Britta Curl-Salemme hears the crowd, but as she told media Friday, it's not her focus, nor will it change her style of play. She praised Ottawa fans for their passion, even if it comes in the form of booing her.
"First of all I want to give kudos to Ottawa in general. I think their fans show up for them consistently, all year, and it's as a competitor, it's pretty fun to go there and have that kind of support," Curl said.
"Personally, I'd rather play in front of a full crowd that's booing me than an empty one. So you know that type of passion, it's really cool to see, and you know I can't control, you know, how they may feel towards me. It's it's all in good fun, I think. They enjoy that passion and inputing it toward something. So yeah, it's fun to go there. It's fun to get a win, too."
Curl was booed each time she touched the puck in Ottawa during game two. The crowd reaction stems from Curl's physical style that has resulted in three suspensions this season, with fans calling for a fourth following a game one hit on Ottawa's Katerina Mrazova, who missed game two. The booing also originates from Curl's transphobic and racist online activity prior to joining the PWHL.
In front of 8,206 fans in Ottawa for game two, Curl-Salemme scored both goals for the Minnesota Frost in a 2-1 overtime win on the road.
Curl-Salemme tied the game at 1-1 with only 15 seconds remaining in the game before finding the winner off a rebounded blocked shot in overtime.
Despite her suspensions, Curl-Salemme said she has no plans to change her game. She openly stated she wants "be a nuisance," but also asserted she is "never going out on the ice trying to hurt somebody or do something stupid." Since her time with Wisconsin in the NCAA, Curl-Salemme has been known for her physical play on the ice, and her power forward approach earned her a spot on USA's senior national team, and saw her picked 9th overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft by Minnesota.
"No matter if it's in front of our home fans, or away fans, or no fans at all, I'm still going to play the same way and I'm going to try to win a hockey game, because I want to win a Cup."
Curl-Salemme and the Minnesota Frost will return to the Xcel Energy Center Saturday at 5pm to host the Ottawa Charge for game three of the Walter Cup finals.
