Manitoba trio makes hockey history Players part of PHF Isobel Cup champion Toronto Six By: Mike Sawatzky Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Monday, Mar. 27, 2023 Last Modified: 7:20 AM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023 Updates

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Kati Tabin witnessed some hockey history Sunday night.

The 25-year-old Winnipegger was watching from the bench when teammate Tereza Vanisova scored 4:23 into overtime to give the Toronto Six a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Whitecaps in the Premier Hockey Federation’s Isobel Cup final in Tempe, Ariz.

The result, bringing the title to Canada for the first time in the pro women’s league’s eight-year history, almost resulted in Tabin being trampled on her way to the on-ice celebration at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena.

“Tereza scores and I have strings on my (hockey) pants — just skate laces — I’m trying to get out there and my strings gets caught on the door and so everyone is trying to push me and my strings get caught and I’m trying to go nuts,” said a laughing Tabin over the phone from Arizona Monday afternoon.

“I didn’t (get hurt) but you know what, I couldn’t feel anything at that point.”

Tabin, a blue-liner who played NCAA hockey at Quinnipiac University, was one of four Manitobans in the Six organization.

She was joined by team president Sami Jo Small and fellow blue-liners Taylor Woods, who hails from Morden, and Winnipegger Alexis Woloschuk.

The Whitecaps, who have Brandon’s Ashleigh Brykaliuk on the roster, failed in their bid to win their second championship, after winning in their inaugural season.

Minnesota was making the fourth final appearance in its five-year history, including 2020, when the Whitecaps was slated to meet Boston in a championship game cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Six reached the Isobel Cup final by winning its final two games to beat the Connecticut Whale 2-1 in a best-of-three semifinal series.

On Sunday, Toronto squandered a pair of one-goal leads before forcing overtime with 12:04 remaining in the third period when Woods, scooting to the net after a shot by teammate Michela Cava, shovelled a loose puck inside the left post. It was the Cornell University grad’s first goal of the season.

“I think she’s been pretty defensive all year but throughout the playoffs she kind of turned on the jets and started being more offensive,” said Tabin of Woods’ play. “So it definitely helped us out (Sunday)…

“That’s kind of what our team likes to do is make it an interesting game. I’m just happy we won. We’ve done that a couple of times this year where we’ve had the game in the first period and then we kind of let up and make it a little challenging on ourselves, but we got the job done.”

Woloschuk, a 28-year-old who played her NCAA hockey at Boston University, played in 12 of Toronto’s 24 regular-season games but did not dress for the final.

“It’s always difficult,” said Woloschuk. “I mean, everyone wants to be playing so it’s not easy for any player, especially in a championship game (but) it was a great season. We started playing early in September. That meant we had about two months of pre-season and then worked our way through the season.

“As a team, we had a lot of ups and downs and adversity that we got through together but we came out and we won a championship, so that makes it all worth it.”

Woods was in transit Monday and unavailable for comment.

Woloschuk, who is unsigned for next season, was enthusiastic about the future of the women’s game after her experience during the 2022-23 season.

“I plan on playing next year,” said Woloschuk. “I guess I’ll leave it at that right now. We’ll see where the cards fall but as far as where and all of that. But yeah, it’s exciting time to be a professional hockey player and I’m looking forward to next season…

“There’s just so much growth, there’s so much media and it’s happening so rapidly. And I think we saw that with that championship game. It was broadcast on TSN and ESPN and that’s just a huge step.”

It was also a major advancement last fall when the PHF more than doubled its salary cap to US$750,000 from US$300,000.

Still, the vast majority of the league’s players were required to hold down second jobs to make ends meet. Woloschuk, for example, is employed as a mental performance coach and personal trainer but has also invested time in developing an online wellness app called ‘TheLineUp,’ while also spinning off a line of apparel.

“I worked in the Ritz Carlton before COVID hit and then I designed an app — it’s workouts, it’s nutrition and it’s mental performance,” she said. “For me, I just found that was the trifecta for an athlete and I wanted to bring that to everyone, especially high-performing people that are busy individuals.”

Tabin, who graduated with an MBA from Quinnipiac in 2020, found a job as in the marketing department of Yamaha Motor Canada’s Toronto offices.

“It’s been crazy playing full time — that’s my main job — but then also having another job on the side,” said Tabin. “It’s been a lot I would say but you know, it’s tough for females and hopefully not next year, but you kind of have to have two jobs in order to live.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

— with files from The Associated Press