The New Team was inspired by one of Jenna M. Prestidge’s most recent hockey seasons. After moving back to her hometown, she again found herself entering new dressing rooms, joining new teams, and skating with new players. Her experience reminded her of how challenging it can be to be the ‘new person’, especially when you are young. But ultimately, if we continue to search for the things they love about the game of hockey, the sport leads us all to many new teams, new friendships, and on many new adventures.

The Harvest Cup was inspired by Jenna M. Prestidge’s niece, Addison. After playing well in a regular season tournament, her team found themselves in the championship game. When their hard-fought battle ended with a tie in regulation, they moved to a sudden-death shootout. There, Addison and her teammates were faced with a heartbreaking loss. Their experience reminded Jenna of one of the most challenging losses in sports and how hard that can be to overcome. It also reminded her that sometimes, if you look hard enough, you can see an important lesson in those losses. As players, we regularly see ups and downs, and wins and losses. It's all part of the game we love!

The Candy Cane Classic is based on Jenna M. Prestidge’s own family’s holiday tradition, one her parents started 38 years ago. Every year on December 26th, her parents would rent the ice at the local arena for their annual Christmas celebration. Over almost four decades, their tradition has taken many forms – from a skating party with young children to a fast-paced adult hockey game, and everything in between. No matter how they spend their ice time, it is followed by a Christmas party full of holiday cheer with family and friends. To this day, it is still Jenna’s favourite day of the year!

The Superstitious Goalie was inspired by Jenna M. Prestidge’s experience with her two favourite hockey goalies. Her first teammate and forever goalie, Justinne, was as superstitious as they come. Even to this day, thirty years after they started playing hockey together, Justinne still wears the exact same player socks under her pads, holes and all! Just when Jenna thought she had seen it all, she met her husband, Taylor, a goalie himself. She quickly found out Taylor also had his own unique way of getting ready for every game and as a child, that included sleeping with his blocker and catcher.

The First Penalty was inspired by Jenna M. Prestidge’s niece, Emma, and Jenna’s older brother, Patrick. When Emma received her first ever penalty as an 7-year-old girl, she felt she had done something terribly wrong. Once Patrick saw his daughter sitting alone in the penalty box, he knew he needed to check on her. There he found Emma with tears running down her face, full of worry that she had let her team and her coach down. After a few words of encouragement from her Dad, Emma was ready to get back into the game. This story has stuck with Jenna for years, reminding her how hard some of those firsts feel. It also shows us how some of those special moments and memories in life can come out of seemingly normal experiences.

The Silver Skate was inspired by Jenna M. Prestidge’s own experiences of playing in year-end tournaments. Jenna has fond memories of the last tournament of the year, with the smell of spring in the air and warm temperatures outside, while heading into a cold arena to play game after game to see who would be named the division champion. After years of competing at Provincials, in her final season of U19, her team finally won their first medal and the first provincial medal for her hometown girls hockey association – the Owen Sound Ice Hawks. She drew on this experience while writing the Silver Skate.