IIHF Women's World Championship Reflection: Millie Sirum

From April 21 to 27, Holy Cross women's ice hockey senior Millie Sirum will compete with the Norwegian National Team at the IIHF Women's World Championship (Division I, Group A). 

Sirum has represented her country since she was 14 years old, playing for the U-18 National Team. She used that experience as a stepping stone to the senior national team, which features college and professional players. Sirum has since been to Worlds a total of nine times, and this week's experience will be her 10th trip. The forward has used her experience at Holy Cross to hone her abilities and sharpen her skills, which have reflected on the worldwide stage.

How It Works

The round robin style tournament will be held in Klagenfurt, Austria featuring national teams from Norway, France, Korea, Hungry, Austria and the Netherlands. All games will be played at Heidi Horten Arena. Each team will play each other once over the five-day tournament. The top two teams that finish with the most points by the end of the tournament will be moved up to the highest division, and the team with the least points will move down to Division I Group B. 

Scoring

Win = 3 points    Loss = 0 points    OT Win = 2 points    OT Loss = 1 point

Q: This is the 10th time you will represent your country in the IIHF Women’s World Championship, what does it mean to you to play on the worldwide stage?

It's fun to grow with the same people that you've played with for years. I'll be seeing my best friends that I've known and played with, or against, since I was 12 years old. It's nice to develop with them, even when you don't see them much throughout the year. It's exciting to be back to train as a team. There are a lot of role models for me that I've looked up to since I was a kid. Half of the team is older than me, so it's cool to play and learn from them. It's a super special feeling, putting on our jersey each time. Playing for Holy Cross has been an awesome experience and very special as well, but it's a different feeling playing for your own country and playing against other nations.

Q: What was it like the first time you stepped on the ice for Team Norway? What are you excited about at this year's Worlds?

It was many years ago now, but I think I was nervous and had those jittery feelings that I still get today. The butterflies never go away, but I was very young when I started so there is definitely a different feeling now that I've grown up. I'm more confident now and get the chance to play with my best friends. On the ice we will do all that we can to win games. At the end of the day it's about winning and doing the best that you can. You need to be a tough opponent to play against and training together and training hard gets you there. 

I'm excited about the pre-camp. We'll go to Slovenia first for a few days to train and then make our way over to Austria. I’m honestly very excited to get there, settle down, do some team building and get going. There may be some new faces that I don't know - it's a different team than we had last season with a couple new girls, so that will be exciting. We'll be pushing the pace a lot. Everyone wants to win. I'm ready to get started and take it one game at a time. Hopefully we win as many games as we can to go up to the top division. That's the goal. I'm pretty positive about this Worlds, I think we're going to be really successful. I'm pumped and hungry for it.

Q: You have faced multiple Holy Cross and Hockey East current athletes and alums while playing for the Norwegian National Team. What is it like to go up against former teammates and friends in front of the world?

I love seeing the familiar faces - that's why I have loved playing in Hockey East. It's a small hockey world in general. I have friends that play at Dartmouth, I have one that plays for the Minnesota Gophers, there’s a girl from Northeastern on Team France. It's a small world, everybody knows each other. So it's fun to chat before and after the game, we normally stay at the same hotels too, so it's like a little bubble. It's nice to see the same faces that you've known for the past 10-15 years since you were a kid and get to reconnect with them through the game you love. But we want to win. So on the ice we're not friends and we are all competing to win. Once you’re off the ice, it’s a different story. That's what makes the sport so fun.

Q: How did your Holy Cross experience prepare and aid you to play for Team Norway?

Hockey East is a super fast-paced conference where we're constantly playing against such strong and deep teams. Especially now, with the COVID fifth years, they've had a lot of older girls on other teams. I think it's really pushed my pace, moving the puck really quick, and you have to know what you're doing before you get the puck. In Hockey East you can't have the puck on your stick for more than half a second before there are three girls in your face. Now playing on an Olympic-sized sheet you have more time since it's way bigger and wider. Because of the size you have the time to look up the ice, see what you have, what you don't have, make good decisions on the ice and try to not stress. Playing for Holy Cross has really pushed me to the next level, pushed my speed, helped me make quicker decisions, having my head up the whole time, in the o-zone especially. I've been trying to practice ripping the puck and getting that puck on the net, because that's what generates chances. Holy Cross has prepared by working on the small details that I think go a long way and make a big difference.

Q: What is one thing you wish you could tell your younger self?

Honestly, just enjoy every moment. Sometimes you get in your head and you want to win games so much you can be pretty hard on yourself, especially about the little details. You want to do the best that you can every single game to get certain results but obviously not everything always goes your way. That's just not how things work. But it's a good thing, because it challenges you and forces you to learn the right ways to respond and handle adversity. So just enjoy the moments that you get, enjoy the people around you and all the special experiences that you get to have. Hopefully we'll have some special moments here in the next few weeks. Enjoy it so one day you can look back, when the game is over, and remember the big moments that count.

Q: Do you have a message to the future generations of Crusaders?

I know we have some Junior Crusaders who will hopefully make it here one day. So honestly just have fun with it. That's the biggest thing. You have to enjoy it every day. You're spending a lot of time, it takes like four or five hours out of your day every single day, and it's going to be hard. But that's what the team environment is about. We have so much fun here at Holy Cross. I love the Hart Center because you're just surrounded by fans, friends, family and even other athletes who come out to support you from other teams. That's what I love here. The Holy Cross community is pretty special. I truly enjoy coming up to the Hart because I have a lot of friends on other teams and it's nice to see them working out next to me, going to each other's games and supporting one another. I don't think a lot of schools really have that, that small campus community is what makes Holy Cross so special. Work hard, enjoy your time here and have fun with it.

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