Meg Young is a sophomore Business Competitive Intelligence student. When she’s not working at GE Transportation, she plays left defense on the Women’s ACHA Hockey team. With this interview, we get a look at Meg’s perspective of what it’s like to be a part of a first-year team, and what keeps her head in the game.

MM: “What led you to hockey?”

MY: ”I played a bunch of different sports, and I tried to find out what I liked

What led me to hockey was the day my dad came home from work and said that he knew a woman that was running an girls hockey program here in Erie. I said, “let’s give it a shot.” I started when I was 7, which was my first time on the ice. I didn’t fall, but then again I was probably going 3 miles an hour. And everyone was skating past me. I then decided I I’d stick with it, and I really enjoyed it”.

MM: “What helps you get your head in the game?”

MY: “Definitely a good jam sesh with the girls or on the way to the rink. We’ll listen to rap or throwback songs to the early 2000’s. Also just looking around the locker room and knowing that the atmosphere is there, and that the girls are focused. But we can still have a calm atmosphere and talk to each other and joke around. Once you get too serious sometimes it doesn’t end up well. So I think to keep a good atmosphere and a good warmup in with the girls definitely helps”.

MM: “What was your favorite moment form this game or past season?”

MY: “My favorite moment from this season was when the University of Pittsburgh team put on a memorial game for Alina Sheykhet. We all taped our hockey sticks purple in solidarity for fighting against domestic violence. She was killed by her ex-boyfriend, it was very close with the team. So when we found out we could help, the whole team was all for it. We brought down two bouquets of flowers for the family. Later that night one of our former Steel City teammates messaged me and found out that the benefit raised $550 as well as both and the flowers went to her grave. It meant a lot to see how much it touched them and it meant the world to them that we could help. We loved doing it just as much.”

MM: “What is something you cherish about this team?”

MY: “I love the bond that we have as a team. We definitely feel like a family and having a bond is one of the most important things in hockey. Besides skill and work ethic, having that bond means that you’re all on the same page and that you all want to win just as bad as badly. At the same time having fun of course. But, knowing that someone always has your back and that you can count on those people means a great deal. This team was definitely like a family to me. This bond was great compared to past teams I’ve played on. We ended the season with a 19-4- 4 (wins, losses and ties). So for a first-year team winning nineteen games is pretty impressive. Along with girls that never even played together is amazing.”

MM: “What position do you play?”

MY: “My position is left defense. Although I played forward quite a bit this year cause we needed some girls up front. I’ve been playing defense since I was about three years old.”

MM: “I read that this is the inaugural women’s team for Mercyhurst’s ACHA D1 program. What does that mean to you?”

MY: “It’s really awesome being a part of a first-year team. Seeing all of us overcoming the same obstacles, like running short on some girls, and we had some visas fall through with our Canadian teammates who were supposed to come. So we ended up having some girls from Penn State University play with us as well as girls that haven’t of played in a couple years. It was really great seeing a take on everyone coming from different backgrounds. Something that a lot of the older girls stressed to us is to enjoy every single moment that we have. That is true, this season was amazing. Going 19-4-4, and just the resiliency that the team had was awesome. In terms of work ethic, we had running practice with maybe 8 girls some nights. Every drill conditioning and some off-ice workouts. It was great to see that the motivation was there. Everyone wanted to be there. Even though there were times that we fell short, we made it work. All of us coming through that together, and our setbacks is going to create greater teams in the years to come. All I hope is that when I leave here is that this program will be bigger and better than how when I started. ”