Quarter mark of 2022-23 campaign clears following six-game weekend
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) regular season has seen 24 of its record 84 games played through five weeks of action which represents more than a quarter of the 2022-23 schedule. The Boston Pride stay on top following a six-point sweep over the Buffalo Beauts, while the Connecticut Whale and Toronto Six both split their home series against the Minnesota Whitecaps and Metropolitan Riveters.
Here’s a closer look at the results, top performers, and notable highlights:
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2022
Game 19
Minnesota Whitecaps 0
Connecticut Whale 2
Box Score | Highlights
Kennedy Marchment scored the first goal and added an assist in Connecticut’s home opener at Simsbury’s ISCC, while Abbie Ives stopped all 24 Minnesota shots for her first career shutout.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 10, 2022
Game 20
Metropolitan Riveters 3 SO
Toronto Six 2
Box Score | Highlights
Katie Burt made 30 saves in her season debut for Metropolitan, and Minttu Tuominen scored the shootout’s only goal as the Riveters became the first team to ever beat Toronto on Canadian ice.
Game 21
Minnesota Whitecaps 4
Connecticut Whale 3
Box Score | Highlights
Natalie Snodgrass scored the winner and added an assist as the Whitecaps earned a series split over the Whale with three-straight third period goals to overcome a 2-1 deficit.
Game 22
Boston Pride 3
Buffalo Beauts 0
Box Score | Highlights
Taylor House’s first career goal was all the offense Boston needed in Buffalo as Corinne Schroeder turned aside all 25 shots she faced to set a new PHF single season record with her fourth shutout.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 11, 2022
Game 23
Boston Pride 7
Buffalo Beauts 5
Box Score | Highlights
Pride newcomer Loren Gabel tied a PHF record with six points including two goals and four assists, and captain Jillian Dempsey scored her first career hat-trick as part of a five-point performance over the Beauts.
Game 24
Metropolitan Riveters 2
Toronto Six 5
Box Score | Highlights
T6 built a 3-0 first period lead in their rematch win over the Riveters led by Brittany Howard who scored her first career hat-trick in a four point game, and Emma Woods who had two goals and three points.
QUARTERLY STANDINGS
The Boston Pride (7-1-0) extended their lead atop the PHF’s overall standings after claiming all six available points in two regulation wins this weekend to bring their total to 19. The Toronto Six (5-1-2) remain in second place with 16 points after earning four by virtue of their regulation win and shootout loss, and the Minnesota Whitecaps (3-3-2) single victory helps them exceed double digits with 11 points to place them in third. The Metropolitan Riveters (3-6-0) are in fourth place with eight points after earning two this weekend in their shootout win, followed by the fifth place Connecticut Whale (2-2-1) who picked up three and are now tied with the Montreal Force (3-3-0) with seven points apiece. The Buffalo Beauts (1-2-1) have just four points in seventh place but have played the fewest games.
RIVS AND T6 COMPLETE FIRST SEASON SERIES
It’s still early in the season but the first head-to-head series has been completed. The Metropolitan Riveters and Toronto Six have now played four games against each other, both winning one at home and one on the road, however Toronto holds a 7-5 points advantage based on this weekend’s shootout decision. The Six outscored their opponent by a 15-13 margin over four games, but the Riveters managed to do what no other PHF team has ever done by winning in Toronto. Saturday’s victory put an end to an impressive 12-game winning-streak by T6 that included a perfect 10 wins at home in 2021-22 and two wins to open the current campaign. Toronto won all four of their meetings last season, with Metropolitan winning their first encounter during the shortened 2021 season.
SCHROEDER SETS SHUTOUT RECORD
Corinne Schroeder is the first goaltender in PHF history to record four shutouts in a single season. Her 25 saves in Saturday’s win in Buffalo put the Boston backstopper in a class of her own, surpassing Katie Burt who posted three as a member of the Pride last season, Minnesota’s Amanda Leveille (2019-20), and Brittany Ott (2016-17) who also had three blanks for Boston. The 23-year-old from Elm Creek, Manitoba leads the PHF with seven wins in eight starts, 237 saves for a save percentage of .944, and a goals-against-average of 1.91. This marks the first time a team has recorded four shutouts in a season since the 2018-19 Beauts.
GABEL TIES SINGLE GAME RECORD
Boston’s Loren Gabel became just the second player in PHF history to record six points in a single game, joining Buffalo’s Mikyla Grant-Mentis who achieved the feat last season for Toronto on January 16 against her current team. The Pride newcomer scored twice with four assists in Sunday’s 7-5 victory over the Beauts, combining with linemates Jillian Dempsey and Élizabeth Giguère to produce an impressive 15 points. Gabel is currently tied for second in league scoring with 11 points in six games, carrying a league-leading points-per-game average of 1.8.
FIRST HAT-TRICK FOR DEMPSEY
It’s hard to believe that in a record 125 career PHF games that there was still something for Jillian Dempsey to accomplish, but in game number 126 on Sunday she added to her legacy with her first hat-trick and five-point performance. She joins three other Pride players who had previously posted five points in a single game including Alex Carpenter, Brianna Decker, and Meghan Duggan, all in the 2016-17 season. Dempsey’s previous career-high was four points back on December 10, 2017 with two goals and two assists. She now has a record 62 goals and 129 career PHF points.
HOWARD HAT-TRICK MAKES T6 HISTORY
Brittany Howard has taken over the PHF scoring lead with 13 points in eight games including a league-leading 11 goals. She reached that total on Sunday with her first career hat-trick and four-point performance as part of a 5-2 win over the Riveters. This marks the first time in franchise history that a T6 player has scored a hat-trick, with the milestone reached in the organization’s 34th all-time regular season game.
SEVEN FIRST CAREER PHF GOALS
On Saturday, Whale forward Justine Reyes opened the scoring at 5:11 of the first period with her first career PHF goal in her fifth game. Later that same contest, Whitecaps defender Olivia Knowles found the back of the net for the first time while skating in her eighth pro game. The same afternoon, Riveters defender Reagan Rust scored her first career PHF goal at the 11:40 mark of the second period in her eighth career game, and later that night Taylor House scored for the first time in seven career PHF games for the Pride. Three more first career goals were scored on Sunday in Buffalo, beginning with Boston defender Aneta Tejralová who opened the scoring with her first in eight games, followed by Beauts forwards Summer-Rae Dobson and Emma Nuutinen in their fourth PHF games.
FIRST CAREER SHUTOUT FOR IVES
Abbie Ives put the icing on the cake for Connecticut during Friday’s home opener at ISCC with the first shutout of her PHF career. The third-year goaltender turned aside all 24 shots she faced in her 21st PHF start, leading the hosts to a 2-0 win over the Whitecaps. The 24-year-old from Bedford Hills, NY was named to last season’s All-Star Showcase and set a franchise single season record with 10 wins. So far this season she has two wins in three starts with a sparkling 2.00 GAA and .941 SV%.
BURT WELCOMED BACK WITH A WIN
Days after signing a one-year contract for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, Katie Burt made an immediate impact with her new team. The 25-year-old from Lynn, MA backstopped the Riveters to a 3-2 victory that included 30 saves over 65 minutes of regulation and overtime, then denied all three shootout attempts to become the first visiting goaltender to record a win in Toronto. Her first win with the Rivs comes after spending two seasons with Boston in 2018-19 and 2021-22 where she compiled a 17-7-2 record with three shutouts.
SPECIAL SNIPE FOR SNODGRASS
Whitecaps newcomer Natalie Snodgrass made the most of her first PHF road trip to face the Whale. The University of Connecticut graduate returned to the Constitution State where she played five NCAA seasons including the last two as Huskies captain. She scored the game-winner in Saturday’s 4-3 victory as part of her second two-point performance of the season, bringing her campaign totals to three goals and four assists in eight games. The 23-year-old stands atop UCONN’s all-time leaders with 170 games and 70 goals.
INSUIK SIGNS UNEXPECTED PTO
There was an unfamiliar face on the Minnesota bench this weekend in Connecticut as the Whitecaps found themselves in need of an emergency backup goaltender. With Amanda Leveille starting and Jenna Brenneman unable to dress due to illness, the team signed Hannah Insuik to a PTO agreement. The Andover, MA native is currently a science teacher at Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT but played between-the-pipes for Colby College from 2013-17. She holds a unique distinction along with PHF Commissioner Reagan Carey as the school’s only two women to ever play both varsity volleyball and hockey.
WHALE MEETS WOLFPACK
Following Saturday’s game in Simsbury, Connecticut Whale Director of Youth Hockey and Game Day Operations, Hanna Beattie made the short trip to neighboring Hartford where she joined the AHL’s Wolfpack as a speaker on their pre-game Women in Sports panel and performed the ceremonial puck drop. Beattie joined the Whale front office in June after spending five seasons patrolling the blue line for the organization from 2017-22.
The Whale are back in action next weekend in Simsbury when they host the Riveters on Saturday and the Pride on Sunday. There’s also a pair of doubleheaders including Toronto at Buffalo on Friday and Saturday, and Montreal at Minnesota on Saturday and Sunday. 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.
Cover photo by Lori Bolliger
