Liberty hockey player goes pro

Liberty women’s hockey alumna Sally Hoerr is not done with hockey yet, as she gets set to join the Montreal Force, the Professional Hockey Federation’s (PHF) newest franchise. 

For a long time, Hoerr had the expectation that her playing career would end after college. After all, according to Hoerr, opportunities for women to play hockey have historically been limited to a country’s national team. 

Then Hoerr discovered the PHF.

Once the creation of Montreal’s newest PHF expansion team, the “Force”, was announced, many players were interested in trying out for the team. Hoerr then knew she would need to be creative to get a chance with the organization. 

She did just that, sending the team president a message on Twitter featuring her profile on Elite Prospects, which caught the eye of the team president.

“I was not quite sure it was (the president),” Hoerr said. “He messaged me a day later asking to set up a call. He called the next week and said he wanted me on the team.”

While playing hockey at the professional level provides a jump in competition, Hoerr does not see that as something to fear. She believes the professional atmosphere will mean better team chemistry, which she is looking forward to. 

“In college, you are only on a team for four years, and people are coming in and out all the time,” Hoerr said. “Some of these girls have been together for years, so it will be fun to see how chemistry builds over time.” 

As a professional women’s hockey player, Hoerr wants to use her platform as an opportunity to grow women’s hockey. She feels that a lot of this work can be done by the players themselves. 

“As a player, you manage your own platform,” Hoerr said regarding social media. “You have a free tool to use. We can show a lot more of ourselves via those channels.” 

Hoerr knows that if women’s hockey is going to grow, the effort must come from more than just the higher-ups within the organization.  

She believes in the importance of creating more opportunities for younger female players to develop the necessary skills to play hockey at a high level. 

“It starts at the bottom with developing those grass roots efforts for women’s hockey,” Hoerr said. 

The 25-year-old is looking to stay in professional hockey as long as she can. However, she has given some thought to what lies ahead beyond the rink. 

While she wants to get into coaching after her playing career is over, she also wants to stay active in the growth of women’s hockey. 

While working on an undergraduate degree in film and video from Grand Valley State University, Hoerr discovered her love for the behind-the-scenes work of producing and planning. She believes that skillset can be an asset to helping organize the movement to grow women’s hockey. 

“I’m good at seeing a vision and breaking it down into ways that can make things happen,” Hoerr said. “Hopefully, I can make some good contacts and get to that table.”

Hoerr will be fun to watch on the ice. However, it will be equally as fun to see the impact she makes for women’s hockey as a whole, joining the Montreal Force.

Lipowski is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter