GETZVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — Girls hockey in Western New York is stronger than ever, with around ten Federation and prep teams currently in season.
Many of the Buffalo area players have gone on to have successful careers, including Hayley Scamurra who's currently representing Western New York at this year's Winter Olympic Games.
"You realize how few people it is," Scamurra said about Team USA's roster. "To be able to represent my community and Western new York, it just means the world to me."
Scamurra is a Getzville native and Nichols School alum whose love of hockey began at a young age. She went on to play four years at Northeastern University and was drafted by the Buffalo Beauts in 2016. Her impact in the then NWHL, now PHF, was immediate.
"When I finished college hockey, I played in the playoffs and won the Isobel Cup that year," she said.
Scamurra has one goal and three assists in two playoff games with the Beauts in her first ever season and in the seasons following, her talent didn't go unnoticed. In December 2018, she was invited to her first Team USA women's hockey camp and never looked back.
"I kind of went into each one with that mentality of I got nothing left to lose, just put it all out there," she said. "I figured as long as I can say that, then I won't have any regrets."
Year after year, Scamurra continued to turn heads and on December 11th 2021, she earned one of 23 spots on this year's Olympic team.
"All of that hard work was realized in that moment," she recalled. "It paid off."
Since that day, Scamurra's been soaking up every moment. From Nichols to Beijing, she's thankful for the journey and is hoping to help younger players follow the same path.
"It's super important what we're doing," she said about professional women's players around the world. "I think whatever we can do to set up the next generation so that they're better off than us, it's all worth it."
Scamurra and Team USA picked up their first preliminary win over Finland [5-2] on Thursday and are back in preliminary action on Saturday.
