Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The 2025-26 hockey season for Getzville native Hayley Scamurra is one she will never forget.
Back in February, the 31-year-old was part of Team USA's women's ice hockey team that captured the gold medal with an overtime winner over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. This comes after being part of the 2022 U.S. squad that fell just short of a gold medal against Canada at the Winter Games in Beijing, China.
Looking back on her Olympic journey in 2026, Scamurra admits it's hard to put that experience into words.
"It's always such an honor when you get to wear the USA jersey, and then to wear it at the Olympic stage is the ultimate dream. This time, I got to have family and friends come over, which was absolutely incredible to be able to share that experience with them," said Scamurra in an interview with WBEN. "I've been telling people one of my favorite moments is I scored in the semifinal game, and I look over and my family was right behind the bench, and I was able to point to them and cheer with them. It was like they were on the ice celebrating with me. It was one of the coolest things."
Scamurra was a key depth piece for the Americans in the Olympics, where she finished her tournament with three goals scored, a plus-5 rating and 12 shots on goal, all while averaging just 9:11 of ice-time in seven games played.
She admits when all was said and done following Megan Keller's Golden Goal in overtime, the emotions and the memories flooded in.
"To finally win that gold - the ultimate prize - standing with the teammates, when the anthem was playing, we're all arm-in-arm singing it. That's something you kind of envision when you do get to that moment, and what that's going to feel like. All the emotions are flooding in at that point, it's all hitting you," Scamurra recalled.
"And I remembered it taking forever to finally get the gold medal around our necks. I was like, 'I need to see this gold medal, it's not real yet. I need to see it.' It took a while for the ceremony to kind of get into place, and then when it finally did, you think back to all the moments growing up in Buffalo, New York. I played boys hockey, I only had one girl on my team for a few years, and I was the only girl, and all the twists and turns that my journey took, it all led me to that moment. I'm just grateful for every single one of it, and obviously Buffalo plays a huge part in my journey and how I got there."
Sharing the Olympic moment in Milan with her family and closest friends was everything Scamurra had dreamed of, and then some.
"I think all the emotions hit even more when I kept seeing them in the stands. At one point, I see my dad, he's pointing at me. I see my mom, she's crying. It just hits how big the moment is, and how much work and sacrifice they put into it to let me follow my dreams, and to get me to this point," Scamurra said. "My brothers were there, my boyfriend was there. Just everyone who's been with me and supported me throughout this whole journey, and then just getting to see them and their reactions just makes it all the more real, I think, in those moments. And that's who you want to celebrate those moments with. You don't want to be alone when you're in those moments. You want to celebrate with your people, and same with my teammates, obviously. We're all hugging each other, and we're getting emotional, realizing all of our lifelong dreams have been realized together, and we get to share in that together."
Not only did the women's team come away with an Olympic gold medal while in Milan, the men's Olympic ice hockey team was also victorious over Canada in the Gold Medal Game to capture the nation's first gold since the 1980 games in Lake Placid, N.Y.
"After we had won gold, because it was before they did, I remember we'd be seeing them around the cafeteria and just around the village, and they're like, 'Oh my god, that was so much fun to watch. Now we want to go do that.' It kind of inspired them, which is really cool," Scamurra said. "And then we got to watch them; we had to leave early because Hillary [Knight] was going to be the flag bearer for the closing ceremony, so I remember we got back to the village and we're watching it on our phones. And when they scored that OT goal, I mean, we just erupted. We were freaking out, how cool, double gold. History. So the fact we're a part of that with them, and then we got to celebrate it with them later, it was just unbelievable and so cool. Just to see the mutual respect between both groups, I think it just shows how far women's sports has come, and it's just amazing."
One Buffalo connection Scamurra was happy and excited to share with in Milan was with Sabres forward Tage Thompson.
"Especially with how long he's been with the Sabres organization, the tough times they've been going through; I was telling him how great it is to see them doing so well now and to see the Buffalo fans get back into hockey again. I think it was obviously hard on Buffalo, as a community, with the Sabers having a hard time, and to see them finally having success was just amazing. You could just tell it just invigorated the community, it livened them up," Scamurra said. "And it was really fun to see from afar. I got to go to a game too, which was really cool, and this is what it was like when I was a kid. It brought me right back to those moments. So kudos to him. You could tell he's been putting in the work, grinding it out, wanting it to be amazing in Buffalo, because he knew it could be. So it was fun to share that with him, and we both get to bring a gold medal back to Buffalo in different ways."
Growing up in Western New York, Scamurra was an avid Sabres fan, and admits she had so much fun seeing the team become relevant once again, capturing an Atlantic Division title and making a run into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I loved watching them in the playoffs, they were such a fun team. I mean, they just worked so hard, they wanted it so bad. Heartbreaker, obviously, in Game 7 there against Montreal [Canadiens], but they gave it everything they could, and I know Buffalo is definitely proud of them," Scamurra said. "It was so great to see them showing up for the fans again, and the fans showing up for them. It really brought me back to my childhood roots, how electric KeyBank [Center] could get, in that arena. And it was all coming back, all the 'R.J.' [Rick Jeanneret] quotes coming back in the head too, how excited he would have been to see that and the calls he probably would have been making. It was really exciting to see."
Just about three weeks ago, Scamurra was among the key pieces in the lineup that helped the Montreal Victoire capture the franchise's first championship in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). In nine playoff games for Montreal, Scamurra scored a pair of goals and added another pair of assists for four points as its second-line center.
Going into the playoffs, given what she had just been through a couple months prior in Italy, Scamurra was brimming with confidence in her play and her teammates' play.
"It was kind of crazy, because I was just in a high-pressure situation a few months ago, and then here we are again in a best-of-5 game series. So I think it really helped prepare me for those moments, and I felt like I handled it really well, and was able to help the team through that too," Scamurra said. A best-of-5 series is definitely a different beast, and the two rounds were incredible. Our team, I just felt I knew we were going to win. I felt it in my bones. I felt like we had what it took. We were able to come back from losses, we're able to hold leads. Any way, we were able to find a way to win. And to come away with another championship in the same years, it's a pretty surreal experience, to be honest. A lot of pinch me moments, for sure."
Montreal was able to claim the Walter Cup in four games against the Ottawa Charge, the team that drafted Scamurra in the PWHL players draft in 2023. She admits it felt a little bitter sweet winning a title against the team that drafted her in the first year of the league.
"It really makes you kind of reflect on the journey that it's taken us on," Scamurra said. "I never would have thought the league would have gotten to this point in my time playing, how big we've gotten. We were selling out Canadian Tire Centre, we set a record for playoff attendance there. I remember when I first got drafted there, how exciting it was then, and then to see how much we've grown in just a three-year time span. So I think it definitely held some significance, for sure. I loved my time in Ottawa, and I was traded, so it was sad to go. But now in Montreal, I'm super happy, and it's been a great change for me. I feel really confident myself."
Playing for the Montreal PWHL franchise and being a Sabres fan growing up, Scamurra did say it was a bit hard cheering for Buffalo over the hometown Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I wasn't really telling a lot of our Montreal fans outwardly about my support, but I posted about the Sabres, so I think they knew. But it was definitely funny," she said with a chuckle. "I did want to get to a game, but I think our games literally aligned every single night, so that was tough. I wanted to be able to support the Sabres in person, but I didn't feel conflicted, honestly. I want the Sabres to win, and then I want us (Victoire) to win."
Regardless where her allegiances lie, she knows very well how rabid a hockey market Montreal is, and knew fans would show up to support them on and off the ice.
"At our home games, it was incredible. It always is. It's always so loud, they always bring the energy. And I think the craziest part was the parade, for sure," Scamurra said. "We started at our practice rink and we're driving through, we're not in downtown yet, but there's people and they're celebrating, they're excited, and it's cool. And then we turn the corner on Saint Catherine Street, which is like the main part of the parade to get to the stage, and it was failed. We were in shock, I had tears in my eyes at points. I just couldn't even believe it. How amazing it felt, it felt like a movie, honestly, and what you would see for the men's side, like how much support that they got. And then we're all freaking out. We're looking ahead, and then someone goes, 'Guys, look behind the bus.' And we all go to the back of the bus, and we just see a sea of people following the bus to the point where you can't even see the street anymore. Just all people, and they're all coming to celebrate with us, celebrate the trophy, celebrate women's hockey. It was pretty incredible. It definitely got us all really emotional. And then at the stage, there's so many people there, it was like a concert. You're going down the red carpet, high fiving people, it was absolutely amazing. And we're just so grateful how Montreal showed up in that moment. That was a huge pinch me moment, for sure."
While Scamurra will have her time with the Walter Cup later this summer, she has enjoyed her rounds already with her Olympic gold medal. Among the visits she's enjoyed was a trip last week to Orchard Park to not only see the new Highmark Stadium, but also check in with some of the players and staff at One Bills Drive.
"They were all just so excited to see the medal, talk to me, ask questions. They were unbelievable, so welcoming, and it was really cool to kind of see them get excited to see the medal," Scamurra said. "They were like nervous, like, 'What do I do? Can I hold it?' It just put it into perspective, like how incredible having an Olympic medal is, let alone an Olympic gold medal. And it was really fun to share it with other athletes at the top of their field. It's something they don't really have an opportunity to get too, so I think that's another cool part of it."
Among the players Scamurra got the chance to interact with up close and personal was quarterback Josh Allen.
"I'm such a big fan of him. He's been someone I've been wanting to meet. I think he's just a tremendous athlete and an amazing person, just from everything I've seen," Scamurra said. "Quarterbacking the Buffalo Bills, he's a big figure here, and I've been watching him for years, and just love to see how much he's grown, his compete level. I have such a huge amount of respect for him. So the fact we got to meet and he was jumping up and down, excited to see the medal, I was like, 'This is so crazy. How is this happening right now?' And he just said how much respect he had for representing your country, and how that would be something he would like to do. So it was really cool to share that moment with him, and to be able to help him get the medal on, make sure it was facing the right way and stuff. It was was really cool."
As the offseason just gets underway for Scamurra, she says she will enjoy a couple weeks away from it all before getting her time with the Walter Cup, and then ramping things up locally and getting ready for next season.
"I'm in Maryland, so I'm actually going to rest for a little bit, but then it's full go a little bit," she said. "I have my clinics coming up in Buffalo, June 24-26 for girls, and it's at my old rink that I grew up playing at. I'm super excited to come back to Buffalo and be that role model for the girls, growing up there playing hockey. I know I never really had that, so I'm super excited for that opportunity. And then I've got other clinics that I'm showing up to and camps, and different events throughout the summer to celebrate. It'll be busy, but fun."
