Two Women Who Give a Puck

What happens when women step up to coach in hockey?

In this episode of Two Women Who Give a Puck, we follow two very different coaching journeys.

One said yes… and was welcomed in.

The other said yes… and was told no.

Both stories reveal something bigger about hockey culture, belonging, and what it really takes to create space for women in the game.

We talk about:

• What it feels like to put yourself out there

• The impact of...

🎙️ Welcome to Two Women Who Give a Puck | If I Can Do It, You Can Do It

In this episode of Two Women Who Give a Puck, Sarah and Tera are back after a busy hockey season to sit down with Julie Johnson — adult women’s hockey player, hockey mom, and living proof that it’s never too late to start.

Julie shares her honest and hilarious journey into hockey, including:

- Starting hockey at age 40

- Being terrified of the ice (and the g...

A Minnesota female hockey coach was suddenly replaced by a less experienced male coach—right in front of her daughter. Sadly, this isn’t an isolated story. In this episode of Two Women Who Give a Puck, Sarah and Tera break down the key takeaways and actionable steps to fight gender bias and create a more positive hockey culture for girls and women.

🔥 What you’ll get:

- Real talk on gender bias in youth hockey

- How boards and as...

In today’s episode of Two Women Who Give a Puck, we share a powerful, true, anonymously submitted story from a Minnesota female hockey coach whose world was turned upside down overnight. After years of playing, coaching, developing players, and building a positive culture, she discovered—without warning—that she had been removed from her head coaching role and replaced by a man with no hockey playing experience. No explanation. No ...

In today’s episode, Sarah and Tera sit down with Diane Smith, a former collegiate hockey referee, to explore an often overlooked but critical part of the sport: officiating. Diane shares her journey into hockey, the moment she fell in love with the game, and how seeing one female ref changed the entire trajectory of her future.

Together, we dive into:

🏒 What it’s really like to be a female official

🏒 Why new referees quit — and...

In this inspiring episode of Two Women Who Give a Puck, hosts Sarah and Tera sit down with Kimmi and Kelly — two women who began their hockey journeys as adult players and are now taking on coaching roles.

They discuss what drew them to hockey, how they found confidence in a new sport, and what it means to step into leadership as women in a male-dominated arena. Together, they explore:

• The value of female coaches in youth hoc...

On this episode Tera and Sarah interview another one of their Buzzer Beater players, Haley Mathison. 

Haley grew up LOVING hockey, but it wasn’t in the cards for her to play organized hockey in her youth. Instead, she practiced solo on frozen lakes and city rinks, dreaming of one day playing organized hockey.

She achieved her dream after attending a WHAM 101 clinic solo. Even though she started on her own, she quickly and easil...

Tera and Sarah sit down with one of their Buzzer Beater players, Moriah Gilbertson.

In this episode, Moriah shares her deeply personal and inspiring journey into hockey. She initially said “No” when a friend asked her to try a women’s 101 hockey clinic with her. However, she was convinced to switch that “No” to “Yes” and that decision led to immense transformation.

She developed a fixed mindset from her dance background, which ...

Tera and Sarah sit down with Dan Miller, youth hockey coach, girls varsity hockey head coach, youth hockey coaching director, USHL scout, AAA coach, High Performance Hockey coach…… OMG, that’s A LOT!!

Dan shares with us his unique hockey experience. He started later in life (according to MN standards!) at the age of 10, played high school hockey, Junior B, Junior A and then ended his career after suffering a broken leg while play...

Sarah and Tera and joined by Vanessa Fuchs and Lizzy Ristano from WeCOACH.

WeCOACH is a one-of-a-kind nonprofit membership organization dedicated to recruiting, advancing, and retaining women coaches in all sports and levels through year-round professional growth & leadership development programs.

In this episode we talk about all things female coaches, from identifying who you are as a coach, creating a supportive communit...

Tera and Sarah sit down with Jenna Thompson, the brains behind the Puck Yea! Hockey Collective.

Puck Yea! Hockey Collective is all about bringing individuals together through the love of hockey where fun, empowerment, and inclusivity are at the heart of everything. 

This Hockey Collective has a place for all females of all skill levels. 

Through Puck Yea! Hockey Collective Jenna has found a place for many individuals, who may...

Tera and I are joined by Ashley Holmes, the Assistant Coach in Chief for Female Coach Development in the Minnesota District (that’s a mouth full!!). 

Ashley shares her story of growing up playing hockey in the Alexandria area, how that led to playing at the University of North Dakota and then on to coaching. 

An important part of her coaching journey is that she was ASKED to coach a 12U hockey team. Without that invitation, she is ...

Tera and Sarah sit down with Alicia Pelton, the Program Director for Coaching HER from the Tucker Center, a research center at the University of Minnesota that researches girls and women in sport. 

Coaching HER is a coaching resource that helps sport coaches of girls challenge the status quo and the taken-for-granted assumptions of what it means to coach girls. We are helping coaches minimize gender inequalities and to coach differ...

AUDIO WARNING - some of the audio is a little rocky!!  Good ol' technology... It doesn't always cooperate.......!

On this episode Tera and Sarah chat with Topher Scott from The Hockey Think Tank about the value of community based hockey, for everyone, and especially for female hockey players. The less accessible hockey becomes, the fewer females there will be in the sport. 

Topher’s mission is to get people to recognize the importa...

In this episode Tera and Sarah discuss all the ways female coaches can provide value even if they never played hockey. 

They discuss the many aspects of coaching that have NOTHING to do with the Xs and Os of the game. 

From helping players overcome adversity, to teaching them how to be good teammates, to holding them accountable, ALL of these are INCREDIBLY valuable. AND none of them require hockey knowledge to teach. 

They r...

In this episode, Tera and Sarah discuss the common response they receive when sharing their experiences with males in the hockey world, which is “It happens to guys too”. 

Although this statement is true, Tera and Sarah discuss how it feels very dismissive and it glosses over the reality of females having different experiences in hockey than males do. 

Even if similar things happen to men, the way women experience certain issue...

Kris Wing is building a legacy, a beautiful and bright spiderweb, of positive energy, inclusiveness and an integrated approach to supporting ALL coaches within the world of USA hockey that she hopes will live on indefinitely.

She is the USA Hockey Coach in Chief for Female Development, which means she is a part of USA hockey's coach education program. She is the first female to have a Coach in Chief role within USA Hockey. Her ro...