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Breaking the Ice is a platform created for wives and girlfriends of professional hockey players but has since turned into so much more! We share our stories, our passions, our tips, tricks, do’s and dont‘s for all things hockey and SO much more. Whether you‘re a hockey parent, an athlete, a significant other in the sports world or a person who enjoys podcast, you‘ll be inspired by these women every single day. So lace em‘ up and tune in for a new episode every Wednesday!
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Today is a solo episode with me, your host! I started to feel that roadtrip, middle of the season burn out creep in a couple of weeks ago and once I processed my emotions, I wanted to share this episode with you all.
In this episode I talk about:
- The Mental Load of Responsibilities
- Stepping into the role as the primary caretaker of kids, pets, household responsibilities but also feeling the overwhelm of not being able to take a break if needed
- Long Roadtrips Alone
- Planning Life Around Hockey
- The Mental Load of Traveling
- Coordinating the Flights To/From the Season and sometimes having to travel by yourself (potentially internationally + potentially with children)
- The end of the season overwhelm: What do we leave behind, where do we leave our stuff, what do we bring home, needing to pack suitcases, boxes and keep everything organized with less than a weeks notice, usually
- Long Exhausting Travel Days, twice a year
- The Mental Load of Starting Over:
- Making New Friends every 8 months
- Learning a new city or country, with maybe a new language
- The stress of not knowing where you will live constantly
- What I have learned I needed in these tough moments
Listen to the episode on Coping with Travel Anxiety
Listen to the episode "The Unknowns Made us Stronger"
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Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Gretchen Geraghty, girlfriend of Max Willman, who plays for the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL, joins me today on Breaking the Ice. Gretchen currently resides in Allentown, PA and her boyfriend is 1.5 hours away in Philadelphia living the hotel life!
In this episode we talk about:
- The uncertainties of the hockey life
- When they decided to move in together
- Long Distance
- Covid and how that affected her day to day
- Learning how to be independent in this lifestyle
- What it's like having a twin and living far away from them
- The comparison game of social media
- Making friends as an adult and how challenging this can be
and more!
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Tuesday Feb 15, 2022
Tuesday Feb 15, 2022
Danielle Fraser, wife of Jamie Fraser, who plays in Villach, Austria in the ICEHL, joins me today for a late night happy hour! Danielle and I had an absolute blast chatting virtually. We have had so many mutual connections and she has also spent six hockey seasons in Vienna herself! (where my husband plays now). Her and Jamie have been together for 15 years and they now travel the globe with their two kids.
In this episode we chat about everything and anything but a few topics in between all of the laughs are:
-Playing in the US and making the decision to go over to Europe
-Why she doesn’t live in Europe full time and goes back and forth from Canada to Austria
-Giving birth in Austria
-The challenges of living in a foreign country when your kids are older
-How her family has navigated their sons Type 1 Diabetes
-How we discovered we are hypochondriac soul sisters
and SO much more.
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Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Jenn Army, wife of Derek Army, who is the Head Coach of the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL, joins me on Breaking the Ice today!
Even though she is a coach's wife now, she started off as a player's girlfriend/wife and they went through long distance for 9 years! Jenn is a teacher and she shares about how difficult it was to get time off to go visit and really having to plan her time off around what worked for the hockey schedule, which also led us to talking about maternity leave for teachers and how unfair it is (and even more stressful with covid times!)
We also talk about:
- Being a Homebody and how this hockey life really pushes you outside of your comfort zone
- Long roadtrips in the ECHL as a mom and how it's basically survival mode
- We talk about how days off, aren't days off for moms (if ya know, ya know!)
- Call ups and send downs when you're long distance and dealing with the frustrations and uncertainties that come with this, especially when you are taking time off from work
- How long distance and the unknowns that hockey can bring can make your relationship stronger, if you're with the right person
- Transitioning into the coaching role
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Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
Brittany Wedgewood, wife of Scott Wedgewood, who plays for the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL, joins me on the podcast today for the seventh time?!
Brit and I really needed a good catch up episode and I know you all love hearing her on the podcast so we had to make it happen!
Some of the things we chit chat in this episode are:
- Brittany and Scott's new home in Arizona
- The January Lull and why it seems to affect us all
- What's been going on for us both: Moving, Sicknesses, Funny Dog Stories and Check your boobs
- Britney Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears drama
- Wedding Prep for Brittany
- The rules and regulations for hockey during a pandemic and why the constant confusion is exhausting
- AND MORE! Tune in for a good convo with your girls & enjoy!
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Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Jamie Machacek, wife of Spencer Machacek, who plays for Wolfsburg in the DEL, joins me over a virtual glass of wine on the podcast today. Jamie + I have been chatting for so long after we discover the same love for the show Nashville. (Naming her son and my dog after it!) We’ve talked about all the mom things over the past year and I was so excited to finally meet her virtually IRL on the podcast.
Jamie and her husband knew they wanted children from the beginning. After trying for quite awhile and going through a few health issues, they realized they needed to look into their options.
In this episode we talk about:
The transition from babyhood to toddlerhood and how being a mom is always evolving and changing
Jamie opens up about her health struggles and what she went through before her first round of IVF
Male Factor Infertility and Endometriosis
Navigating IVF in a foreign country and how hockey played a factor into their journey
When you’re struggling with fertility and family and friends are getting pregnant around you
Keeping this private and not sharing with anyone around them
After undergoing IVF, they found out they were pregnant with twins and lost one of the twins. She talks about what this experience was like for her and her husband
Never Giving up on your Motherhood Journey
THANK YOU Jamie. You are amazing!
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Tuesday Dec 28, 2021
Tuesday Dec 28, 2021
Dr. Sarah Sweetnam, wife of Erik Gudbranson, who plays for the Calgary Flames in the NHL, joins me on the podcast today.
Before we talked about dentistry, we talked a bit about Sarah's hockey journey, thus far. She shares how her husband got traded six days after Sarah gave birth. She had to wait five weeks before finally joining him in Nashville (They are Canadian!) We also chat about what COVID has been like for her as a first time mom. She shares how her and her husband met her first week of dental school and how they managed both of their busy schedules and careers.
Then, we talked about all things dental.
- I asked her about any dental myths she has heard that she can debunk for us
- She tells me whether or not sleeping with your mouth open can cause cavities
- She answers whether cavities are genetic and what you can do to prevent them
- We talk about fluoride and what she recommends
- Kids Dental- She tells me the real deal of when your kid actually needs to go to the dentist for the first time. She also shares some great tips on how we can prepare our children for their first dental appointment and change the dialogue so that we aren't implementing fear before their first appointment.
Enjoy this episode, I learned so much!
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Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Ilyssa has lived her entire life in Florida and adventured to the other side of the pond for her first season overseas.
In this episode we dive into:
- How you can lose yourself when you begin to date someone new or lose yourself in this lifestyle and how to identify this within yourself
- Darkness and how challenging it is when it becomes dark so early
- Finding what you love to do and learning about yourself in the process
- Youtube. Ilyssa started a Youtube channel this year to cope and communicate with this lifestyle.
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Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
Jeanie Prapavessis, wife of Matt Prapavessis, who plays in Vienna Austria for the Vienna Capitals, sat down with me over wine and we had a great conversation about all of the things.
We dive into:
Lockdowns- What it has been like as Americans living in Austria during yet another lockdown. We chat about the frustration, confusion on rules and of course, what we’re watching during lockdown.
We talk about wine and how cheap it is in Europe
High School- How we feel terrible about what we put our parents through in high school (lol sorry mom) and now we both think nothing will get past us as moms. Watch out kids, we're onto you.
We talk about mom shaming on social media. We find that sometimes there can be useful tips but also we are not robots and there is no such thing as “perfect parenting” You have to do what’s best for you and your family.
Cheating- that taboo topic that no one talks about but everyone wants to know about….what do you do when you know someone is cheating on their girlfriend from back home or who’s there in person…... You’ll have to listen to this completely unfiltered conversation we had about this. We give our opinions on how to address this situation and whether we think this should be a group approach or single approach.
Female Friendships in the hockey world- How there is sometimes a pressure for everyone to be best friends and it’s not always practical with so many different personalties. However, you can also meet some of your closest friends. Same goes for the guys too!
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Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Hilary Miele, wife of Andy Miele, who plays in Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL, joins me on the podcast today!
In this episode we dive into:
Long Distance: Hilary & Andy met in college and she had little to no idea where hockey would take them! She shares about her experience with long distance and how she wound up leaving her career to be with him
We talk about Russia and she shares a few funny stories. Hilary and her daughter were apart from Andy for four months while they were waiting on their Russian visas.
Language Barriers
Solo Travel- Hilary loves to travel and she loves going on trips with her daughter to experience the adventures that this hockey life has to offer.
Not losing your sense of self while following your partner
We also talk about one year contracts and how it can be stressful when you are always waiting on the next opportunity. Before the pandemic hit, they signed a two year deal in Arizona in the NHL, but with the unknowns of COVID, they made a family decision to head overseas.
This episode was so fun to record. We had a lot of laughs and I guarantee you will feel like you are sitting down with two friends.
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