Women in the fields of sports, medicine and business are familiar with the feeling of being one of the few females in the room, but that wasn’t the case on Tuesday. Ahead of the New York Islanders game vs the St. Blues at UBS Arena, a sea of women and girls were in attendance for a Women in Sports pregame panel and networking event, presented by Northwell Health, led by female doctors, athletes and leaders in business.
“It’s a privilege to be one of few in a male-dominated industry,” said Dr. Amy West, Sports Medicine PM&R Physician at Northwell Health. “We can see that as an opportunity to lead and pushed through a closed door - and hold the door open for women behind us.”
Hundreds attended the fourth annual panel hosted by the Islanders and Northwell and moderated by MSG Networks Islanders Host Shannon Hogan. This year’s panel featured players from Professional Women’s Hockey League, currently in its inaugural season, who were both showcasing the growth of women’s professional hockey and serving as role models for the girls’ youth hockey teams in attendance.
"This has been my passion since I was a little kid," said Lindsey Post, a goaltender for PWHL New York. "Being part of this league is something I couldn't even dream of. So, it's a dream come true."
A unified league where women can pursue hockey full-time has been a long time coming, offering opportunities that weren’t previously available to talented female athletes.
"I've been playing professionally for seven years now and in the past, I had to have another job outside of being a professional athlete," said Alexa Gruschow, forward for PWHL New York. "There were many women that came before us to try to build a league that's at this professional standard that we deserve as women.”