X75 Productions

Category: NWHL

  • Washington Pride Hockey Takes Over Rockville Ice Arena This Weekend!

    Washington Pride Hockey Takes Over Rockville Ice Arena This Weekend!

    This weekend at Rockville Ice Arena in Rockville, MD the Washington Pride 19’s take on Liberty University in weekend Women’s Hockey action before heading to Burlington, VT for the JWHL Playoffs.

     

    For the first game of the back to back between these two teams will take place this Saturday, March 2nd at 520p on Rink 1. Then the second game will take place Sunday, March 3rd at 920a also on Rink 1.

     

    Also TXHT’s own Michael Lindenbaum will be the PA Announcer for both games.

  • February 24th, 2019 — News and Notes

    February 24th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, February 24th, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were 11 contests in NHL action yesterday…

    BUFFALO 5, Washington 2

    The Washington Capitals would end their six game road trip with a thud, losing to the Buffalo Sabres with a 5-2 loss.

    TXHT has your complete coverage between the Capitals and the Sabres at the following page.

     

     

    NY RANGERS 5, New Jersey 2

     

    ST. LOUIS 2, Boston 1 (SO)

     

    The Boston Bruins would fall to the St. Louis Blues with a 2-1 loss in the shootout frame.

     

     

    FLORIDA 6, Los Angeles 1

    There would be six different scorers for the Florida Panthers in this contest and would crush the Los Angeles Kings with the 6-1 win last night.

    With the Panthers win, goaltender Roberto Luongo would go on to tie Ed Belfour for third place on the NHL’s all-time lead for wins.

     

    COLUMBUS 4, San Jose 0

     

     

    The San Jose Sharks would get crushed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, losing 4-0 in Columbus last night.

     

     

    Carolina 3, DALLAS 0

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes would visit the Dallas Stars and win the contest 3-0.  With the Hurricanes win, the team would move to 18-6-1 in their last 25 contests.

     

     

    Colorado 5, NASHVILLE 0

     

    The Nashville Predators would continue their slide with the 5-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday.

     

     

    Toronto 6, MONTREAL 3

     

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would take on the Montreal Canadiens and double up Montreal with a 6-3 win last night.

     

     

    PHILADELPHIA 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT) – 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series

    The Philadelphia Flyers would take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series and would escape with the 4-3 win in overtime, after being down 3-1 late in the contest.

    TXHT has your complete coverage of the contest at the following page.

     

    EDMONTON 2, Anaheim 1

     

    NY Islanders 4, VANCOUVER 0

     

    Today’s NHL Schedule of Games

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats….

     

     

    NWHL

     

    In the NWHL yesterday…

    BUFFALO BEAUTS 4, Metropolitan Riveters 1

     

    The Buffalo Beauts would register their sixth consecutive win with the 4-1 win over the Metropolitan Riveters yesterday afternoon.

    Despite the loss, Riveters goaltender Katie Fitzgerald would register 33 saves on 36 shots in the contest.

    The first ten minutes of the contest was fast paced and both teams generated chances.

    Buffalo’s Kelly Babstock would open up the scoring in the contest with her goal at the 15:21 mark in the first period with her third goal on the season.

    Buffalo’s Taylor Accursi would score her third goal on the season at the 4:19 mark in the second period followed by Buffalo’s third goal in the contest, scored by Emily Janiga at the 12:36 mark in the second.

    The Riveters would score their lone goal in the contest when Rebecca Russo scored her fourth goal on the season at the 6:24 mark in the third period.  Emily Janiga would score her second goal of the season, an empty net goal at the 18:21 mark in the third period.

    Buffalo moves to 10-4-0 on the season, tied with Boston Pride for best record in the league and the Metropolitan Riveters are now 3-12-0 on the season.

    Buffalo Beauts Final Regular Season Games:

    March 2nd: at Connecticut Whale
    March 3rd: at Metropolitan Riveters

    Metropolitan Riveters Regular Season Finale:

    March 3rd: vs. Buffalo Beauts

  • February 23rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    February 23rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, February 23rd, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were five contests that took place yesterday.

     

    Columbus 3, OTTAWA 0

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would take on the Ottawa Senators last night and would come away with another shutout victory on the season.  The Blue Jackets would go on to outshoot the Senators in this contest with 40 shots on goal to Ottawa’s 22.

    This would be the Senators third consecutive loss and in their last ten games, Ottawa has a record of 3-7-0.

     

    Minnesota 3, DETROIT 2

    In a hard fought contest last night in Detroit, the Minnesota Wild would go on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings with the 3-2 win last night.  The win for the Wild movers them to a record of 29-27-6, while the Red Wings fall to a record of 23-30-9.

     

    Colorado 5, CHICAGO 3

    In another hard fought battle last night, the Colorado Avalanche would face off against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Avalanche would escape with a 5-3 win.  Chicago would tie the game a 3 a piece at the 10 minute mark in the third period but would be able to mount a comeback against Colorado.

    Colorado would move to one point behind the Minnesota Wild and Chicago with the loss is now three points behind Minnesota for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

     

    CALGARY 2, Anaheim 1

    The Anaheim Ducks woes on the season would continue with the loss last night to the Calgary Flames.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1099171779682086914

    With Calgary’s win, they continue to hold the top spot in the Pacific Division with a record of 38-16-7, good for 83 points.

     

    Winnipeg 6, VEGAS 3

    The Winnipeg Jets would go on to double up the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3, thanks to two goals from Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine.

    Winnipeg holds on to a slim lead in the Central Division standings thanks to the win.

    The Golden Knights hold on to the third spot in the Pacific Division, despite the loss to the Jets last night.

     

     

    There are 11 games on the NHL schedule today including the 2019 NHL Stadium Series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania tonight at 8 p.m.

     

    *schedule image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and the respective owners

    For more news, notes, information, and stats….

     

    Today in the NWHL…

    The Metropolitan Riveters travel to the HarborCenter to take on the Buffalo Beauts at 5 p.m., ET.  This contest can be seen, as all NWHL games, on NWHL.zone/watch

  • February 20th, 2019 — News and Notes

    February 20th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Wednesday, February 20th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were nine contests yesterday in NHL action.

     

     

    FLORIDA 4, Buffalo 2

    The Florida Panthers would take on the Buffalo Sabres and would come away with the 4-2 win.  Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau would score twice for the Panthers in this contest.

     


    Pittsburgh 4, NEW JERSEY 3

    The Pittsburgh Penguins would take on the New Jersey Devils and there would be four different scorers for the Penguins in this contest.

    For the Devils, Patrick Warburton brought back his Puck Daddy character in a pre-game ceremony for New Jersey  with the ceremonial puck drop.

     
    Tampa Bay 5, PHILADELPHIA 2

    The Tampa Bay Lightning would take on the Philadelphia Flyers and would come away with the decisive 5-2 win at Wells Fargo Center last night.

     
    NY Rangers 2, CAROLINA 1

    The New York Rangers would defeat the Carolina Hurricanes thanks to scoring two goals after being down 1-0 in Raleigh last night.


    MONTREAL 3, Columbus 2

    There would be three different scorers for the Montreal Canadiens as they would take down the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 3-2 win in Montreal last night.


    ST. LOUIS 3, Toronto 2 (OT)

    The St. Louis Blues would mount a comeback and defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs with the 3-2 in the overtime frame.

    TXHT’s Steve Gardiner has your full recap of the contest between the St. Louis Blues and the Toronto Maple Leafs at the following page.


    Anaheim 4, MINNESOTA 0

    The Anaheim Ducks would have another big win, getting a shutout against the Minnesota Wild.  The Ducks would take down the Wild 4-0.  Ryan Miller would get another shutout win and would add to his career win total after setting the NHL record for all-time wins by a U.S.-born goaltender on Sunday night.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1098079908364861440
    Nashville 5, DALLAS 3

    The Nashville Predators would take down the Dallas Stars with a 5-3 win, thanks to two goals from Nashville’s Roman Josi in the third period.  Filip Forsberg would also add a goal of his own in the third period, his 21st on the season.


    Arizona 3, EDMONTON 2 (SO)

    Shootout Summary

    Arizona’s Vinnie Hinostroza would seal the win for the Coyotes with the lone goal in the shootout frame.

     

    There are four contests on the NHL schedule tonight…

     

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats…

     

     

    In NHL news…

    Philadelphia’s Radko Gudas has a hearing today for High-sticking/slashing Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov in last night’s contest.

    The Toronto Maple Leafs yesterday would release the throwbacks that they will wear on March 15th and March 16th.  The throwbacks worn will be the white Toronto St. Pats jersey worn in the 1920s.  These jerseys are similar to the ones that were worn for a game back in March 2017.

     

    The jerseys are available for pre-order through the Toronto Maple Leafs team store at this link.

     

     

     

    NWHL

     

    Remaining NWHL Schedule of Games:

    Saturday, February 23rd: Metropolitan Riveters at Buffalo Beauts

    Sunday, February 24th: Boston Pride at Connecticut Whale (NWHL Twitter Game of the Week)

    Saturday, March 2nd: Buffalo Beauts at Connecticut Whale

    Saturday, March 2nd: Minnesota Whitecaps at Boston Pride

    Sunday, March 3rd: Minnesota Whitecaps at Connecticut Whale

    Sunday, March 3rd: Buffalo Beauts at Metropolitan Riveters

    NWHL Isobel Cup Playoff Schedule will be announced at a later date

  • TXHT Podcast – 2/20/2019 – Kaleigh Fratkin

    TXHT Podcast – 2/20/2019 – Kaleigh Fratkin

    The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by Kaleigh Fratkin of the Boston Pride.

     

    Michael and Kaleigh talk about Fratkin’s childhood growing up in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, how she got into hockey, who her favorite NHL team was, and so much more.

     

    Plus Michael and Kaleigh take a look back at her career that started at Boston University all the way to where she is now with the Boston Pride in the NWHL. They both also discuss the upcoming playoffs in the NWHL.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Tuesday, February 19th, 2019

    Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

     

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • Game Recap – 2/18/2019 – Boston Pride vs. Metropolitan Riveters

    Game Recap – 2/18/2019 – Boston Pride vs. Metropolitan Riveters

    Boston Pride (9-4-0 18pts) v. Metropolitan Riveters (3-10-0 6pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Boston Pride and the Metropolitan Riveters face off for a President’s Day matinee, which is also their makeup game from January 20th when it was postponed due to a snow storm, and it would be the Pride to strike early as Mary Parker would knock in a rebound from a Kaleigh Fratkin point shot three minutes into the game. The Pride would keep on pushing the game in their favor as McKenna Brand would score on the wraparound to give the Pride a 2-0 lead. The Riveters would generate some offense, but it has been all Boston so far. Then to add on to their lead, Czech forward Denisa Krizova would score her fourth of the season to give the Pride a 3-0 lead.

     

    In what would be considered an “even” back and forth period, it would be the Pride who would be dominant over the Riveters. Katie Burt stood on her head making miraculous save after save, and then in the minutes of the second period the Riveters would take a bench minor for too many women on the ice to which the Pride made them pay for quickly as Gigi Marvin would score seconds into the powerplay, and then 23 seconds later score her second of the game giving the Pride a 5-0 lead over the Riveters.

     

    To start the third period, the Riveters would switch their goalie as Maria Sorokina would come in to replace Kimberly Sass, but it would not matter as less than three minutes into the third period Mary Parker would score her second of the game from a tight angle. Then it would be Rockville, MD native Haley Skarupa getting feed a pass in the slot and she would just skate in unopposed to make it 7-0 for the Pride with her 5th of the season. The Pride would not let up however as Jillian Dempsey would score an NWHL record 34th career goal as the Pride would go up 8-0. The Riveters would end the Katie Burt’s shutout bid as Amanda Kessel would not quit as she would score her second goal of the season to get the Riveters on the board.

     

    First Period:

    Pride Goal – 3:00 – Mary Parker (1) from Emily Field (3) and Kaleigh Fratkin (4)

    Pride Goal – 7:39 – McKenna Brand (6) from Jordan Smelker (4)

    Pride Goal – 11:14 – Denisa Krizova (4) from Mallory Souliotis (2) and Kaleigh Fratkin (5)

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 3       MET – 0

    Shots              12                07

    Faceoffs         08                06

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Riveters Penalty – 18:51 – Bench (Rebecca Morse) 2 minutes for Too Many Women

    Pride PPG – 19:04 – Gigi Marvin (7) from Kaleigh Fratkin (6) and Mallory Souliotis (3)

    Pride Goal – 19:27 – Gigi Marvin (8) from Amanda Pelkey (5) and Lexi Bender (6)

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 5        MET – 0

    Shots               20                 20

    Faceoffs          19                 10

    PP                   1/1                  0/0

     

    Third Period:

    Riveters Goalie Change – Kimberly Sass pulled for Maria Sorokina

    Pride Goal – 2:37 – Mary Parker (2) from Kaleigh Fratkin (7) and Jordan Smelker (5)

    Pride Goal – 5:19 – Haley Skarupa (5) from Gigi Marvin (5)

    Pride Goal – 8:00 – Jillian Dempsey (10) from McKenna Brand (8) and Denisa Krizova (7)

    Riveters Goal – 9:58 – Amanda Kessel (2) from Miye D’Oench (5) from Madison Packer (5)

    Pride Penalty – 17:24 – Amanda Pelkey 2 minutes for Tripping

    Pride Penalty – 19:25 – Kaleigh Fratkin 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 8         MET – 1

    Shots              28                   33

    Faceoffs        31                    14

    PP                 1/1                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Boston (10-4-0 20pts) @ Connecticut (2-9-2 6pts)

    Metropolitan (3-11-0 6pts) @ Buffalo (9-4-0 18pts)

  • February 17th, 2019 — News and Notes

    February 17th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, February 17th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 12 contests in NHL action yesterday.

     

     

    PHILADELPHIA 6, Detroit 5 (OT)

     

    Calgary 5, PITTSBURGH 4

     

    Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin would score twice in the contest against the Calgary but it would not be enough as the Pittsburgh Penguins would fall to the Calgary Flames by the score of 5-4.

     

     

    St. Louis 3, COLORADO 0

     

    A hard fought 40 minutes between both teams would be the story in this contest until the St. Louis Blues would score three straight goals in the third period, with two of the first goals coming within nearly 30 seconds of each other.

     

    TAMPA BAY 3, Montreal 0

    The Montreal Canadiens would get shutout by the Tampa Bay Lightning by the score of 3-0 in Tampa, Florida yesterday.

     

    NY ISLANDERS 5, Edmonton 2

     

     

    Ottawa 4, WINNIPEG 3 (OT)

    Despite two goals from Tyler Myles and another by Brandon Tanev, the Winnipeg Jets would fall in overtime to the Ottawa Senators by the score of 4-3.

     

    ARIZONA 2, Toronto 0

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would travel to Glendale, Arizona to take on the Arizona Coyotes and would fall to Arizona by the score of 2-0.

    Both of the goals for the Coyotes would come in the second period of the contest.

     

    CAROLINA 3, Dallas 0

    The Carolina Hurricanes would earn their third consecutive win with the 3-0 win last night over the Dallas Stars.

     

    Columbus 5, CHICAGO 2

    Despite being outshot in the contest, the Columbus Blue Jackets would leave Chicago with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks last night.



    VEGAS 5, Nashville 1

    The Vegas Golden Knights would snap their losing streak by defeating the Nashville Predators by the score of 5-1.

     

    SAN JOSE 3, Vancouver 2

    The Vancouver Canucks would fall to the San Jose Sharks by the score of 3-2 in San Jose last night, despite outshooting the Sharks with 34 shots on goal to San Jose’s 26.

    Boston 4, LOS ANGELES 2

    Tuukka Rask would net another win, extending his personal point streak to 13 games, amassing a record of 11-0-2 in those 13 games.  Rask would turn aside 23 shots as the Boston Bruins would double up the Los Angeles Kings with a 4-2 win in downtown Los Angeles last night.

     

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats….

     

     

     

     

     

    Today’s NHL Schedule of Games

     

     

    NWHL

     

    Don’t forget ladies and gentleman that there will be one NWHL game tomorrow, which is the make up game from early January between the Boston Pride and the Metropolitan Riveters at 1 p.m., ET.

  • February 16th, 2019 — News and Notes

    February 16th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, February 16th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were four games in NHL action last night.

     

     

    NY Rangers 6, BUFFALO 2

    The New York Rangers would take on the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo last night and the Rangers would come away with a convincing 6-2 win.  Vladislav Namestnikov would score twice in the third period to seal the win for the Rangers.

    With the six goal outburst by the Rangers, this would be the 153rd instance in which at least six goals have been registered in a contest this season.

    https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1096763653922136064

    Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner would score his 35th goal on the season and making him the fifth player in franchise history to have at least 35 goals in his first season with the club.

    When Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin assisted on Skinner’s goal, he would net his 26th assist on the season.

     

    CAROLINA 3, Edmonton 1

    The Edmonton Oilers would fall to the Carolina Hurricanes despite outshooting the Hurricanes 41-27.  Carolina would down the Oilers by the score of 3-1.

     

    New Jersey 5, MINNESOTA 4 (OT)

    The New Jersey Devils would defeat the Minnesota Wild 5-4 in overtime, thanks to the game winner by the Devils Nico Hischier in the extra frame.

    https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1096627156241797121

    New Jersey would mark the 125th multi-goal comeback on the season, the most in NHL history dating up to February 15th.

    https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1096778806336077826

     

    Boston 3, ANAHEIM 0

    Anaheim’s season woes would continue with the 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins in Anaheim last night.  Anaheim is 2-8-0 in their last 10 contests.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1096653762079293440

    Boston Bruins infographic from last night’s contests against the Anaheim Ducks.

     

    Boston goaltender Jaroslav Halak would have a 30 saves performance in this contest.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Today’s schedule of games…

     

    In case you missed it…

     

    -TXHT released an article of the stigma of counterfeit jerseys which you can read here.

     

    -TXHT’s Chris Vasilas produced several articles about the NWHL All-Star game last weekend which you can read at the following pages.

  • A Whale Of A Time In Nashville

    A Whale Of A Time In Nashville

    The NWHL hosted their All Star festivities in Nashville, TN this past weekend. The best players from all five teams came down and showcased their talents in front of an electric Nashville crowd. The skills competition was held at the Ford Ice Center, the practice facility for the Predators; while the All Star Game itself was at the Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville.

    The Whale had originally sent five players down, but Meeri Räisänen could not attend as she was called up to the Finnish National Team. [Congrats are in order for her!]

    The four players that did go to the All Star game were Shannon Doyle, Emily Fluke, Michelle Löwenhielm, and Katerina Mrázová.

    Doyle and Mrázová played for Team Szabados; Fluke and Löwenhielm played for Team Stecklein.

    NWHL-ASG2019-Roster-4_large

    Photo from nwhl.zone

     

    Skills Competition

    Only two skills competition events were needed for the Whale players as it was Mrázová vs Fluke in the trick shot challenge, and it was Löwenhielm vs Doyle in the hardest shot competition.

     

    At the end of the six events, it was tied at three apiece. A best two out of three shootout was required between Beauts goalie Shannon Szabados and Whitecaps defender Lee Stecklein. Szabados stopped all the attempts by Stecklein, giving Shannon Doyle and Katerina Mrázová the bragging rights so far over the weekend.

     

    All Star Game

    The All Star Game took place at Bridgestone Arena after the Blues v. Predators game, in which the St. Louis Blues proved victorious in overtime.

    Predators Game.jpg

    Also, it wouldn’t be Nashville without someone throwing a catfish on the ice that landed right by Shannon Doyle just before the opening faceoff.

    Catfish Opening Faceoff.jpg

     

    The All Star game was two 25 minute halves of four on four hockey. The Whale had a really spectacular showing in Nashville. After Riveters forward Audra Richards gave Team Szabados the 1-0 lead, Whale defender Shannon Doyle had a great rush up the left side of the ice. She got to the left circle, she made a great drop pass to Katerina Mrázová, who then roofed it over Nicole Hensley’s shoulder to give Team Szabados the 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

    https://twitter.com/WSportHilites/status/1094711430144774145

     

    After some halftime music by a live band at Bridgestone Arena, the second half began with Team Stecklein chasing a 2-0 lead. Team Stecklein would get a goal back when Beauts forward Lisa Chesson redirected a shot from Pride forward Gigi Marvin which found the back of the net. A few shifts would go by without a goal, but during that goalless break, we got to see some pretty spectacular defending at the blue line from Michelle Löwenhielm. Later in the half, Emily Fluke would net a five hole goal that tied the game at two. We also got to see an awesome celly between the Team Stecklein players:

     

    At the end of the second half, the game was tied at two. Just like yesterday’s skills competition, the game would require a shootout to determine a winner. In the shootout, there would only be one goal, and it came from Riveters forward Amanda Kessel. It would give Team Szabados the victory and the sweep for the weekend!

     

    It was a pretty historic All Star weekend, the best part about it was the attendance by the Nashville faithful. The recorded attendance was 6, 120, which set a record for largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in the United States!

     

    Not to mention that All Star MVP and Beauts goalie Shannon Szabados talked about the amazingness of nearly ONE MILLION people that watched over the weekend!

     

    Here is my favorite photo from the weekend!:

     

     

    The Whale have three games left on the season, all of them will be home games. The first game will be against the Boston Pride on February 24th at Terry Conners Rink. Puck drop for that game will be 3p EST. The game will be a Twitter Game of the Week, and you can watch that here: https://twitter.com/nwhl

     

    Tweets from Women’s Sports Highlights and Anya Battaglino were used with their permission. You can follow them here: @WSportHilites and @battaglinoa

  • TXHT at the NWHL All Star Festivities!

    TXHT at the NWHL All Star Festivities!

    The NWHL hosted their All Star festivities in Nashville, TN this past weekend. The best players from all five teams came down and showcased their talents in front of an electric Nashville crowd. The skills competition was held at the Ford Ice Center, the practice facility for the Predators; while the All Star Game itself was at the Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville.

    Here’s how the rosters looked for the weekend:

    NWHL-ASG2019-Roster-4_large
    Photo from nwhl.zone

    Skills Competition

    It was a full house at the Ford Ice Center for the NWHL skills competition; people gathered to watch the players have fun and show off. The first event was the fastest skater, in which Kristin Lewicki won the event last year. This year had the likes of Michelle Picard, Amanda Pelkey, Lexi Bender, and Kendall Coyne Schofield for Team Szabados; and Lisa Chesson, Jonna Curtis, Kate Schipper, and Allie Thunstrom for Team Stecklein. If anyone saw the NHL’s fastest skater competition, knows that Coyne was going to be the odds on favorite, and she delivered. Coyne was actually faster than when she did the NHL’s event, [14.3 for the NHL and 13.9 for the NWHL].

    The next competition was the fastest goalies, in which Amanda Leveille returned to defend her title. All four goalies Katie Burt, Amanda Leveille, Shannon Szabados, and Nicole Hensley skated. The final showdown came in the form of a “battle of the teammates” Szabados v Hensley, and it was Nicole Hensley who claims bragging rights.

    Accuracy shooting was up next, where Corinne Buie was the winner last year. The three shooters for Team Szabados were Haley Skarupa, Haley Scamurra, and Savannah Harmon and the three shooters for Team Stecklein were Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, and Emily Pfalzer. In the end, it was Dani Cameranesi who proved to be the most accurate!

    Talents were on display during the next event, which was the trick shot challenge. All of the skaters have great hands and great creative minds. For Team Szabados it was Amanda Kessel, Madison Packer, and Katerina Mrázová and for Team Stecklein it was Gigi Marvin, Emily Fluke, and Jillian Dempsey. In this particular event, the fans got to vote for the winner of the competition. The event had everything, from Amanda Kessel doing the Flying V from the Mighty Ducks, to Madison Packer with a smooth spin-o-rama attempt that almost scored, to Emily Fluke throwing a cowboy hat, and having her second shot saved by Katie Burt with her back toward her.

    In the end it was Team Stecklein who won over the fans and getting their vote.

    Up next was the hardest shot competition with players who can really bring the heat on their slapshots. Last years winner of the event was Kelsey Koezler, and the players looking to take the title were, for Team Szabados were Shannon Doyle, Amanda Boulier, Audra Richards, and Blake Bolden; and for Team Stecklein were Michelle Löwenhielm, Alyssa Gagliardi, Courtney Burke, and the captain Lee Stecklein. There were a lot of really hard shots, but Blake Bolden won with her shot reaching 80 mph!

    The last event was a go for goal shootout relay in which all the skaters for Team Szabados and Team Stecklein took shootout attempts, and the team with the most goals was declared the winner. After some pretty nifty attempts, it was Team Stecklein who won the event.

    This meant at the end of all competitions, both teams were tied at three wins a piece. It meant that to settle it in a tiebreaker, it was captain vs captain in a best two out of three shootout attempts. Szabados made all the saves and her team won the Skills Competition!

    Audio from Dani Cameranesi of the Buffalo Beauts [Team Stecklein]

    Audio from Kendall Coyne Schofield of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Szabados]

    All Star Game

    The All Star Game took place at Bridgestone Arena after the Blues v. Predators game, in which the St. Louis Blues proved victorious in overtime.

    Predators Game.jpg

    It wouldn’t be Nashville without someone throwing a catfish on the ice that landed right by Shannon Doyle just before the opening faceoff.

    Catfish Opening Faceoff.jpg

    Both teams skated to two 25 minute halves of four on four hockey. In the first half, Team Szabados jumped out to the lead, the goal coming from the Riveters rookie forward Audra Richards. Richards, who has eight goals on the year continues her scoring prowess by getting the opening marker. Later in the half, Shannon Doyle led the rush and made a nice drop pass on top of the circle, and it fell on the stick of leading Connecticut Whale scorer Katerina Mrázová, who roofed the shot over Nicole Hensley. The goal gave Team Szabados a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

    https://twitter.com/WSportHilites/status/1094711430144774145

    During the intermission, and because Nashville is known as Music City, there was some live music being played while we waited for the second half.

    The second half had a lot of good back and forth action and then Gigi Marvin took a shot from the point which got redirected by Lisa Chesson and it found the net beating Katie Burt. The goal cut the Team Szabados lead in half. Later in the half, the game would be tied at two as Whale captain Emily Fluke netting a five hole goal!

    Both goalies [Leveille and Burt] made really incredible saves and at the end of the second half, the score was tied at two. The game moved into a shootout in which Amanda Kessel was the first shooter and she beat Leveille five hole. Then Katie Burt stopped all three Team Stecklein attempts, giving the victory to Team Szabados!

    The best part about the All Star Game weekend was the attendance by the Nashville faithful. The recorded attendance was 6, 120, which set a record for largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in the United States!

    Audio from Amanda Kessel of the Metropolitan Riveters [Team Szabados]:

    Audio from Jonna Curtis of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Stecklein]:

    Audio from Shannon Szabados of the Buffalo Beauts [Team Szabados]:

    Audio from Lee Stecklein of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Stecklein]:

    Tweet from Women’s Sports Highlights and Anya Battaglino were used with their permission. You can follow them on Twitter here: @WSportHilites and @battaglinoa