WOODS WIN

Back on March 26, Morden’s Taylor Woods played a major role in the Toronto Six’s victory in the Isobel Cup championship. She spent many seasons chasing a championship and her hard work finally paid off by becoming one of the key contributors in the first championship in Toronto Six franchise history. MORDEN’S TALENTED TAYLOR WOODS joined the Premier Hockey Federation’s Toronto Six at the start of the 2020-21 season; but for Woods, there was a different energy heading into the 2022-23 season. “From day one, we had a star-studded team,” she said. “We had the talent required to play our type of hockey and control the game. On paper, we were talented through and through. It was all about putting the pieces together, becoming one cohesive unit and playing playoff-type hockey right away to be ready.” Woods’ 22-23 Six were obviously ready. Back in late March in Tempe, Ariz., the Six beat the Minnesota Whitecaps 4-3 in overtime to lay claim to the Isobel Cup. Tereza Vanisova scored the winner in OT to make the Six the first Canadian- based team in PHF history to win the league title. “Being ready right from the drop of the puck was a huge key,” said Woods, a defenceman and two-way forward. “For me, going into it, I just focused on performing. You can’t teach yourself much more than maybe the tactics of the opponent. It’s about doing your job. I just kept repeating it to myself, ‘Do your job, play hard, no regrets.’ That sort of became a team mentality and it kept our emotions even.” Woods says she remembers the start of the extra frame and what was going through her mind. “I thought, ‘Let’s make this short,’” she said with a laugh. “That was all I was thinking.” The overtime winner came quickly off a turnover in the offensive zone. Woods says she didn’t quite believe it at first and the moment took a little time to really sink in. “It took a little bit to register,” she said. “I was talking to teammates about turnovers. We forced turnovers and we had to get to pucks quickly and be ready. That’s exactly what happened.” Like many Manitobans, Woods, now 28, was up on skates very early in life. She started skating with her sister in Morden when she was 3-years-old. “She was a better skater than I was, and I kept falling over,” Woods said. “I started playing hockey and I just remember loving chasing the puck everywhere. “When I first started, they didn’t have female hockey until my second or third year. We had a bunch of girls, and we just went out and played. It didn’t matter who I was playing with, it didn’t matter if the teams were uneven, we just went out and played. I thank them a lot and they had a lot to do with my development.” Growing up, Woods’ goal was to play in an NCAA Division-I program. She worked extremely hard and after a season with the Balmoral Hall Blazers – and a shot with Team Canada at the World U18 championships – she accepted a scholarship to Cornell University. “Coming from a small town in Manitoba, you may think the odds are a bit longer, but I was just so determined,” she said. “I was going to do everything in my power to get myself out there. I sent out snail-mail. I sent out emails after every tournament. I called, and I finally got myself in the door with Cornell. Bonus, it was an Ivy League school. They were a dream school and I’m so glad I was able to go there.” Woods spent four years at Cornell and wore the A in her senior season. After graduation, Woods moved on to the CWHL, joining the Brampton Thunder. It was a dramatic shift going from college to the pros. “The biggest change was in speed and in reading plays off the stick quickly,” she said. “I remember I was on defence, and I was playing a two-on-one against Caroline Ouellette. I can’t even remember who she was coming in with, but I remember looking into her eyes and reading her, I knew she was going to make the pass. She knew I knew I was reading off her, but it didn’t matter. She made a perfect pass under my glove yet above my stick, just perfect, and they went in and scored. Not a highlight moment of my life but it was just really cool to see. I had to step my game up so much because of the way they were able to read plays. It was faster, bigger and there was more skill.” For Woods, winning her first championship was being given that time-honoured opportunity to get into the championship team photo. “The team photo is really a family photo,” she said. “We’re all so close and we got to capture a moment that we will never forget. Having the Isobel Cup front and centre joining our family captures all the emotions and the moments from that whole season.” “I love talking about it. I get to relive it and it’s a moment I never want to let go.”