Hayley Moore Brings Strong Credentials to Boston Pride’s GM Position

One of the most prominent figures in New England women’s hockey, Hayley Moore, has made significant contributions as a player, coach and general manager. Heading into the autumn of 2015, Moore can add another remarkable achievement to her growing hockey legacy. Serving as the general manager of the NWHL’s Boston Pride, one of the league’s four charter franchises, she is part of a revolutionary, yet exciting chapter for professional women’s hockey.

Of note, this marks the second time in her career that Moore is on the ground floor for the launch of a new women’s ice hockey team in Boston. During the 2010-11 season, she was one of the charter members of the Boston Blades. Coincidentally, one of her teammates that season was Angela Ruggiero, who has served in a consulting capacity with the NWHL.

Playing for head coach Erin Whitten, Moore logged 14 points in that landmark campaign. She would log her first goal as a member of the Blades in just her second game, an October 31, 2010 victory against Burlington. Logging a power play goal in the second period, the assist was credited to Caitlin Cahow. Her best performance that season was a three-point effort on February 5, 2011, part of a 5-4 win against Toronto. It was only fitting that Moore scored the shootout winner in that contest (against Toronto goalie and team co-founder Sami Jo Small), earning First Star honors.

A superlative performance in the inaugural NWHL Draft has certainly made an impression as well. Although selecting Kendall Coyne with the third overall pick was a given, the remainder of said draft showed that Moore has a strong eye for talent. Opting for a blend of players from Boston-based schools (comprising the majority of her draft class), she found a reliable blueliner in Lexi Bender from Boston College.

Grabbing Harvard’s Emerance Maschmeyer with the seventh overall pick may have been the most significant pick, providing the Pride with an All-World talent between the pipes. Joining Maschmeyer among the Pride picks was Miye D’Oench, who may emerge as the dark horse of this draft.

Although D’Oench may not have been one of the more well-known players in the draft, she is one that is certainly known to Moore. Of note, Moore joined Katey Stone’s coaching staff at Harvard in the autumn of 2012, the same time that D’Oench and Maschmeyer started their NCAA careers. During that first season, Harvard would enjoy an Ivy League championship along with a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Having seen both players mature, while developing their strong games, there is a sense of familiarity that should yield positive results for the Pride.

Another one of Moore’s picks also provides an element of intrigue. Having served as the captain of the Clarkson Golden Knights during the most recent season, Shannon MacAulay scored the 2014 Frozen Four winning goal against the top-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers. Her hockey heroics mirror one of Moore’s greatest moments in NCAA hockey. When she competed for the Brown Bears program, her first collegiate goal was scored in the prestigious Mayor’s Cup series on November 27, 2004.

Having always dreamed of playing for the Brown Bears, she led the squad in scoring for three consecutive seasons, ascending to the top-10 in all-time leading scorers for the program with 133 career points. Along the way, Moore was bestowed the honor of team captain twice while racking up honors such as All-Academic, All-ECAC, All-Ivy recognition, the Frozen Four Skills Challenge plus the New England Hockey Writers Division I Women’s All-Star Team.

There is no question that a key figure from Brown that helped Moore develop into a leader today was head coach Digit Murphy, the first woman inducted into Brown’s Wall of Honor. Coincidentally, Murphy was also involved with the Boston Blades, leading the club to a pair of Clarkson Cup wins, the first American-based team to do so.

Moore would follow in Murphy’s footsteps and enter the coaching ranks. First as a volunteer assistant at UMass-Boston in 2009-10, where the Beacons boasted a 17-10 record, she continued her coaching career at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusets while also working as an assistant athletic director. Guiding the program to a 12-12-1 record in 2012, she would eventually land at Harvard, obtaining more wisdom and mentoring from another highly accomplished female head coach, Katey Stone.

Throughout her sporting odyssey, she has also managed to balance other obligations. In looking to help youngsters accomplish their hockey dreams, Moore has worked with the Bedford-based East Coast Wizards, which fields over 40 teams (of which half are female teams) give back to the community, setting an inspiring example as a hockey humanitarian. Her volunteer work with SCORE (Spinal Cord Opportunities for Rehabilitation Endowment) is nothing short of admirable, testament to strong leadership off the ice.

The objective of SCORE is to provide comfort and assistance to youngsters that have suffered an injury during a sporting event or athletic recreation. Through efforts such as financial assistance for medical care and home amenities among others, SCORE looks to ease the burden of rehabilitation while bringing dignity to those that have suffered from spinal cord injury.

Although Moore may not be most recognizable name in women’s hockey, her work with the Boston Pride may be the game-changer, introducing her to a new group of appreciative fans while subsequently transforming the Pride into an Isobel Cup contender. Her body of work is not just an extension of those who paved the way for her, but a bridge towards a new generation of players, who can look up to Moore as a role model, exemplifying that women can still have an importance in hockey once they have hung up their skates.

Photo credit: NWHL Images