Being the only female in the league results in some interesting questions.
Bowden said she doesn’t have a relationship within the league. And she was asked if she uses her own dressing room.
“I did at the beginning. I don’t know how much I want to divulge because I don’t know how many wives know this, too, but the guys are very respectful. I do get to dress [with them] because, as the girl, especially growing up playing with the guys, I dressed on my own and then joined in after, and you don’t get that team unity—the camaraderie. You miss out on that.
“Since I’ve been in the league long enough and the guys know me now, they don’t mind having me … they don’t seem to mind having me hang out with them and dress in the room. They’re respectful, I’m respectful. There’s no nakedness. When and if they use the shower, I’m not right there.”
Being part of the team is very important to Bowden.
“I appreciate being part of the team, to be a part of the group. I don’t want to disrespect anybody and I don’t want to lose that—the ability to be part of the team—because it’s important to me.
“It started out in that situation, dressing in the girls’ dressing room. And I didn’t even know half of the guys’ names. I just missed out on everything.”
When asked if she ever gets hit on, Bowden replied, “I have. I actually did have one of the guys say … this was kind of a very cheeky response, but he said to me, ‘I have to ask … Are you gay?’ I said, ‘That’s a very fair question, but I’m gonna let you know, this would be a very bad pool to choose from if I was.’”
Bowden has a colourful take on relationships within the league.
“I don’t take it seriously because I think it’s kind of like dipping your pen in the company ink. I don’t want anything to go sideways. And like, then where do I go?”
About being in a potential relationship, Bowden said, “I don’t want him to be fodder. I don’t want to be fodder.”
Bowden said she felt good about this past season. She recalled how she was sitting in the stands during the Oldtimers tournament and one of the other players said this is probably one of her best seasons.
“I was surprised to hear that, but I felt the same way,” she said.
Games like the final really illustrate Bowden’s competitiveness. “I felt really good in that game, even though we lost, but [I] can’t stop everything, I guess.” (Michel Dubois scored the only goal on Bowden in the shootout.) “Michel’s deke, I bit too early. I can’t believe I bit on his deke. But that’s OK. It happens. Can’t stop everything. Michel made a really good move.
“I felt really good this year. So I just kind of hope I can keep that going. But every year is different, with different players and different teammates, different opponents. Like next year, I might be playing against Gus [Morberg] and Willy [McKenna], and I might be playing with a team that doesn’t have the type of strength as my team did this year—or the type of gel.”
Bowden said she felt like the team really gelled.
Of the final, Bowden said, “I was a little bit crushed. Gerald [Tetlichi, the opposing goaltender] played really great. They shut everything down in the middle. Their defensive game was so good.”
Bowden is quite enthused about the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). “It’s fantastic. It’s about time. I would love to see it continue to evolve. It’s so nice to watch. I kind of wish that there had been something like that when I was [younger]. I think we all think that.
“I hope that continues to thrive. That’s so lovely to move forward … for the future, because when I was growing up, it was either university … maybe go to Europe. I looked at both. I went to [Wayne State] university [in Detroit]. But it was kind of ‘that was it after that.’ So it’s really nice to see that there’s a place now and something to strive for, even if it’s not attainable—but at least you get noticed now.”
Bowden started playing goal when she was seven years old.
“I guess I always felt at home back there. They’d go around the dressing room [saying] ‘Who wants to try? Who wants to try?’ And every time somebody said ‘No,’ I would raise my hand and I’d get in there.”
This may have been the case where, as Bowden explained, “I’m just gonna keep playing until I get really good. Because there were bad games when I was little, and I kept putting the pads right back on—and so maybe it was perfection. I wanted to get this right and continue, and I proved to myself I could do it.
“But I always loved having that hero-or-zero kind of feeling, I guess.”
Manon Rhéaume was one of her heroes growing up. In fact, they both played in a tournament about seven years ago. “She was a pioneer and inspiration,” said Bowden. “With the Canadian women’s team, as well as for her own journey. And incredibly humble. I observed that she just wanted to play and achieve the best she could.
“When I watched her, I could tell how much she loved being on the ice. I feel very similar to that, even now.”
Bowden then brought up the final game again, which came down to a shootout.
“I felt like I played great, but we still lost. I talked to people who will say, ‘I can’t believe it goes to shootouts, and shootouts are terrible.’ I’m like ‘No no, no, I prefer shootouts’ because anything could go wrong and go sideways in overtime. At least with a one-on-one, I have more control. So I’d rather just go right to a shootout.
“It’s thrilling when you hear the cheers when you make that save.”
Bowden revealed that she didn’t watch what was happening at the other end of the ice during the shootout. “I just never looked because I thought, I’m just gonna wait to hear who cheers. I didn’t want to get out of my head.
“I trusted that he was doing well down there, with the cheers that weren’t in my favour. I didn’t watch any of my guys go down there.” Bowden added, “I haven’t been in a shootout since I was probably twelve.” Bowden then corrected herself, saying she actually played in a shootout in university. “That’s still twenty years [ago].”
In case you’re wondering, Bowden is a diminutive, but solid five foot three.
“Maybe five foot four on skates,” she said.
Bowden recalled a goalie, Kurt Kramer, who she played with in the Canyon City league.
“One of the guys took a picture of me and him next to each other. I think he said he was six foot seven or six foot eight on skates. He dwarfed me, and I remember texting him after a game one time and going, ‘When you go down to your butterfly, are you still taller?’”
