Former UMD captain Sydney Brodt reflects on winning Walter Cup with PWHL Minnesota
One week ago PWHL Minnesota was preparing to skate in game five of the title series in Boston. They would win 3-0, and have now returned home as the inaugural PWHL champions.
WDIO’s own Alicia Tipcke caught up with former University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) women’s hockey captain, and PWHL Minnesota forward, Sydney Brodt about being one of the first women to lift the Walter Cup. Click the video box above to hear their full conversation.
“First I want to say it’s way heavier than I thought it would be,” Brodt laughed. “But it was so cool. I think us women, us girls, we always watch the Stanley Cup and you kind of think of that moment, and we had that moment. For me those are the biggest crowds I’ve ever played in front of. That last Boston crowd we had, I think it was like 13,000 or 14,000.”
A North Oaks, Minnesota native, Brodt skated for UMD from 2016-2020 serving as the Bulldogs’ captain her final three seasons.
In 17 games played with PWHL Minnesota she recorded three points, which included a goal and an assist during the Boston playoff series.
Prior to the PWHL, Brodt was already playing professional hockey. She served as captain to the Minnesota Whitecaps from 2022-2023, in what turned out to be the franchise’s final season. Their league, the Premier Hockey Federation, dissolved to make way for the PWHL.
“Just looking back to the last few seasons that I’ve had, and all of us have had, they’ve been good but this year women’s hockey was truely professional and we got that quote-on-quote NHL experience. We had all the top facilities, we had all the great support staff and coaches. I know that the talent and players were always there, but the backing we got this year was really the big difference.”
Brodt added that it was rewarding winning with her three other Bulldog alumni (Michela Cava, Maggie Flaherty and Maddie Rooney), especially witnessing goaltender Maddie Rooney backstop them to an semifinal upset victory over Toronto.
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