saying thank you to anyone reading this. It’s because of your paid subscriptions that I get this opportunity, and I’m incredibly grateful! Now, in the interest of not boring you with irrelevant rambling, let’s get straight into my day covering Game 1 of the PWHL Finals.
I go to college in Boston, but I’m currently home in Maine for the summer, so I kicked things off with a lovely 90-ish-minute drive. I cranked up a totally normal blend of artists (everyone jumps from P!nk to Luke Combs to Kygo to Kenny Chesney, right?) and got on my way. Can you guess who’s never allowed to DJ when carpooling?
I got to the rink about an hour and 15 minutes before puck drop and caught up with some friends while waiting for the doors to open. I didn’t really expect to form more than work-level connections with people on the beat, so that’s been a wonderful surprise. Once the doors opened for fans, I busied myself talking to people for an upcoming subscribers-only story, so keep your eyes peeled for that later this week!
Walking into the rink was already surreal, but the puck drop brought the biggest pinch-me moment of the day. I still can’t quite believe I got lucky enough to cover part of an inaugural finals series in person, on my first season on a full beat. Then, covering the game was a ton of fun as always, especially once things went off the rails in the second period and my fellow media members and I got a good laugh over how wrong our predictions were.
Press corps takes back all of our hot takes before this game- issued from @lydia_murray12 & @RevEverett
Apparently nobody told the two best goalkeepers in the league that this was going to be a defensive battle. #Pwhl Finals and #Boston now leads 4-3 at the ends of the second. pic.twitter.com/dDtig3mTL2— Boston Women’s Sports (@BosWomensSports) May 19, 2024
After the game, I headed down for the press conference. The only time there may have been more media was the home opener. Considering there was one game where just four media members showed up, it was a welcome sight (although I selfishly enjoy it when I have more time to ask questions).
They kicked the presser up a notch from the semifinals. In the regular season, there were no microphones or anyone to call on you for questions. You just shouted things out and hoped the coaches and players spoke up enough to get quality audio. However, in the semifinals, they added microphones for the players and coaches, which was a welcome addition. This time, they also passed around a microphone for media and had someone calling on people for questions. It made the whole process much smoother, but I didn’t get to ask any questions because I was slow to get my hand up and all the answers I wanted were given quickly.
After the presser ended, I chatted with some people again before returning to the press box to finish my story. I then started the journey home, although this time it was soundtracked by a call with my friend Chanel instead of an eclectic blend of music.
I’ll be at Game 2 tonight and doing another one of these after, plus some more exclusive content. Hopefully, I’m in a spot to at least get better pictures (trust me, you don’t want to see most of mine from Game 1), but if there’s anything else you’d like to see or hear about from this experience, let us know in the comments here or on X/Twitter! I’ll talk to everyone again soon!
