Our Hockey Life

EPISODE 50 : JESS MOLINA

It's National Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S. & the ladies are celebrating with Latina Powerhouse, Jess Molina!!! She is a first generation American raised by the 2 most special & influential people in her life ... her spicy-sweet Mexican Abuelita & her mom, whose collective force has given her the drive & wings to do ANYTHING she wants. Jess takes the girls on a journey from how she met her fiancé, NHL free agent Jon Merrill (recently of the Vegas Golden Knights), introducing him to her family & hispanic heritage, to getting her masters in social work in 4 years while moving 6 times & having 3 babies!?!! Kodette notices Jess's tattoo collection & Brij dies over the location & presumed pain of one them ... Más tequila por favor.  

EPISODE 49 : JESSICA KLINKHAMMER

On this episode, Jessica Klinkhammer guests as she prepares to leave for Belarus and her family's 5th season in the KHL. Her husband Rob, is former NHLer and current Captain for the HC Dinamo Minsk. This dynamo of a woman shares their journey from the NHL to the KHL along with the initial fear & then joy of living in Russia and traveling 'home' during the world-wide border closures at 37 weeks pregnant!!!! WHAAAT??! You may even pick up some Russian vocab & learn a thing or two about how they are advertising covid-safe-sex over there on the other side of the world;) 

EPISODE 48 : MEG DOWLING

While hockey fans & NHL families awaited the 2020 Eastern Conference final winners, the girls caught up with the ultimate "insider", Alberta native, Meg Dowling! She & her 6 month old baby girl, Perri were the first family members to break the BUBBLE & slide into an experience that no other hockey family had had. Meg's husband, Justin Dowling, is a forward for the Dallas Stars and was awaiting his first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals when the girls stole her for some scoop. The three discuss Meg's childhood summers on the Pro Rodeo circuit & how the couple went from their titles of 'BeerLeagueRinkRats' to 'husband&wife' to 'parents'! While she navigates being a first time mom, Meg shares her own feelings and honest observations as she tells us about her first week inside the NHL Bubble. The trio weigh in on Superstitions playing their own part in these unique playoffs, Brij discusses her "must have" in Edmonton and Kodette relays her desire to travel to the capital city to meet the newest member of her own family of donkey's ;)  

EPISODE 47 : JESSICA KOHOUT

Jessica Kohout joins the ladies for a conversation ( Pre-Round 2, Game 6) about Baby Billie Ann entering the world and how her fiancé Jordie Benn (Vancouver Canucks) was able to be there for her arrival in between the pre-playoff Training Camp and his entry into The Bubble. Jess is a fierce woman with a competitive spirit ... teasing with some Dallas bar + young-hockey-life-stories beyond the fact that she danced competitively and landed a FULL RIDE softball scholarship to college. The 3 women weigh in on Mike Milbury's insensitive & insulting comment about women just a couple of weeks ago & discuss how professionals in all walks of life handle the pleasant chaos of a family while still focusing on their jobs. Brij & Kodette want to take this time to CONGRATULATE Jess & Jordie on the arrival of their first baby & thank Jess for sharing the unique circumstances that came with welcoming her in the middle of a Pandemic and the resuming of play in the NHL ...

EPISODE 46 : KELLY TALBOT

Ahhhh the sounds of (pre NHL Bubble) summer ... the sweet easy song of Kelly Talbot's Texas voice, the fizz of opening a can of seltzer (with a kick of course;), mixed in with some early June sunshine, some spotty lake-house-wifi (insert annoyed hosts eye-roll here) plus a dose of salty sarcasm from Kodette ~ The recipe for a fun episode for sure! Kelly takes a break from her 3 year old twins and gets real with the girls about meeting her husband Cam (Calgary Flames goalie) & how he was her chief supporter while they navigated her anxiety and his early NHL career together. The episode just wouldn't be complete without a catastrophic tale from Kelly's NY Rangers party days and some sage advice from Brij for all ... "Check your props before you mount them." You're welcome.

EPISODE 45 : PAT MAROON

The girls catch Tampa Bay Lightning forward, Pat Maroon just a few short days before he heads into "The Bubble" & the unique 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Coming off of the 'best year of his life' with his son Anthony, fiance Fran & the St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Championship, he weighs in on the reality that NHL players & personnel were faced with as they made the choice to 'Return to Play' and leave their families behind. Consider yourselves warned on multiple levels as the new friends deal with a delayed Zoom connection, Brij dates herself with a not-so-innocent question and the 2 women lend their thoughts on what they would have made sure was on hand if their own husbands were off to "The Bubble" ... ;)

EPISODE 44 : SARAH GUDBRANSON

She is a dancin’ dentist, includes Zumba instructor as her side hustle and her name is Sarah Gudbranson. “Dr. Sweets” (her maiden name is Sweetnam) shares some stories about her smile-enhancing family’s dentistry legacy, dancing in living rooms, her impressive studies and of course how she balances her career + personal life with her husband Erik Gudbranson (Anaheim Ducks defenseman). Sarah & Brij exchange go-to-party-tricks & Kodette (sometimes known as Dickie Lynn ;)) has an on air ‘moment’. Is it gettin’ Hot In Here or did Erik just walk by shirtless?

EPISODE 43 : SYDNEY THOMPSON

Sydney Thompson will have you hooked from her first sweet hello! She's a pilates teaching/ recent fly fishing enthusiast from LA who found fast love (on an app!!!) with Philadelphia Flyers' centerman, Nate Thompson from Anchorage, Alaska. This beauty opens up and shares her diagnosis with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, the couple's journey through Nate's sobriety, their desire to start a family with a surrogate and MORE! She's a "Hab Nots" alumni with some fun superstitions that have Kodette & Brij giggling. The hosts get seriously unserious about some 'male entertainment' and decide that Alaska should be the new trendy spot for a #GirlsTrip. 

EPISODE 42 : LAUREN BONINO

The Nashville Predators' Female Hockey Ambassador, Lauren Bonino joins us straight from Music City, where she is hunkered down with her own 'hunk'/ BEST-Halloween-Costume-Ever partner/ husband, Nick Bonino (Preds Centerman) & their 2 Littles. The fan-girling starts over this fun duo's life together starting with their own hockey playing, "sweatcedo" wearing days at Boston University right up to their current Quarantine antics. Who can resist a self admitted "Crazy-for-Swayze" cool chic dressing the part ??? Nope, neither can we. 

EPISODE 41 : MICHELLE McGRATTAN

On your mark, get set, GO !!! The girls grabbed Michelle McGrattan for a catch up on her life before, during and after Pro Hockey with former NHL Enforcer Brian McGrattan. She is a fitness junkie, certified nutrition coach & creator of "The Michelle Method", a collection of online digital cookbooks:) There's never a shortage of things to talk about with this go-getter of a woman as the trio cover topics from Hot Priests, Cupcakes & Tattoos and quite possibly one of the best Trade-Deadline/Time-Travel stories yet.