TULSA, Oklahoma – The Minnesota Whitecaps won the Battle of the Rig exhibition for the second year. After falling behind 2-1 to the Buffalo Beauts in the second period at BOK Center, the Whitecaps put away an equalizer off the stick of Olivia Knowles.
The Whitecaps scored three goals in the third period, including the game-winner by forward Natalie Snodgrass.
The other two goals were scored by Catie Skaja, one of five players the Whitecaps brought in for the exhibition in the Sooner State.
After the exhibition, the Founding 4 Podcast, Black Rosie Media's flagship show, caught up with Nate Oliver and Chi-Yin Tse, the general managers of the Buffalo Beauts and Minnesota Whitecaps, respectively.
Angelica Rodriguez and Nate Oliver discussed the Tulsa vibes, the relationship with the ECHL, and the 30+ applicants for the vacant head coach position. Later on in the episode, Erica L. Ayala and Chi-Yin discuss the Whitecaps' dramatic turnaround during the postseason, the WORST spaghetti sauce combination EVER, and Chi's philosophy on positionless hockey as he, too, searches for a new head coach.
Podcast Quotes
"With a new head coach search, I've been blown away by the amount of interest there has been in the position. I've probably received over 30 different applicants and it's going through that process of vetting who the proper candidates are, what matches, what we're looking for, um, in terms of taking the beats to the next level and making the improvements.
We're, we're not a last place team. We're competing and, and looking. You know, the other teams that, that have a, a, a head coach, like a Ger(aldine) Heaney or you know, a Colton Orr, and you know, we want to have a big name as well too. So I've been really excited to see the amount of interest that we've had in it."
- Buffalo Beauts General Manager Nate Oliver
"To everybody who knows me, positionless hockey is one of my core principles and being able to garner players that can grasp that concept, as well as the coaching staff that can grasp that concept, is number one for me. I think as the game moves forward with men's, women's doesn't matter, but hockey overall, like hockey overall is all about puck possession. So if we don't have the puck, we're not gonna win."
- Minnesota Whitecaps General Manager Chi-Yin Tse
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