One of the most likeable players in the latter years of the CWHL’s Boston/Worcester Blades franchise, best evidenced by her standing as team captain, Megan Myers, a member of the 2015 Clarkson Cup championship team, also holds a treasured place as a fan favorite. Following the dissolving of the franchise, which saw their final season spent in Worcester, the 2019-20 season proved to be a compelling bridge. One which saw Myers make the leap to an exciting new chapter in the lore of the female game, proud to be among its participants.
Becoming one of 200+ strong members in the PWHPA, allowing Myers an opportunity to extend her career in a highly empowering milieu, it also marked a powerful statement about the evolution of the professional game. With the symbolic sense of ownership, which was felt by all players, sparking an exciting new direction, it provided Myers with a feeling of renewal, finding drive in the prospect of positively shaping the future.
Megan Myers
🤚🏻Vegas
🏡Las Vegas,NV born and raised
📍Worcester,MA
🏒Utica College Alumni 2014
DIII Hockey Proud
⚔️2015 Clarkson Cup Champion
5 years in CWHL
👩🏼💼Becker Womens Hockey @BeckerWIH
Proud member of the @PWHPA
Thank you @BudweiserCanada 🚨 https://t.co/d3qEymTqwY pic.twitter.com/h7bowLIRgw— Megan Myers (@MegJane15) March 9, 2020
“When the CWHL folded, I was lost for awhile trying to piece together the last five years of my life spent and now where do we go from here. When the PWHPA came about I believed in its message from the beginning.
To inspire the next generation, to play with the best of the best and help be apart of creating a better future for our sport. I think the PWHPA is something so much bigger than myself and it was a no brainer to help be a part of the solution.”
Prior to the first PWHPA Showcase Event hosted in the United States, a group of Association skaters based in New England took to the ice for a highly compelling exhibition, creating a sense of momentum, simultaneously establishing its regional footprint. Facing off versus the Boston College Eagles on their home ice at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, the September 21 affair saw Myers score twice for the Association.
Recording the game’s first goal at the 8:40 mark of the opening period, with assists credited to Bailey Larson and Morgan Turner, a former Blades teammate, the Eagles would tie the score at 1-all as Hannah Bilka scored shorthanded at 10:29. Coincidentally, she scored against Katie Burt, a former Hockey East All-Star who stood between the pipes in her NCAA career for the Eagles, a handful of Eagles alumnae were in the PWHPA jersey, adding to the emotion of the contest.
After Alexis Guay capitalized on a power play opportunity in the second, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game, Myers would tie the game at the 15:13 mark. Once again, Larson would earn one of the assists, as Makenna Newkirk collaborated.
Taking into account that both teams placed new goaltenders between the pipes for every period, Myers was the only skater to have scored on two different goaltenders. Her first goal was scored against Maddy McArthur while her second found Kelly Pickreign, credited as the game’s winning goaltender, allowing Myers’ second goal.
Additionally, the contest entailed an important validation for Myers. Having played her collegiate hockey with the Utica Pioneers in NCAA Division III hockey, amassing an impressive 143 career points, her proficiency on the ice demonstrated a tremendous display of brilliance, shedding light on her meaning to the former Blades as an impact player and her evolution as an admired leader.
”Definitely one of my favorites over the past year! It was our first PWHPA event for the Boston region and a few of my teammates had amazing careers at BC, so we all wanted to win for them.
We did not play much together before then so it was just a fun experience! For me, playing DIII hockey, I have not played many DI teams before, let alone an amazing team like BC. So, scoring twice to give our team a chance was a special moment for me. It was a great way to kick us off for the year we were all starting.”
Following up a tremendous two-goal effort versus Boston College, Myers graced the ice at the Dunkin’ PWHPA Showcase Event in Hudson, New Hampshire, the first held in the United States, and second in Association history. Signifying a proud milestone for Myers, whose raison d’etre at the rink has involved remaining devoted to women’s ice hockey in New England, her commendable efforts currently involve serving on the coaching staff of the Becker College Hawks, based in Leicester, Massachusetts.
Appropriately, another city in the state, one with a cherished place in Myers’ heart, served as a seminal moment in her PWHPA journey. Receiving an early Holiday gift, Myers was among a pair of Blades’ alumnae to earn the prestige of the team captaincy. Facing off against a team led by Gigi Marvin, who won championships with the Boston Blades and Boston Pride, the December 14 contest took place at Fidelity Center, bringing a celebrated closure to Myers’ experience playing for the community in the black and gold of the Blades jersey, highlighted by a W emblazoned on the jersey.
Indubitably, the opportunity to continue to grace the ice with her professional peers, in support of a unified effort to herald a true golden age for the game, served as the extension of an exemplary career for Myers. One of the most sincere facets of the Dunkin’ Showcase Events involved the chance to reunite with Blades alumnae.
Skating for Team Lamoureux at the Hudson event, named in recognition of co-captains Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, Myers was back on the ice alongside the likes of former Blades teammates, rekindling memories of a defining time in her career. With the Team Lamoureux roster including Meghan Grieves and Lauren Williams, the first overall pick of the 2018 CWHL Draft, the last in league history, the feeling of reunion emerged as a key theme.
“Being a part of that opportunity in NH was a blast! All the teams had so much talent so it was an honor to be on the ice with everyone. Playing with Grieves is always special, she’s a great player and she has been a teammate of mine for three years, so playing with a friend always makes it fun.
As for Lauren Williams, she is my roommate and we both worked really hard this summer to prepare for the Dream Gap Tour. It is always an honor to play with her, she pushes me to be my best and I owe her a lot (due to) the player I have become over the last year. So playing with them is always special, they will be teammates of mine forever.”
Worth noting, the unique novelty of the Showcase Events sees rosters shuffled at successive events, which tend to have at least four teams on-hand. Resulting in the intriguing facet that teammates in a former league can become friendly rivals, such was the cause for Myers.
With a handful of Blades represented on different rosters at Hudson, including Chelsea Goldberg, Jetta Rackleff and Courtney Tuner on the roster of Team Flanagan, while Lee Stecklein’s team featured Lauren Dahm, Turner and Alexis Woloschuk. Fittingly, one Blades alum would gain the opportunity to serve as a team captain. The only American-born player to be named the CWHL’s Most Valuable Player, Hilary Knight, a two-time Clarkson Cup champion led a team onto the ice at Cyclones Arena in Hudson.
Holding true to the aspect of reshuffling the rosters, the Secret Showcase in Toronto on January 11 and 12, 2020, saw Myers reunite with another integral figure from the Blades latter years. Recruited to skate for Team Kessel, named after team captain Amanda Kessel, at the Secret Showcase, Myers was part of a star-studded roster which also featured Dahm, a highly assiduous goaltender who gained the respect of so many fans, teammates and rivals alike in CWHL play for her work ethic.
Gaining the chance to call Dahm a teammate again provided Myers with another cherished highlight in 2019-20, enjoyment certainly emerging as a key theme in her reflections on this unique instance. Myers, certainly ecstatic to be back on the ice, sharing the opportunity with a group of former Blades, holding standing as cherished friends from a formidable time presented its own reward, the bigger picture revealed a more profound narrative.
“It is always fun to play with Dahm; she is a competitor and loves the game so much. When she gets into any game you can’t help but get fired up about her work ethic in the net. She played amazing in Toronto! One of the best games I have ever seen her play, I was so proud of her and it made us all want to work that much harder to back her up.
The games are intense, we are out there to put out the best hockey we can. It is always a battle but every game my favorite part is seeing the little girls in the stands just mesmerized by what they are watching. They are seeing the best of the best play and you can see their minds turning as they watch, you can see them dreaming about the amazing opportunities their future can have playing hockey professionally.”
THANK YOU ARIZONA! What an amazing weekend for the @PWHPA @arizonakachinas @ArizonaCoyotes Loved every second of this weekend and the entire 19-20 Dream Gap tour! Definitely one of the coolest experiences of my life 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/lkIrQ5iuMJ
— Megan Myers (@MegJane15) March 11, 2020
Before the PWHPA’s inaugural season came to a close, Myers enjoyed the privilege of participation in the final Showcase, the apex of a highly successful Dream Gap Tour. With an event held in Tempe, Arizona from March 6-8, believed to be the first professional female hockey event in the state, Myers skated for a team named after Katie McGovern. A native of Scottsdale who captured an Isobel Cup championship in 2019 with the Minnesota Whitecaps, McGovern also played at the NCAA level in the State of Hockey, skating for the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
Myers played on a team that featured 11 Winter Games competitors, including American-born stars Amanda Kessel, Haley Skarupa and Lee Stecklein. Led by head coach Daniele Sauvageau, who was Canada’s head coach in women’s ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Games, the chance to play for such an accomplished coach encompassed the feeling of history during such an exciting weekend for Myers. With a succeeding exhibition game that also saw the skaters of the PWHPA face off versus a group of Arizona Coyotes alumni, added a Major League feeling to the proceedings, it provided an exclamation point to a tremendous event, one which Myers was very proud to have been involved with.
“The PWHPA showcase in AZ was a big success! The games were full of skill and very competitive as always, the fans filled the rink, and I believe a lot of young girls watching that weekend left the rink inspired.
I have enjoyed every moment of the Showcase games. I have played against most of these amazing players in the CWHL for the past five years so being able to play with them has been amazing experience. Everyone has so much talent and passion, it inspires me everyday and I am so thankful to be apart of something so much bigger than myself.”
”All quotes obtained first hand unless otherwise indicated”
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