The United States Women’s Hockey Team won the International Ice Hockey Federation’s women’s world championship last week, after forward Hilary Knight scored a dramatic overtime goal to knock off arch-rival Canada, 3-2, in the tournament final.
It was the Americans’ fourth consecutive world championship gold medal, and their sweetest: The month before, the team threatened to boycott the world championships over fair pay and financial support. They reached a deal with USA Hockey, the sport’s American federation, just days before the tournament began, winning increases in pay and benefits, and more support for the development of women’s hockey.
This week, three of the players ― forward Amanda Kessel, captain Meghan Duggan, and forward Kendall Coyne ― sat down with The Huffington Post to discuss the whirlwind month that ended with victories on the ice and off, and why their fight for fair pay was so important for women’s sports.
“This was just a movement that was bigger than ourselves,” Kessel told HuffPost in the video above. “It was something that, you know, we did for, I guess all little girls out there playing hockey. And not just hockey, but ... anything in life that you’re really fighting for and that you think you deserve.”