Second place T6 host third place Whale in best-of-three semifinal series
The 2023 Isobel Cup Playoffs continue today in Toronto where the Six host the Connecticut Whale.
SCHEDULE
Game 1 – Friday March 17 at 3:00 p.m. ET
ESPN+ / TSN2 with Joe Malfa and Erica Ayala, Ashley Docking rinkside.
Game 2 – Saturday March 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET
ESPN+ / TSN+ with Joe Malfa and Erica Ayala, Ashley Docking rinkside.
Game 3 – Monday March 20 at 6:00 p.m. ET (if necessary)
ESPN+ / TSN2 with Joe Malfa and Erica Ayala, Ashley Docking rinkside.
All games to be played at Mattamy Athletic Centre. Click here to purchase tickets.
SYNOPSIS
Two teams looking for their first Isobel Cup title meet for the first time in playoff competition following a closely contested regular season head-to-head. Toronto and Connecticut split their four second-half matchups and finished an even 17-17 in goals for and against despite never playing a one-goal game. Both January battles were three-goal differences, followed by a pair of two-goal games in February. T6 won the opener in both weekend series, however the Whale enter the postseason riding a six-game winning-streak. There’s a narrow margin between both offenses and defenses that favors Toronto with four more goals and four fewer allowed over the course of the campaign. Connecticut led the PHF in shots on goal and allowed the fewest which produced an impressive average differential of over 10 per-game. No player in the PHF is hotter right now than Connecticut’s Kennedy Marchment who finished second in scoring with 35 points and a record 18-game point-streak. It’s the second-straight season she’s led the Whale alongside linemate Taylor Girard who had 28 points. Toronto newcomer Brittany Howard scored 16 goals in 20 games, while day one franchise veterans Shiann Darkangelo and Emma Woods produced the best seasons of their careers. T6 defender Kati Tabin led her position in scoring with 18 points, not far ahead of the Whale’s Allie Munroe who led all blue liners with 15 assists. Battling between-the-pipes will be Elaine Chuli who finished second in the PHF with 12 wins for Toronto, meanwhile Abbie Ives recorded her first three career shutouts this season which ranked second among netminders across her 10 victories. The playoff format is a best-of-three series for the first time since the inaugural 2015-16 season. The winner will go on to face either Boston or Minnesota with the Isobel Cup on the line in the March 26 championship game at Mullett Arena in Tempe, AZ.
PRE-SERIES QUOTES
Toronto:
“My first two seasons we’ve had some disappointment so looking to finish the season the way we hoped for at the beginning. We’re not going to take Connecticut lightly, we know they’re a good team and we’ve had some tough matches against them already this season. We’re looking to get two wins off the bat and take that trip to Arizona…As a group we all have one goal in mind and we’ve had that since the very start throughout the whole organization and we want to win the Isobel Cup, it’s never come back to Canada. There’s a lot of anticipation and nerves of course too, but a lot of excitement and we’re here to win.” – T6 alternate captain Emma Woods.
“I talk to the team a lot and the best part about playing hockey is you get to share those memories with your best friends and you become a family. To be able to do something like that together and to be successful is something you never forget, so hopefully we come on top we’ll be able to create those memories this weekend and leading into the Isobel Cup…We have a lot of smart girls on this hockey team. There’s games that they think more offense than defense but they know when it comes down to it that defense wins championships and that’s playoff hockey. They all know their roles and I know these girls want to win, they’re competitors, they work hard, and they’ll do whatever it takes to win and to sacrifice certain things that they may have to do on the ice.” – T6 head coach Geraldine Heaney.
Connecticut:
“The group is really excited to finish the year strong. We’ve got our winning streak going, we’re playing really good hockey right now, and it’s always about how you finish not how you start the season…We won half and half with them, it really comes down to what we put on the ice, our product, our game, and if we can play a full 60 minutes I have no doubt that we’ll come out on top in the series but they’re a good team and work really hard. It really just comes down to us taking care of our d-zone first and then offense will come out of that…I’m excited my family will be there and we have a lot of Canadian players on the roster so I know we’re going to have a lot of support.” – Whale captain Shannon Turner.
“I feel like we’re in a great spot right now, we’re on that streak but there’s still more work to do and we always talk about continuing to get better and continuing to improve. For us, it’s just a business-like mentality…They’ve got a good team, they had a really good regular season, they’ve got a lot of speed and lot of skill up front. It’s going to be a real challenge for us. They’re the second seed so we have to make sure that we come in prepared to play a really good hockey team…I’m really confident in our depth and in our lines in knowing that if we get out there I don’t think there are any unfavorable matchups for us. It’s about being ready to go and being focused.” – Whale head coach Colton Orr.
TALE OF THE TAPE
TOR vs CTW (2022-23 Rank)
Records: 17-5-2 (2) vs 14-8-2 (3)
Goals For: 87 (2) vs 83 (3)
Goals Against: 62 (6) vs 66 (T4)
Goal Differential: +25 (2) vs +17 (3)
Shots For: 750 (6) vs 881 (1)
Shots Against: 731 (5) vs 639 (7)
Shot Differential: +29 (3) vs +242 (1)
Penalty Minutes: 206 (T3) vs 170 (6)
Power Play: 13/79 .165 (3) vs 16/68 .235 (1)
Penalty Kill: 79/94 .840 (4) vs 66/79 .835 (5)
TOP FORWARDS
Toronto:
Brittany Howard – 26PTS (16G 10A) 20GP
Shiann Darkangelo – 25PTS (12G 13A) 24GP
Emma Woods – 23PTS (10G 13A) 24GP
Connecticut:
Kennedy Marchment – 35PTS (17G 18A) 24GP
Taylor Girard – 28PTS (10G 18A) 24GP
Caitrin Lonergan – 18PTS (10G 8A) 23GP
TOP DEFENDERS
Toronto:
Kati Tabin – 18PTS (4G 14A) 24GP
Lindsay Eastwood – 8PTS (0G 8A) 24GP
Connecticut:
Allie Munroe – 16PTS (1G 15A) 24GP
Emma Keenan – 9PTS (3G 6A) 24GP
TOP GOALIES
Toronto:
Elaine Chuli, 12-5-2, 2SO, 2.61 GAA, .917 SV%
Connecticut:
Abbie Ives, 10-6-0, 3SO, 2.57 GAA, .902 SV%
SEASON SERIES
Toronto and Connecticut split 2-2 with six points each.
Jan. 21: CTW 4 TOR 7
Jan. 22: CTW 4 TOR 1
Feb. 18: TOR 5 CTW 3
Feb. 19: TOR 4 CTW 6
Toronto leads 6-3 in all-time regular season matchups.
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF HISTORY
Toronto:
2021-22: Lost to BOS 5-1 in Semifinals.
2020-21: Lost to BOS 6-2 in Semifinals.
Connecticut:
2021-22: Defeated MIN 4-2 in Semifinals, Lost to BOS 4-2 in Final.
2020-21: Lost to MIN 7-0 in Semifinals.
2019-20: Defeated BUF 5-3 in Preliminary, Lost to BOS 5-1 in Semifinals.
2018-19: Lost to MET 5-2 in Preliminary.
2017-18: Lost to MET 5-0 in Semifinals.
2016-17: Lost to BOS 8-2 in Semifinals.
2015-16: Lost to BUF 0-3, 4-1, 4-3 in Semifinals.
PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE
Toronto:
All-Time Playoff Experience on Roster: 12 players – 29 games / 14 points / 0 wins
Shiann Darkangelo (7/4), Tereza Vanišová (5/5) Breanne Wilson-Bennett (2/3), Brooke Boquist (2/1), Taylor Woods (2/1), Elaine Chuli (2/0), Lindsay Eastwood (2/0), Emma Greco (2/0), Emma Woods (2/0), Taylor Davison (1/0), Carly Jackson (1/0), Saroya Tinker (1/0).
Connecticut:
All-Time Playoff Experience on Roster: 18 players – 68 games / 30 points / 1 win
Shannon Turner (10/4), Janine Weber (8/4), Mallory Souliotis (7/3), Tori Sullivan (6/0), Emma Vlasic (5/3), Alyssa Wohlfeiler (5/3), Amanda Conway (3/1), Tori Howran (3/1), Abbie Ives (3/1), Rachael Ade (3/0), Melissa Samoskevich (3/0), Kennedy Marchment (2/4), Taylor Girard (2/2), Allie Munroe (2/2), Hannah Bates (2/1), Janka Hlinka (2/0), Kateřina Mrázová (1/2), Emma Keenan (1/0)
ISOBEL CUPS
Toronto: 0
3 total cup wins on roster
Tereza Vanišová (2022, 2021), Shiann Darkangelo (2017).
Connecticut: 0
4 total cup wins on roster
Mallory Souliotis (2022, 2021), Tori Sullivan (2022, 2021).
For more information about the 2023 Isobel Cup Playoffs visit premierhockeyfederation.com/playoffs.
Cover photo by Lori Bolliger
About the Isobel Cup
The Isobel Cup takes its name from Lord Frederick Arthur Stanley’s daughter, Isobel, who shared his love of the game and is known to be one of the first female hockey players in Canada. Isobel, along with her brothers, encouraged her father to purchase a silver cup to award to the best amateur hockey team in Canada. The Stanley Cup, as it was later named, became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League. The front of the Isobel Cup reads: “The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup 1875-1963. This Cup shall be awarded annually to the greatest professional women’s hockey team in North America. All who pursue this Cup, pursue a dream; a dream born with Isobel, that shall never die. EST. 2016.”
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.
