Surrey’s Jenn Gardiner reflects on Olympic women’s hockey experience

Representing Canada at the Winter Olympics was a dream come true for Cloverdale’s Jenn Gardiner.

Gardiner – grew up in Cloverdale and played for teams such as the Cloverdale Colts and Surrey Falcons – said her younger self would be really proud of her.

“I think there are a lot of moments in time where you kind of take in and you’re just reflecting back on how you got here, especially when I remember walking out on the opening stage for the opening ceremonies, you’re kind of just like, ‘Wow, I made it. I am here with Team Canada, not just for hockey, but for our entire country, and getting to represent our nation on the world’s biggest stage.’ It just means so much to you, and to know that your hard work throughout my entire journey finally paid off and got me to where I wanted to be,” she said.

Gardiner recalled the photo day where she donned the jersey for the first time. She remembers looking at the Olympic rings on her arm and thinking, “Wow, it’s really here. … Any moment you see the Olympic rings, you’re like, This is it. This isn’t just a world championship. This is the Olympic Games. So to get to see those rings and know that you’re representing Canada means so much.”

It’s a journey she couldn’t have predicted in 2014 when she travelled with her team, the Surrey Falcons, to Kamloops to watch the 4 Nations Cup and cheer on the national team.

One of those people they were cheering on was goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, who is now Gardiner’s teammate on both the national team and with the PWHL’s Vancouver Goldeneyes.

“Here we are 11 years later, I’m her teammate, and very proud to be wearing the leaf with her,” Gardiner said. “But when I was watching her 11 years ago, I don’t think I would have ever seen myself in these shoes. So I look back on those moments and am really happy to experience that, and that was also on a day where women’s hockey wasn’t necessarily accessible to watch and easy to find, so I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

For Gardiner, one of the main takeaways from her Olympic experience is that she feels ready to handle what is thrown her way.

Like how hours before the team was set to play their first preliminary game in the Olympics, it was postponed due to sickness.

“So just kind of goes to show that the excitement, everything, you just never really know what’s going to happen,” she said.

It is about “trying to stay even keel.”

Especially during the gold medal game when Kristen O’Neill scored for Canada, not getting to high or too low, then when Hillary Knight scored for the United States with less than two minutes in the game.

“I mean, I say that as if I wasn’t on the top of the world when Kristen scored in the gold medal game,” Gardiner said. “But I think at the end of the day, ice hockey is such a dynamic sport. I think just being ready for whatever’s going to come our way.”

Gardiner was helped along the way in Milano by the eight family and friends who travelled to Italy to cheer her on.

“They were cheering very loud at every single game,” she said. “It was so much fun for them to get to be there with me. Every experience just means that much more to you when the people who helped you get to where you are are there with you and cheering you on.”

Gardiner added that the support she has received from people in Surrey and across the province has meant a lot to her.

Among those supporters are her own hometown Surrey Falcons, who shared a message for Gardiner: “The Surrey Falcons are all so proud of Jenn and the rest of the women’s team. Many of our players watched the games at school and some teams watched as they were travelling out of town for tournaments. We congratulate Jenn and the team on their silver medals and are so proud of them.”

Gardiner admits that winning the silver medal was not the outcome the team was hoping for.

“I think you leave with a bit of a bittersweet taste in your mouth, but it kind of leaves you hungry for more next time,” she said.

More than 4.2 million viewers tuned into the women’s hockey gold-medal game on CBC, and 7.7 million tuned in on Peacock and USA Network.

To see that kind of viewership of women’s sports is “incredible,” Gardiner said.

Seeing that, in combination with the support of the PWHL for its players, meant a great deal to the team.

“There were so many staff, and everybody who has been a part of this league was over there, and it just means a lot for us as female hockey players to have the support from everybody,” Gardiner said. “We felt Canada cheering us on. The entire way we felt our PWHL teams, our teammates and the entire country cheering us on, and it really meant a lot to us.”

Her first day back in Canada after returning from Italy, Gardiner visited an elementary school in Surrey to share her Olympic experience.

“It really means a lot to me to get to share my experiences with those kids and hopefully inspire them to follow their dreams, whatever that might look like one day, whether that’s sports or not,” she said.

Gardiner and the Vancouver Goldeneyes have their first game back Sunday (March 1) after the Olympic break, when they host the Toronto Sceptres and face off against some of the players she and other Goldeneyes players played alongside at the Olympics.

Gardiner said it’s “game on.”

“When you get on the ice, you kind of turn friends off, enemies on. At the end of the day, we’re all such competitive athletes,” she said. “I’ll definitely have a good handshake after the game, but it’s going to be a war zone out there for sure.”