Thousands of Ottawa Charge fans showed up for Tuesday's game donning pink ribbons, head bands, and even hair. The love and support of Charge fans was a reflection of their head coach Carla MacLeod, who was absent as she begins her fight with breast cancer. It was a moment bigger than the game.
A hockey game took place Tuesday night in Ottawa.
But it wasn't the focus.
The focus fell on the well being, and an entire community's care for Ottawa Charge head coach Carla MacLeod. MacLeod announced earlier in the week that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer.
In the crowd at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, fans held signs of support, wore pink pins and headbands, dyed their hair, and gave a rousing ovation for their absent coach during the first television timeout of the game.
Addressing media ahead of leaving the team to travel to Calgary to visit with doctors, MacLeod discussed the response from fans.
"The overwhelming outpouring of kindness to me has really humbled me, it was something I couldn't have imagined so I'm very very grateful to the hockey community and all the people who have been able to help me in this moment," MacLeod said.
That was before Tuesday's game. While MacLeod couldn't be at Ottawa's most recent game, those who knows and love her as members of the Charge were, and they could feel the support.
"To see everyone wearing their pink and so many signs for Carla, it's something we feel as players, and it's pretty cool how this community is rallying together. We feel that as a team and hopefully Carla can feel that from afar too," said Charge forward Emily Clark following the game.
It didn't matter what side of the ice players were on, because there was a topic bigger than the score.
When asked about her team's on-ice win post-game during a rinkside interview, Minnesota Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield deflected the question to put the focus back on MacLeod, sharing her own well wishes and confidence in Ottawa's coach.
She echoed those sentiments again in the post-game press conference.
“It was definitely tough when the news broke. It’s not something you read and just move forward with your day," said Coyne Schofield.
"Whether you know Carla or not, you find a way to reach out and let her know that she’s in our hearts and on our minds and we’re behind her in this battle. I look forward to seeing her back on the bench and back with Czechia when the time comes. It’s something you carry with you, and we want her to know we’re thinking about her and we’re with her in any way, shape, or form throughout her battle.”
MacLeod is known for her positivity. She's also known for finding the silver lining, or a lesson, in any difficult situation. Until now, most of those situations have been on the ice. This after all, is a coach who found excitement in the minutes following a 9-1 loss in a 2023 World Championship semi-final. After that game, she looked media in the eyes and told them earnestly and honestly how proud of her team she was, and that there was still hope ahead. She talked about growth, about opportunity, and about looking not only at the situation they were in, but where they'd come from, and where the could still go.
In the hockey world, it was a rare moment. It pushed back on what could have been a message of doom and gloom for Czechia, and changed the outlook. She shifted the perspective away from the worst possible scenario on the ice, to something better, or at least into a promise of better days to come.
In the case of Carla MacLeod, the response from Ottawa Charge fans, and the broader sports community is simply a case of getting back what she's given out.
On Tuesday, more than 5,000 fans at TD Place Arena did their best to harness MacLeod's energy and turn the worst possible moment into something better. Rallying around their coach, thousands stood to show their support, and return the message of hope, and to make MacLeod believe that even though she's in a fight she didn't expect, that it's one she can win.
Since taking her spot behind the bench, whether it be with Team Czechia, or the PWHL's Ottawa Charge, MacLeod has consistently shared her unique perspective and positive outlook as a coach and person. It's infectious positivity, and an infectious love for the game, and for the possibilities that await behind every obstacle.
MacLeod has spent her entire coaching career building capacity in others, creating joy, and perhaps above all, instilling confidence in others. On Tuesday, the entire hockey world leaned toward the ice, whether inside the arena or in front of a screen watching, and breathed confidence into MacLeod's fight.
The score of Tuesday's game will be marked and recorded in the standings, but it won't be remembered. The moment among people who happened to be watching a hockey game, sending all their love and support to a person who has become a constant ray of hope in the community, is what will last.
It was a moment bigger than the game.