Boston stays unbeaten with Minnesota sweep, T6 and Riveters split weekend series
BOSTON, MA – (November 21, 2022) – The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) season resumed with two weekend series and the debut of two new PHF facilities for Minnesota and Metropolitan. The Boston Pride improved to a perfect 4-0 with a sweep over the host Whitecaps, while the Riveters won the first of two against the Toronto Six.
Here’s a closer look at the results, top performers, and notable highlights:
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2022
Game 7
Boston Pride 2
Minnesota Whitecaps 0
Box Score | Highlights
Corinne Schroeder made 49 saves for a record third-straight shutout victory with Boston goals scored by Jenna Rheault and Christina Putigna in the first PHF game played at Minnesota’s Richfield Ice Arena.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2022
Game 8
Toronto Six 3
Metropolitan Riveters 6
Box Score | Highlights
The Riveters opened The Rink at American Dream with a victory, exploding for six goals against Toronto with Sarah Bujold, Kelly Babstock, and Madison Packer each striking twice.
Game 9
Boston Pride 5 OT
Minnesota Whitecaps 4
Box Score | Highlights
Sammy Davis scored twice including the overtime winner over the Whitecaps to keep the Pride’s perfect start to the season alive. Boston’s McKenna Brand and Aneta Tejralová both contributed multi-assist performances.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2022
Game 10
Toronto Six 5
Metropolitan Riveters 2
Box Score | Highlights
Leah Lum opened the scoring for the Six, then tucked the first of three unanswered in the third period to give Toronto a weekend split over the Riveters. Her three-points tied Tereza Vanišová who shared the team lead with a goal and two assists.
SECOND WEEK STANDINGS
The undefeated Boston Pride (4-0-0) picked up five of a possible six points over the weekend based on their regulation and overtime victories and continue to stand alone in first place atop the PHF standings with 11 points. The Toronto Six (3-1-0) added three points and remain in second place with eight, followed by the Buffalo Beauts (1-0-1) who stay in third place with four points after an idle weekend. A regulation win for the Metropolitan Riveters (1-2-0) moves them up to a fourth place with three points. The Montreal Force (1-1-0) still have two points and are tied with the Minnesota Whitecaps (0-2-2) whose points have all come by virtue of two overtime losses. The Connecticut Whale (0-1-0) still have just one game under their belt due to the postponement of their home openers this weekend and return to action on December 3.
SCHROEDER’S SHUTOUT MAKES HISTORY
Corinne Schroeder became the first goaltender in PHF history to record three-straight shutout victories on Friday night when she backstopped Boston to a 2-0 win over Minnesota. The 23-year-old from Elm Creek, Manitoba stopped the first 115 shots she faced to start her professional career over a total span of 183:15. That streak is actually the second longest in PHF history following Katie Burt’s 214:55 accumulated over a five-game period for the Pride during the 2021-22 campaign that included two shutouts and a perfect relief appearance. Schroeder is now tied for the most shutouts in a single season in PHF history with Burt, Minnesota’s Amanda Leveille (2019-20), and Boston’s Brittany Ott (2016-17). This also marks the first time in PHF history that any team has won three-straight games by shutout.
50 MILESTONES FOR MARA AND PUTIGNA
Boston’s win on Friday night also provided two different half century milestones for a pair of Pride. Head coach Paul Mara became the first in PHF history to win 50 games behind the bench, and forward Christina Putigna recorded her 50th career point which ranks 15th all-time. Mara joined the Pride in 2018-19 and through two weeks of his fifth campaign has an overall record of 51-15-5, leading the team to back-to-back Isobel Cup titles. This marks Putigna’s fourth season in Boston where she’s also hoisted the Isobel Cup twice. Her 50 points include 17 goals and 33 assists in 55 games, notably producing 29 points over 24 games as a newcomer and later leading the shortened 2021 season in overall scoring.
ALBERS SETS NEW ALL-TIME GAMES RECORD
Jonna Albers became the Whitecaps new franchise leader for PHF games played on Saturday when she made the 65th appearance of her Minnesota career. A member of the organization since they debuted in the PHF during the 2018-19 season, the 28-year-old from Elk River, MN surpasses Allie Thunstrom who suited up for all 64 games over the team’s first four PHF seasons. Albers is also the franchise leader in points with 84, which ranks third all-time and includes two produced during her record-setting game notching her 33rd career goal and 50th career assist.
FIRST CAREER PHF GOALS
Five different PHF players picked up first career goals this weekend. Sarah Bujold’s first on Saturday will go down in history as the first ever scored at the Riveters new home, a shorthanded tally at the 4:23 mark of the first period. It was the first of two shorthanded tallies and four total goals in two games by the newcomer. The first opposing goal scored at The Rink at American Dream was also the first for Toronto defender Kati Tabin who found the back of the net in her ninth career game. On Saturday night in Minnesota, captain Sydney Brodt scored the first Whitecaps goal at Richfield Ice Arena at 3:15 of the first period, her first of two goals in the game. Fellow newcomer Anna Klein also scored her first career PHF goal during the first period of her fourth career game. Pride defender Kali Flanagan scored her first career regular season goal in the second period of her 18th career game, however she did produce a pair of playoff goals during last season’s Isobel Cup run.
FIRST WINS FOR RIVETERS
The Riveters era inside The Rink at American Dream officially began with a 6-3 victory on Saturday against Toronto that also provided a couple of personal firsts in the W column. Goaltender Rachel McQuigge earned her first career PHF victory in her second start, stopping 27 of 30 shots faced. The 24-year-old from Bowmanville, Ontario is a PHF newcomer following a NCAA career at Princeton University. Head coach Venla Hovi also picked up her first PHF victory behind the bench in her second appearance. The native of Tampere, Finland became the fourth head coach in franchise history this offseason, joining the club after two seasons with the Female U17 Prep Team in the Okanagan Hockey Academy.
METROPOLITAN’S MULTI-GOAL SCORERS
Saturday’s six-goal performance by the Riveters was powered by a trio of multi-goal scorers including Sarah Bujold, Kelly Babstock, and Madison Packer. It was just the tenth time over 117 regular season games in franchise history where the team has scored six or more goals, and just the third time the team has had three players tally twice. The last such occurrence was way back on January 29, 2017 in an 8-6 win over Connecticut where Packer scored three, along with a hat-trick by Tatiana Rafter, and a pair from Janine Weber. Packer now has 10 multi-goal games over her 110-game career, while this was the fourth in 91 career games for Babstock and first since December 11, 2016 as a member of the Whale. Bujold did it twice this weekend competing in just her second and third career PHF games.
JACKSON STARS IN FIRST TORONTO START
Carly Jackson made the most of her first start between-the-pipes in a Toronto Six sweater on Sunday. The free agent acquisition stopped 25 of 27 shots which was enough to help the team hold on for the 5-2 win over the Riveters. She also stopped all four shots faced on Saturday during 15:35 of relief. The win is the eighth of Jackson’s career, with the previous seven coming over 24 appearances for Buffalo including six in 18 games last season.
FOUR GAME POINT-STREAKS
You can find the same two names on every scoresheet through four games played by the top ranked Boston Pride and Toronto Six. Jillian Dempsey has picked up a single point in every outing for the defending champs, totalling two goals and two assists, while newcomer Brittany Howard has put the puck in the back of the net in all four of her PHF games to date. She continues to lead the league with six points including an impressive five goals.
RIVALRY SERIES RECAP
The season’s first leg of the Rivalry Series between the United States and Canadian National Women’s Teams wrapped up Sunday in Seattle. Team USA earned a third straight win, this time by a 4-2 score in front of 14,551 fans at Climate Pledge Arena, home of the NHL’s Kraken, which represents the highest attendance for a U.S. home game in NWT history. Three members of the Boston Pride represented the PHF in competition over the last week including USA’s Becca Gilmore, and Canada’s Loren Gabel and Élizabeth Giguère. Both Gabel and Giguère picked up assists in Tuesday’s opener, with Giguère adding a secondary helper to her international resume on Sunday. The next two games of the series are set for Dec. 15 in Henderson, NV and Dec. 19 in Los Angeles, CA.
All three players are expected back in the Boston lineup when the Pride host Toronto in a weekend doubleheader Nov. 26-27. Next weekend also marks the home debut for the expansion Montreal Force who welcome the Riveters. All of the action is available across the United States live on ESPN+ and in Canada at TSN.ca. Both Montreal games will broadcast in French on TVA Sports.
