BOSTON, MA – (December 13, 2022) – The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced its Three Stars of the Week following weekend action played December 9-11, 2022. Top performers include Boston Pride forwards Jillian Dempsey and Loren Gabel, and Toronto Six forward Brittany Howard.
First Star: Jillian Dempsey capped a special week off the ice with an incredible on-ice performance. The Boston Pride captain was honored last Wednesday with the Hockey Legacy Award at The Sports Museum’s annual fundraising gala, The Tradition, and scored four goals and two assists in two weekend games against Buffalo. She provided an insurance marker in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the Beauts, then recorded a career-high five-point performance in Sunday’s 7-5 win that included her first career hat-trick in her all-time leading 126th regular season game. Her three goals were spread across all three periods and counted as the team’s third goal which was a power play marker, followed by the fourth at even strength, and the game-winner also played five-on-five with under four minutes in regulation to break a 5-5 tie. She also provided primary assists on two Loren Gabel goals. The 31-year-old from Winthrop, MA becomes the fourth member of the Pride to produce a five-point game and first since the 2016-17 season. The three-time Isobel Cup champion is now tied with Gabel for second in PHF scoring with 11 points including six goals in eight games. She has points in seven of those eight contests and continues to build on her all-time offensive records with 62 goals and 129 points amassed across all eight PHF seasons.
Second Star: Loren Gabel tied a PHF single game record on Sunday with a six-point performance in Buffalo as part of the Pride’s 7-5 victory over the Beauts. The 25-year-old from Kitchener, Ontario is just the second player in PHF history to achieve the feat, following Mikyla Grant-Mentis last January. The newcomer scored Boston’s second goal at even strength and added an empty-net marker for insurance, also providing primary assists on all-three of Dempsey’s goals as well as one by Élizabeth Giguère. She led the top line that combined for an impressive 15 points which represents a single-game record among three players. The two-time NCAA champion and 2019 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner from Clarkson University spent the last three seasons in the PWHPA before signing a two-year contract with Boston. She’s currently tied with Dempsey for second in PHF scoring with 11 points including five goals in six games which equates to a league-leading points-per-game average of 1.83 which also ranks first among all-time skaters. Last month Gabel played for Canada’s National Women’s Team in the first three games of the Rivalry Series against the United States.
Third Star: Brittany Howard made Toronto Six history on Sunday becoming the franchise’s first ever player in three seasons to record a hat-trick, doing so as part of a four-point performance in a 5-2 win over the Metropolitan Riveters. The 27-year-old from St. Thomas, Ontario scored the team’s first goal at even strength, the game-winner on the power play, and an empty-netter for insurance. She also picked up a secondary assist on Emma Woods’ power play goal inside the final minute. The effort completed a five-point weekend that included the second T6 goal in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss. Howard has taken over the PHF scoring lead with 13 points including a league-high 11 goals, scoring in seven of her first eight games to launch her PHF career. She’s on pace to challenge for the PHF single season record of 24 goals in 24 games set by Allie Thunstrom during the 2019-20 campaign. Prior to signing with T6, the 2018 graduate of Robert Morris University played one season in the CWHL and the last three years as a member of the PWHPA.
2022-23 PHF Three Stars of the Week:
December 9-11:
1. Jillian Dempsey (BOS) 2. Loren Gabel (BOS) 3. Brittany Howard (TOR)
December 3-4:
1. Kennedy Marchment (CTW) 2. Minttu Tuominen (MET) 3. Sydney Brodt (MIN)
November 26-27:
1. Jade Downie-Landry (MON) 2. Ann-Sophie Bettez (MON) 3. Fanni Gasparics (MET)
November 18-20:
1. Sarah Bujold (MET) 2. Corinne Schroeder (BOS) 3. Leah Lum (TOR)
November 5-6:
1. Corinne Schroeder (BOS) 2. Brittany Howard (TOR) 3. Élizabeth Giguère (BOS)
About the Premier Hockey Federation
The PHF is the home of professional women’s hockey in North America. Established in 2015 as the National Women’s Hockey League, the NWHL rebranded to become the PHF in 2021 and provide opportunities for elite athletes to earn a living playing the game they love while fueling the continued growth of the sport. The league is made up of the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force, and the Toronto Six who all compete annually for the Isobel Cup. As part of a two-year agreement with ESPN, live coverage of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 PHF seasons is available exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States, and provides international rights for games which includes TSN in Canada. For more information visit premierhockeyfederation.com.
