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All the bits from the Boston post-game press session after Finals Game 5

You can find the entire interview here! Be sure to go show them some love/views/likes/nice comments/etc for the work they put in making these available for everyone.

At the table were Jamie Lee Rattray, Hilary Knight, and coach Courtney Kessel.

We're at the end of the season here, my friends. My impulse (as always) is to be lazy and trim things down a little and save myself some effort, but it just feels wrong to trim anything off such a historic end. So I'll just suck it up and do these last few interviews in their entirety.

All the transcriptions under the break.

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REPORTER: [This reporter neglected to use a microphone, so the best I can make out is “Coach, why was it so _____?” In the comments for the video it was asked what the question was and the reporter who posts these videos said she wasn't sure, but basically it was a "What happened out there tonight?" type of thing.]

COURTNEY KESSEL: I thought we came out and actually had a good start, had some opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net. We didn’t. And then, to be honest, I think we just ran out of steam.

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REPORTER: Just for either of the players, I know you’re in that moment of disappointment right now, but are you able to just reflect on the journey of the season, getting this far, and what was established for women’s hockey?

HILARY KNIGHT: Absolutely. Obviously, it’s tough when you lose. Especially game 5, at home, in front of amazing fans. But, you know, we just came from the room, that’s kinda all we were doing, is reflecting on how proud of our group we are. How we continued to persevere regardless of any odds that were thrown in our direction. How we fought. You know, this year was a historic year. It was tough. It was something that no player was ever used to. We built it. And we’re extremely ecstatic about where it is right now year one, and where our group is; how we continue to battle and fight for one another. So I think, if anything, that reflection- point is something that we can celebrate and take away from tonight even though we did lose is our group. And how proud of one another we are in that room.

[Rattray looks at Hilary and nods]

[for the record you can really hear the emotion in Hilary's voice in this answer. If you only listen to two questions from this video I would recommend you listen to this one and the final one. They are my favorite two and you can really hear a lot of nuance in her voice in them.]

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REPORTER: Just want to ask all three of you, the job that Aerin [Frankel] did in goal tonight. 41 saves, I think it was 43 shots. Just seemed that she- that expression “standing on her head” maybe the right one here.

HILARY KNIGHT: Yeah. That game in the second could’ve opened up a lot greater than a 3-nothing deficit without Aerin between the pipes. She stood on her head all year. She showed up every single day. And so we couldn’t be more grateful and proud of her performance throughout the year. Hopefully we can help her a little bit more next year up front [laughs], relieve some of that pressure. But she’s the best goalie in the league. No doubt about it.

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REPORTER: The moment with the fans were chanting “Thank you Boston,” I dunno if you were able to hear that on the ice? [Hilary nods in the affirmative.] What did that mean to you all?

JAMIE LEE RATTRAY: Yeah, it was pretty emotional, I think. I mean, it’s pretty special what we had here. Obviously we wanted to win on home ice, but they still stuck with us through the whole game. They were loud, they showed up for us today. Unfortunately we couldn’t get it done. Super grateful for them. We couldn’t do it without them this year for sure.

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REPORTER: This crowd was the largest we’ve had all season. Standing room only, secondary market’s huge. Can you speak on what it meant to have the fans here like that tonight?

JAMIE LEE RATTRAY: I mean, it speaks for itself, right? We were super excited to get to the rink today. Just hearing the price of the tickets and stuff like that. I think we can be super proud of that, especially in our market here in Boston. I mean, it means the world to us. As players that’s all we want is to be able to fill the buildings and you’ll have a fanbase that really supports us. And they’ve been so great for us all year. Unfortunately we couldn’t get it done for them tonight, but I think we got a really special group here. Hopefully they keep coming and supporting us all next year too.

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REPORTER: I was just wondering if the two of you could answer about Aerin what you thought she did tonight for the team, to keep the team in it essentially?

JAMIE LEE RATTRAY: Yeah, she’s been our backbone. Like Hil said. I think she’s literally the best goalie in the world, right now. She literally stood on her head. She helped us through the first couple rounds of the playoffs and without her I don’t think we could get to where we are. Like Hil said, we’re gonna back her up a little more next year, hopefully. She’s phenomenal and such a great teammate too. Unfortunately we couldn’t get any in for her tonight, but she was phenomenal all year.

COURTNEY KESSEL: I would just say [she’s] super humble off the ice, and so quick, the way she tracks the puck. Just incredible. Her ability to see all those point shots and last second make those saves. We wouldn’t be where we are today without her. And unfortunately we fell a little short.

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REPORTER: Coach, do you have any updates on Taylor [Wenczkowski]? Was she okay? It looked like a knee injury.

COURTNEY KESSEL: Yeah, she’s alright.

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REPORTER: This offseason’s gonna be a shorter turnaround compared to the last couple years. How long do you guys take to wallow in this before you get ready for the next season?

HILARY KNIGHT: I think we all need a vacation. [everybody at the table laughs.]

You know, let us not forget that we had a six week training camp before the start of this year. We were in market, working with no games, a lot of scrimmages, showing up. You know this is the first year that players weren’t necessarily in control of their programming. So we expected a lot of ourselves to show up every single day. But yeah, I mean, it’s a short off season. I know there’s different national team camps and whatnot that are coming up pretty quickly in August and September, but it’s just a matter of people getting healthy and getting back to sort of that healthy standpoint before we start gearing up and training again. But it’s a long year. We said it from the get-go. And I think we definitely felt it towards the end of this run.

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REPORTER: Courtney, I just wanted to ask you, as someone who’s been in the game- on the game for as long as you have, what do you feel for the future? I know you just, literally just, finished the season [Kessel smiles], but it’s probably crossed your mind. Just like where this can go from here?

COURTNEY KESSEL: When you think back to September when this was kind of launched and we had the draft and we’re heading off to training camps. Who could’ve ever imagined that we’re filling the Bell Center, the ACC, or- [whispers a question to Jamie Lee]

JAMIE LEE RATTRAY: [laughing] Scotiabank.

CK: Scotiabank. You know we’re filling Tsongas, we’re playing in front of 13+ thousand in Minnesota and Detroit. I think this league took off and took off full throttle. More than we could ever have imagined as coaches, as players. I think we should all be so proud. And I think the media and the people surrounding this league, you know, the Walter family- like, we wouldn’t be here, right? I think we’re all thankful for that and grateful for this opportunity. But I know that the effort that every single player in league put forth, because it was a grind, it was something no one was used to. Just incredible for every single athlete involved in this group. I’m just so proud of our group and how we battled back all year. And here we were: one game short.

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REPORTER: Jamie and Hilary, did you expect the physical play as much as it was? And do you think that going forward it’s something you know you need to prepare a little bit more for next season?

JAMIE LEE RATTRAY: Yeah, I think our game’s always been physical, but [laughing] I think it got ramped up a little bit this year. And now we know how to play it. I think we will prepare differently right in the summers, and you had to adapt your game a little bit as the year went on and I think it was extra physical in the playoffs. I think you can use it to your advantage as well. It was definitely a different look as a player for sure as the year went on. But now that we know how it’s gonna be, I think it’s easier to prepare as next season comes along.

HILARY KNIGHT: Definitely. I’d like to see more consistency with what is body checking and what isn’t body checking, I think moving forward. And I know the league’s gonna work on that and we’re gonna do our part preparing to make sure we don’t put ourselves in vulnerable positions out on the ice. But it’s definitely a different type of game. You have to see the ice differently, you have to be able to absorb hits, read coverages, and put yourself in the center of the ice a little bit more than playing on the outskirts on the boards if you don’t wanna get banged up so much over the year. But, yeah, it’s gonna be an emphasis point with everybody training this summer.

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REPORTER: Congrats on the great season. And sorry for the loss tonight. I’m wondering if you all can reflect on how you’re thinking of setting the stage for professional women’s sports in Boston in general? As you all are the only fully professional league, and we’ve got pro soccer coming, but you all are really leading the way on this. Do you have thoughts on this? What your leadership means for pro women’s sports in Boston?

[Randomly, coach Kessel has a face during this question that you'll see a lot from her during this press session and it's my potentially my favorite one of hers. I can't explain why it's my favorite, but it is.]

HILARY KNIGHT: I think a rising tide lifts all ships. We benefit from many women that came before us to put us in a successful position this year. It seems like women’s sports is really breaking through and what a better timing than to invest now and be part of this journey. So we’re excited to be the first in market, but we’re really excited for that NWSL team to join us, among other teams. It’s just exciting to be in women’s sport right now and at this level.

[Boston's NWSL team is set to debut in 2026, for those interested.]

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REPORTER: They’ve announced that nicknames will be coming this off season. Do you guys have any favorites or suggestions that you guys would like to see your team called?

[Hilary says something quietly to her tablemates here and they all laugh, but I’m not able to make out what exactly she says.]

JAMIE LEE RATTRAY: I dunno. We’ll see what they come up with, but I’m sure it will be a good one. There’s been some pretty good names in Boston with sports teams, so I’m sure we’ll fit right in on that. I dunno. I’m looking forward to having a logo and a team name and-

It was pretty cool though, I think the cool thing about this year is we represented our cities. And we always talk about it all the time, representing this city is something special. And to be a part of this sports market, you know, I’ve said it time and time again, it’s super special. You’ve seen the different teams and the different history behind sports, and now we get to be a part of it and it’s really, really cool. So I’m sure it’ll be a good team name. I can’t wait to get my first t-shirt.

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REPORTER: From the player’s perspective, being inside the arena, hearing the amount of young women that you hear in the audience tonight and the other things that you’ve heard from, and the cheers, the electric energy. How does that motivate you to, yes of course there was a loss, keep on moving forward into the next season and play?

HILARY KNIGHT: Yeah, on one note, at the end of it you’re just a human showing up to play the sport that you love. And when you get out on the ice with a group, you see the young faces, you see faces from all over, you see signs, candy, bracelets, you hear it. And you realize how much you’re a part of something bigger than yourself. And I think, while this loss, we feel it in our room, it’s tough because we really wanted it, not only for the people in the room, but everyone who supported us along this journey. Because we understand what type of impact and the significance of what we’re doing through sport. To have a positive inspirational point and have that impact on someone’s life is a huge responsibility and one that I know no player takes lightly. And we get to do it doing the best job in the world.

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