Regular season schedule takes a Holiday Break until Jan. 6, 2023
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) regular season schedule heads into the holidays after a full weekend of six games with all seven teams in action. The Toronto Six beat the Buffalo Beauts twice to climb into first place in the overall standings, the Minnesota Whitecaps and Montreal Force split their two-game series, the Riveters won in Connecticut, and the Whale beat the Boston Pride to wrap up the weekend.
Here’s a closer look at the results, top performers, and notable highlights:
FRIDAY DECEMBER 16, 2022
Game 25
Toronto Six 2
Buffalo Beauts 1
Box Score | Highlights
Carly Jackson made 24 saves to backstop Toronto to an outdoor victory in her return to Buffalo, with Lexi Templeman scoring the game-winner in a two-point performance.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 17, 2022
Game 26
Metropolitan Riveters 5
Connecticut Whale 2
Box Score | Highlights
Amanda Pelkey scored twice and Kelly Babstock had a goal and an assist to power the Riveters offense to a road win over the Whale in front of a 40-save effort from Eveliina Mäkinen.
Game 27
Toronto Six 6
Buffalo Beauts 4
Box Score | Highlights
T6 erased 3-1 and 4-3 deficits with three unanswered goals in the final frame from Kati Tabin, Shiann Darkangelo, and Breanne Wilson-Bennett to stun the Beauts and earn the series sweep.
Game 28
Minnesota Whitecaps 5
Montreal Force 2
Box Score | Highlights
Natalie Snodgrass scored a natural hat-trick on her 24th birthday as Minnesota celebrated the holiday season with special ‘ugly sweaters’ in their win over Montreal to make it three-straight in Richfield.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 18, 2022
Game 29
Boston Pride 4
Connecticut Whale 6
Box Score | Highlights
The Whale let 2-0 and 3-2 leads slip before second period goals by Melissa Samoskevich and Alyssa Wohlfeiler put them over the Pride for good to exact some revenge in this 2022 Isobel Cup final rematch.
Game 30
Montreal Force 4
Minnesota Whitecaps 1
Box Score | Highlights
The Force earned a weekend split with the Whitecaps backed by a 40-save performance by Marie-Soleil Deschênes and spread-out scoring by Jade Downie-Landry, Alexandra Labelle, Sarah Lefort, and Samantha Isbell.
STANDINGS AT THE BREAK
The Toronto Six (7-1-2) close out the 2022 calendar in first place with 22 points from a league-leading six regulation wins, including two this weekend in Buffalo. The Boston Pride (7-2-0) slip to second place with their Sunday loss and keep 19 points overall with a game in hand over T6. The Minnesota Whitecaps (4-4-2) are in third place with 14 points and the Metropolitan Riveters (4-6-0) hold onto fourth spot with 11 points as both teams join Toronto with 10 games played at the break. The Connecticut Whale (3-3-1) and Montreal Force (4-4-0) both split their weekend series and have 10 points each in fifth and sixth. The Buffalo Beauts (1-4-1) remain in seventh place with four points, playing one game less than Connecticut and two games behind Montreal.
RIVETERS WRAP UP ROAD SWING
Metropolitan is one of three teams that have played 10 games so far this season, but the only one to play eight of them on the road which has included a league-high stretch of seven-straight away contests from Nov. 26 to Dec. 17. The Riveters won three of those seven games in matchups with Montreal, Toronto, and most recently Connecticut which equals their road success in 10 tries during the entire 2021-22 campaign. The next highest consecutive number of road games in the PHF this season is six that both Buffalo (Feb. 4-26) and Minnesota (Jan. 7 to Feb. 5) will endure after the break.
JACKSON THRIVES OUTDOORS
There’s nothing quite like playing hockey outdoors on the frozen pond, and in the PHF there isn’t anybody who has success in this environment quite like Carly Jackson. The 25-year-old goaltender has started two consecutive editions of the Buffalo Believes Outdoor Classic and has emerged victorious at both ends of the RiverWorks ice. Last season as a member of the Beauts, she posted her first career shutout with a 36-save performance to beat Toronto by a 3-0 score. This time around, her 24 saves were enough to backstop her new T6 squad to victory against her old teammates in Friday’s 2-1 thriller. Two of Jackson’s nine career wins have come outdoors where she’s posted a goals-against-average of 0.50 and save percentage of .983. She’s also now won both of her T6 starts this season and in three appearances carries a 1.33 GAA and .946 SV%.
MORIN BRINGS DOWN THE BEARS
Teddy Bear Toss games are one of hockey’s best holiday traditions, and Whitecaps fans embraced the opportunity to support children in need. When Sidney Morin scored at 9:46 of the second period during Saturday’s game, it rained teddy bears at Richfield Ice Arena with over 200 stuffed toys collected for patients at Children’s Minnesota and Children’s St. Paul. The goal was Morin’s third of the season and the 2018 Olympic gold medalist is currently tied for the scoring lead among defenders with nine points in 10 games.
EXTRA SPECIAL HAT-TRICK FOR SNODGRASS
Scoring a hat-trick is special, but doing it on your birthday is even better. That’s exactly what Minnesota newcomer Natalie Snodgrass did on Saturday as she turned 24 in style. Not only did her offensive outburst contribute to a victory, she set a Whitecaps record in the process with the fastest three goals by the same player in franchise history. The 24-year-old, who now has six goals and 10 points to start her PHF career, tallied three over the span of 12:51 which counts as the team’s second natural hat-trick in its five-year PHF tenure following Allie Thunstrom on Dec. 21, 2019. Thunstrom scored three regular season hat-tricks as a member of the Whitecaps, with others credited to Jonna Albers and Amanda Boulier.
MORE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
While Natalie Snodgrass celebrated her 24th birthday with a hat-trick and a Whitecaps win on Saturday, Kendall Cornine, also born Dec. 17, turned 26 the same day her Riveters won in Connecticut. It marked the first time in her four-year career that she shared her birthday with a PHF game. Even though Toronto’s Emma Woods didn’t play on her birthday, it was still a weekend of celebration for the now 27-year-old who came of age Dec. 18. She scored her fifth goal in 10 games in Saturday’s victory over Buffalo to help launch T6 into first place in the overall standings. The third-year forward also scored a goal last season on her birthday.
BIG GOAL FOR GRANT-MENTIS
Despite Saturday’s outcome, a goal by Mikyla Grant-Mentis had to feel good for her and the Beauts. The 2021 MVP scored her first of the season for Buffalo in her sixth game since signing a free agent deal, and it came against her former Toronto teammates. Interestingly, Grant-Mentis scored twice against T6 goaltender Elaine Chuli during last season’s All-Star Showcase held at Northtown Center before batting one past her on Saturday. The 24-year-old now has 21 career goals in 33 games, with two of them recorded as a member of the Beauts at the end of the 2019-20 season. With her opening night points against expansion Montreal, ‘Buckey’ holds the unique distinction of having recorded points against all seven PHF teams over her career, an achievement shared by Riveters forward Kelly Babstock.
CHULI REACHES QUARTER CENTURY MARK
Elaine Chuli turned aside 29 shots on Saturday night in Buffalo to earn her fifth win of the season. The victory moved Toronto into first place in the overall standings, and the 28-year-old into an elite category of all-time PHF goaltenders with 25 career wins. The reigning Goaltender of the Year is just the third backstop to ever reach the quarter century mark for her career, behind Brittany Ott who won 28 games for Boston from 2015-19, and Amanda Leveille who continues to build her leading legacy that includes 56 wins over five seasons with Minnesota and two prior with Buffalo. Chuli has eight starts this season with a goals-against-average of 2.94 and save percentage of .903.
FOUR FIRST CAREER PHF GOALS
Four more PHF players have scored their first career goals before the holidays. Connecticut newcomer Caitrin Lonergan scored not once, but twice in her seventh career game for the Whale. The Clarkson University graduate opened the scoring in Sunday’s contest against Boston with an even-strength goal, and followed it up with another just 5:09 later. Pride defender Olivia Zafuto also found the net for her first and second career goals in the same game, her ninth with Boston. Her first came just 3:39 after Lonergan’s, with the second one scored at 15:32 of the third period. Also on Sunday, Montreal’s Alexandra Labelle and Samantha Isbell both scored their first PHF goals in Minnesota. Labelle’s came in her eighth appearance of the season and held as the game-winner, while Isbell’s empty-netter came in her sixth game of the year. She previously produced the shootout winner in the franchise’s debut.
FIRST CAREER WIN FOR DESCHENES
A 40-save performance by Marie-Soleil Deschênes on Sunday backstopped the Force to a series split with the Whitecaps and earned the 28-year-old her first career victory. The win came in her third start for the expansion team and amplifies what’s been a solid PHF introduction despite her 1-2 record. She currently ranks second among goaltending leaders with a 2.35 goals-against-average, and third with a .919 save percentage.
RAISANEN WINS FIRST OF THE SEASON
Meeri Räisänen made a season-high 26 saves on Sunday for her first win in three starts for the Whale so far in 2022-23. The 33-year-old Finnish Olympian also played for Connecticut during the 2018-19 season where she recorded two victories in 12 appearances. Her last PHF victory was a 31-save shutout against the Riveters back on Dec. 2, 2018. Through three games she carries a goals-against-average of 3.57 and a save percentage of .859.
YEAR-END TOP SCORERS
Toronto’s Brittany Howard ends the 2022 portion of the PHF’s eighth season atop the scoring charts with 16 points in 10 games which includes a league-leading 12 goals. Boston’s Loren Gabel ranks second with 13 points including seven goals in seven games, also carrying a league-leading points-per-game average of 1.9. Defenders Kati Tabin of T6 and Patti Marshall from Minnesota are tied for the PHF lead with seven assists in 10 games each, and are joined by Sidney Morin from the Whitecaps with nine points for a share of the positional lead.
STREAKING INTO 2023
Connecticut’s Taylor Girard currently leads the PHF with a six-game point-streak she’ll look to continue when the calendar turns to 2023. Toronto’s Brittany Howard is next in line with a five-game streak, followed by Montreal’s Samantha Isbell with four. Seven players are also currently riding hot waves with three-game streaks including Buffalo’s Claudia Kepler, Metropolitan’s Sarah Bujold and Amanda Pelkey, Minnesota’s Jonna Albers, Force forwards Ann-Sophie Bettez and Jade Downie-Landry, and T6 defender Kati Tabin.
JOIN PHF FANTASY HOCKEY WITH SHE PLAYS
The PHF has partnered with She Plays to launch PHF Fantasy Hockey, the first full-scale fantasy game app dedicated to women’s hockey. Enjoy live snake drafts, player rosters, weekly head-to-head competition, along with playoffs and a championship game to determine league winners. Even though the PHF season is underway, there’s still time to join the fun. Fans can find the app at the Apple Store and on Google Play. Follow @ShePlaysPro on social media for more information.
The PHF returns with seven games the weekend of Jan. 6-8 with Boston back in Connecticut for one, the Pride and Whale both visit the Riveters, plus doubleheaders between Minnesota at Buffalo, and Toronto at Montreal. All of the action is available across the United States live on ESPN+ and in Canada at TSN.ca, with both Force games available on TVA Sports.
