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Category: Minnesota Whitecaps

  • NWHL News and Notes – June 5th, 2019

    NWHL News and Notes – June 5th, 2019

    This morning was a busy one for the NWHL as they made three free agent signing announcements.

     

    First it was the Connecticut Whale re-signing defender and NWHL veteran Elena Orlando to a one year deal.

    IMG_20190605_093528

    Orlando will be playing in her fourth season with the Whale, and her fifth in the NWHL. Orlando’s salary was not disclosed.

     

    Next up it would be announced that the Boston Pride has re-signed Mallory Souliotis to a one year contract.

    IMG_20190605_111341

    This will be Souliotis’ second full season with the Pride and in the NWHL. Souliotis’ salary was also not disclosed.

     

    Then it would be the Minnesota Whitecaps signing the goaltender of free agency when the re-signed Amanda Leveille for the 2019-20 season.

    IMG_20190605_111351

    Leveille is a two time Isobel Cup Champion (2017 with Buffalo, and 2019 with Minnesota), and with her sigming she became the 15th player to sign for the 2019-20 season. Leveille’s salary was also not disclosed.

     

    All players will partake in the 50 percent cut of revenue from league sponsorship and media deals. Plus they will also receive 15 percent of revenue from apparel sold with their name on it.

    TXHT will continue to provide NWHL coverage as more signings are announced.

    *Graphics courtesy of the NWHL.

  • NWHL Announces First Whitecaps Signing

    NWHL Announces First Whitecaps Signing

    Today the NWHL has announced that the Minnesota Whitecaps has re-signed Allie Thunstrom for the 2019-20 season.

    IMG_20190524_120811

     

    Thunstrom, who played in all 18 regular season games last season, had 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points in her first season in the NWHL.

     

    TXHT will continue to provide NWHL coverage as more signings are announced.

    *Graphics courtesy of the NWHL.

  • Women’s Hockey News – 200 Women to Boycott for a Viable Long Term Hockey League

    Women’s Hockey News – 200 Women to Boycott for a Viable Long Term Hockey League

    A little before noon today over 200 professional female hockey players announced that they will be boycotting this upcoming season until the get a “Long-Term Viable” Professional Women’s Hockey League.

    IMG_20190502_112527

     

    In the statement above that was released by around 200 professional female hockey players it states that it is time to create a sustainable league for Women’s hockey that will give them the abilities to have health insurance, have the ability to train adequately for games, and most importantly, making a livable wage playing hockey.

     

    A couple hours after the #ForTheGame announcement was made, NWHL put out the following statement:

    Screenshot_20190502-134630_Yahoo Mail

     

    In this statement from the NWHL, the biggest takeaway is that they have all intentions moving forward with the 2019-20 season, and that they will be offering increased salaries, and a 50-50 in revenue from sponsorships and media rights deals after long constructive and positive conversations with the NWHL Player’s Association over the past month.

     

    In regards to the NWHLPA, Director Anya Battaglino had the following statement when reached for comment on the news:

    “In the off season the NWHLPA has been working hard to continue to drive the betterment of our professional athletes every day. This announcement halts our ability to finally have the best players on one stage, and unfortunately sets the Women’s Hockey game backward. With the powerful opportunity we have this year to drive unprecedented growth, this new fragmentation will only slow that growth.”

     

    While examining Mrs. Battaglino’s statement here, we have to agree with her assessment on this situation. While yesterday, May 1st, marked the official end of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) as they closed their doors, the NWHL acted swiftly and added two more teams to their league with the prospects of a third team to make it an 8 team league when the initial announcement was made in an effort to give more women an opportunity to play professionally in the NWHL.

     

    Also, look at the growth of Women’s hockey in these last two years specifically. From the US Olympic Hockey Team winning the gold medal against Team Canada, to setting a US attendance record for a Women’s hockey game at the NWHL All Star Game in Nashville, to having Kendall Coyne Schofield becoming the first woman to participate in the NHL All Star Skills Competition. These women have made great gains only to halt it’s momentum to a near dead halt, and it’s a damn shame.

     

    Do these women deserve to play professionally, and make a living wage doing so? Oh hell yes they do. They deserve it, and most importantly they’ve earned it, but what they are doing does not seem like the way to go about it. While we don’t have the answers here ourselves, we do believe that there has to be a better way to accomplish the ultimate goal, and that is to have the ultimate professional Women’s hockey league that brings great stability and a long term viable option for women to play the game.

     

    We do know that one player has spoken out against the #ForTheGame movement as reported by The Ice Garden, and that is Boston Pride player Kaleigh Fratkin.

     

    We will have more here on TXHT as everything unfolds, but to quote our Connecticut Whale writer Christopher Vasilas ( @shaggy901516 ):

    “We’re definitely at the crossroads, every decision by the league and players is gonna have huge impact on future generations”

  • March 18th, 2019 — News and Notes

    March 18th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Monday, March 18th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were seven NHL contests in action yesterday.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Yesterday’s results (Home team is in CAPS):

    COLORADO 3, New Jersey 0

    The Colorado Avalanche would defeat the New Jersey Devils with the 3-0 shutout win and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon would reach the 91 point mark on the season for the second consecutive season.

     

    BUFFALO 4, St. Louis 3 (SO)

    The Buffalo Sabres would take down the St. Louis Blues in the shootout frame with the 4-3 win.  Sam Reinhart would score the game winner for the Sabres.

     

    NY Islanders 3, MINNESOTA 2 (OT)

    The New York Islanders would move back into first place atop the Metropolitan Division with their 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild yesterday afternoon. 

     

     

    Vancouver 3, DALLAS 2 (SO)

    The Vancouver Canucks would go on to defeat the Dallas Stars yesterday with the 3-2 shootout win.

    https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1107464818871533568

     

    Philadelphia 2, PITTSBURGH 1 (OT)

    After a scoreless 40 minutes, the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins would tie the game at 1-1 at the end of the regulation with the Philadelphia Flyers getting the win in the overtime frame.


    *Infographic is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    ANAHEIM 3, Florida 2

    The Anaheim Ducks would get a much needed win after downing the Florida Panthers by the score of 3-2 yesterday afternoon.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1107500443142230016

     

    VEGAS 6, Edmonton 3

    The Vegas Golden Knights would take down the Edmonton Oilers last night with a 6-3 win yesterday.

     

     

     

    Today there are four contests in NHL action…

     

     

    Yesterday concluded the 2018-19 NWHL season with the Minnesota Whitecaps defeating the Buffalo Beauts by the score of 2-1 in the overtime frame.  The Minnesota Whitecaps would win the Isobel Cup in their inaugural season in the NWHL in front of a sold-out crowd yesterday afternoon at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota.

     

    THXT has your full coverage of yesterday’s Isobel Cup Final at the following page.

     

     

    We here at TXHT congratulate the Minnesota Whitecaps on winning their first NWHL Championship, as well as all other teams across the league for a great and exciting season.

    NWHL, as well as other women’s hockey news, will continue on TXHT.

  • Isobel Cup Final Recap – 3/17/19 – #2 Buffalo Beauts v. #1 Minnesota Whitecaps

    Isobel Cup Final Recap – 3/17/19 – #2 Buffalo Beauts v. #1 Minnesota Whitecaps

    #2 Buffalo Beauts v. #1 Minnesota Whitecaps

     

    Game Recap:

    The Isobel Cup has come to Minnesota as the #1 ranked Whitecaps host the #2 ranked Buffalo Beauts. To start the game, both teams would feel eachother out and see who would make the first mistake to see who can capitalize. The Whitecaps would get the first powerplay opportunity when Kelly Babstock would be called for Slashing, but the Beauts would kill off the penalty and generate an offense rush for themselves leading to Emily Pfalzer letting go of a bomb from the point to give the Beauts a late 1-0 lead. However, the Whitecaps would not sit back, and they would force a turnover and break Amy Menke into the Beauts zone to score top shelf above Nicole Hensley’s glove to tie the game with less than two minutes in the first period.

     

    For the second period, we would see a lot of back and forth between the two teams, however, the period would be plagued with four tripping penalties and neither team capitalizing on their powerplay opportunities. Both Hensley and Amanda Leveille played spectacular im this period.

     

    For the third period we would see things heat up as both teams trade chances and getting really close calls to swing the game their way, but both teams are getting great goaltending, some solid defense, and most importantly some really, really lucky bounces. However, neither team could get that next goal before the end of regulation, so this game will now go into overtime.

     

    In overtime it would only take 49 seconds for Lee Stecklein to bomb a point shot from a Katie McGovern pass to win the Minnesota Whitecaps their first ever Isobel Cup Championship in their first season in the NWHL.

     

    Lineups:

    Buffalo Beauts:

    Hayley Scamurra – Maddie Elia – Dani Cameranesi

    Emily Janiga – Kelly Babstock – Julianna Iafallo

    Corinne Buie – Annika Zalewski – Taylor Accursi

    Blake Bolden – Emily Pfalzer

    Lisa Chesson – Savannah Harmon

    Jacque Greco – Emily Pfalzer

    Blake Bolden – Sarah Edney

    Nicole Hensley

    Julia DiTondo

     

    Minnesota Whitecaps:

    Kendall Coyne-Schofield – Hannah Brandt – Amy Menke

    Jonna Curtis – Katie McGovern – Kate Schipper

    Kalli Funk – Laura Barnes – Allie Thunstrom

    Lee Stecklein – Amanda Boulier

    Winny Brown – Lisa Martinson

    Emma Stauber – Chelsey Rosenthal

    Amanda Leveille

    Julie Friend

     

    First Period:

    Beauts Penalty – 12:49 – Kelly Babstock 2 minutes for Slashing

    Beauts Goal – 17:01 – Emily Pfalzer from Blake Bolden and Annika Zalewski

    Whitecaps Goal – 18:23 – Amy Menke from Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein

     

    End of 1st – BUF – 1       MIN – 1

    Shots              08                04

    Faceoffs         08                05

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Beauts Penalty – 3:58 – Savannah Harmon 2 minutes for Tripping

    Beauts Penalty – 12:16 – Dani Cameranesi 2 minutes for Tripping

    Whitecaps Penalty – 12:45 – Amanda Boulier 2 minutes for Tripping

    Whitecaps Penalty – 16:35 – Lauren Barnes 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – BUF- 1        MIN- 1

    Shots               16                 18

    Faceoffs          21                 17

    PP                   0/2                  0/3

     

    Third Period:

    Whitecaps Penalty – 4:54 – Emma Stauber 2 minutes for Interference

    Beauts Penalty – 16:19 – Kelly Babstock 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 3rd – BUF – 1         MIN – 1

    Shots              23                   29

    Faceoffs        31                    22

    PP                 0/3                    0/4

     

    Overtime:

    Whitecaps Goal – :49 – Lee Stecklein from Katie McGovern

     

    End of OT – BUF – 1         MIN – 2

    Shots              23                   30

    Faceoffs        31                    24

    PP                 0/3                    0/4

     

     

    Huge thanks to Erik Wollschlager of Die By The Blade for the assistance with the lineups

  • TXHT Podcast – 3/16/19

    TXHT Podcast – 3/16/19

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

     

    Audio Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

     

    Michael and Steve talk about an array of topics going on in the world of hockey including a preview of the NWHL Isobel Cup Championship Game between the Minnesota Whitecaps and the Buffalo Beauts.

     

    Also amongst the topics discussed on the show, Michael and Steve talk about the Morgan Reilly situation, and how poorly it was handled by the media and the fans. Plus they discuss the current states of the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs, How Tom Wilson is doing, and the questionable decisions by the Department of Player Safety.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Saturday, March 16th, 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.

  • March 12th, 2019 — News and Notes

    March 12th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Tuesday, March 12th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were seven contests in NHL action last night.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations and their respective owners

     

    Yesterday’s Results (Home team is in CAPS):

     

    Tampa Bay 6, TORONTO 2

    The Tampa Bay Lightning would take on the Toronto Maple Leafs and would win the contest by the score of 6-2.

    The Lightning would go on to out shoot the Maple Leafs in the contest.

    Tampa Bay’s Cedric Paquette and Tyler Johnson would each score twice in the contest to give the Lightning their 53rd win on the season.  And would be the seventh club to get the 110 point mark in 70 games or fewer.

    TXHT has your complete coverage of the contest between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs at the following page.

     

    NY ISLANDERS 2, Columbus 0

    The New York Islanders would go on to defeat the reeling Columbus Blue Jackets with a 2-0 win and in the contest, Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss would have 31 saves.

     

    PHILADELPHIA 3, Ottawa 2

    The Philadelphia Flyers would go on to defeat the Ottawa Senators with a 3-2 win, thanks to three unanswered goals in the second period to seal the win for Philadelphia last night.

     

    San Jose 3, MINNESOTA 0

    The San Jose Sharks would go on to shutout the Minnesota Wild with a 3-0 win and with the win, San Jose would move to the top of the Pacific Division standings.


    *Image is the property of the San Jose Sharks, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

     

    CHICAGO 7, Arizona 1

    The Chicago Blackhawks would take on the Arizona Coyotes and would go on to crush the Coyotes by the score of 7-1.

    Chicago’s Brendan Perlini would go on to register a hat trick in the contest.

    Chicago’s Jonathan Toews would also go on to successfully register a penalty shot in the contest.

     

    Carolina 3, COLORADO 0

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes would go on to face off against the Colorado Avalanche and would escape with a shutout win.

    Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov would go on to score twice in the contest to guide the Hurricanes to the win.

     

     

    EDMONTON 3, NY Rangers 2 (OT)

    The Edmonton Oilers would have three different goal scorers in the contest and would go on to get a much needed win against the New York Rangers last night with the 3-2 overtime win.

     

     

     

    Today’s NHL schedule of games…

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats, please check out the NHL’s Morning Skate at the following page.

     

     

    FB_IMG_1551878102760

     

    Due to the postponement of the semifinal game on Sunday between the Metropolitan Riveters and the Minnesota Whitecaps, that contest will now be played on Friday night with the winner taking on the Buffalo Beauts on Sunday at 2 p.m., ET/1 p.m., CT at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota.

     

     

    The announcement of rescheduled contest was made yesterday and it would be determined that the 2019 NWHL Isobel Cup Final would be played at TRIA Rink.

     

    For more news on that, please check out the following tweets per the NWHL.

  • Riveters Punch Ticket To Minnesota

    Riveters Punch Ticket To Minnesota

    The NWHL had their playoff play-in game tonight; as it was the Metropolitan Riveters against the Connecticut Whale in Newark. The two teams had split the season series and were headed for an epic confrontation. At the end of the game, it was the Riveters who came out on top by a final score of 5-2. They now have the honor of flying to Minnesota and taking on the red hot Whitecaps on Sunday at TRIA Rink.

    A quick recap of the game. In the first period, the Riveters were dominating play early. Until a counterattacking rush by the Whale led to a goal coming from the captain Emily Fluke. Four minutes later, the Riveters would get one back, as Courtney Burke came around the net, and her shot hit the post and went in. Two minutes later, Whale rookie sensation Katerina Mrázová showed off some incredible moves and roofed a shot, off her backhand beating Katie Fitzgerald, giving the Whale a 2-1 lead.

    Three minutes later, the Riveters would claw back in the game before the end of the first, Alexa Gruschow would find herself in-between the hash marks and she fired a shot that beat a screened Erin O’Neil. The first period would end tied at 2.

    There was only one penalty called in the first, and it was late in the period. Why do I bring that up? In the second period, there was a grand total of 9 penalties called throughout the period. 5 penalties were dolled out against the Whale and 4 penalties were called on the Riveters. Unfortunately, there was nothing doing on both power plays as the penalty kills were performing phenomenally. At the end of the second period, there was no scoring and heading into the third, the game was still tied at 2.

    In the third, there were no penalties called, as the referee’s decided to swallow their whistles and let the players play. The Riveters got off to a quick start into the third as rookie Audra Richards continued to plague the Whale, sniping a shot over Erin O’Neil. The Whale pressed play hard, and had a few great chances, but Katie Fitzgerald shut the door on them. Late in the period, while the Whale were pressing the attack, Riveters forward Alexa Gruschow was sprung on a breakaway and deked to her back hand beating Erin O’Neil for a goal.

    Audra Richards would add the empty net at the end of the game, sealing the victory for the Riveters. Erin O’Neil made 22 saves off of 26 shots, and Katie Fitzgerald made 24 saves of 26 shots.

    For the Connecticut Whale, it means that their season is over. Unfortunately with an 11 game losing streak to boot. The team consistently plays hard and has proven to be able to skate with the best of them. What an incredible year the Whale have had, and I’m looking forward to the players continued development and taking the league by storm next season.

     

    3 Stars of the Game

    Whale

    Katerina Mrázová: The incredible rookie skated hard and had some incredible dekes to boot. Her hard work got her a goal and an assist on the scoreboard.

    Emily Fluke: The captain got the team going, scoring the first goal of the game. She made some great plays in the offensive zone that led to some significant chances for the Whale.

    Shannon Doyle: She’s the textbook example of what hard work is supposed to be, she was flying all over the ice. Jumping up on the rush in the offensive zone and blocking shots on the back end. She contributed with an assist, which is her 5th against the Riveters this season.

     

    Riveters

    Audra Richards: She really likes playing against the Whale. She had already scored 6 goals against them in the regular season, she added 2 more to that tally. One of them is a game winner.

    Alexa Gruschow: She contributed with two goals on the score sheet. Both goals were huge; as the first one tied the game at 2 and the second one, on the breakaway, gave the Riveters an insurance marker.

    Miye D’Oench: The Riveters forward played her last home game for them, and she had an incredible performance, tallying two assists.

     

    Boxscore

    The boxscore for this epic game can be found here:

    https://www.nwhl.zone/game/show/24666097?subseason=593663&referrer=4170043

  • March 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

    March 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Monday, March 4th, 2019, and these are your news and notes

    There were eight games on the NHL schedule yesterday…

    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Yesterday’s results:

    Washington 3, NY RANGERS 2 (SO)

    The Washington Capitals took on the New York Rangers for a matinee game and would escape this contest with a much needed win and would regain the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

    This game would not be without controversy in the shootout when Rangers goaltender Alexander Georgiev would throw his stick at an oncoming Alex Ovechkin on the latters shootout attempt.  It would at first be called a no goal but then after a meeting between all four on ice officials, it would be called a goal and the Capitals would pick up the win.

    TXHT has your full coverage of the contest between the Capitals and the Rangers at the following page.

    Philadelphia 4, NY ISLANDERS 1

    There would be four different goal scorers for the Philadelphia Flyers as they would take down the New York Islanders by the score of 4-1 yesterday afternoon.

    VEGAS 3, Vancouver 0

    The Vancouver Canucks would face off against the Vegas Golden Knights yesterday and would get crushed, losing by the score of 3-0.

    The Canucks would get out shot 49-19 in the contest and Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury would have his eighth shutout on the season in this contest, the most for a goaltender on the season.

     

    ANAHEIM 2, Colorado 1

    The Anaheim Ducks would take on the Colorado Avalanche and would get a much needed win for the Ducks.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1102368575824683008

    Ottawa 3, FLORIDA 2

     

    Winnipeg 5, COLUMBUS 2

    The Winnipeg Jets would visit the Columbus Blue Jackets and would come away with the 5-2 win over Columbus thanks to four goals in the contest by Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler.

     

    Nashville 3, MINNESOTA 2 (SO)

    The Nashville Predators would take on the Minnesota Wild and would escape with the 3-2 win in the shootout frame.

    SAN JOSE 5, Chicago 2

     

    Today there are only two games on the NHL slate.


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

     

    NWHL

     

    Yesterday would close out the regular season for the NWHL.  Two contests took place with the Minnesota Whitecaps visiting the Connecticut Whale and the Buffalo Beauts visiting the Metropolitan Riveters.

     

    Minnesota Whitecaps 4, CONNECTICUT WHALE 1

    First in the Minnesota Whitecaps at the Connecticut Whale game, the Minnesota Whitecaps would clinch the number one seed in the NWHL Isobel Cup playoffs with the 4-1 win over the Whale.

    Minnesota’s Lauren Barnes would score twice, these being the first goals of her NWHL career, and Amanda Boulier picked up two assists in the contest.  Whitecaps goaltender Amanda Leveille would go on to have 24 saves on 25 attempts in the contest to seal the first regular season championship for Minnesota who continued to make history for the franchise and the NWHL.

    Minnesota will host the winner of the play-in game between the Connecticut Whale and the Metropolitan Riveters on Sunday at 2:30 p.m., ET/1:30 p.m., CT at the TRIA Rink.

    TXHT has your coverage of the weekends contest for the Connecticut Whale at the following page.

    METROPOLITAN RIVETERS 4, Buffalo Beauts 3 (SO)

    In an exciting back and forth game, the Metropolitan Riveters would come back from a 2-0 deficit to take down the Buffalo Beauts with the 4-3 win in the shootout yesterday afternoon.

    Throughout the second period, there would be multiple penalties between both teams and Riveters Madison Parker would be the only one to take advantage of the extra woman on the ice with Parker’s goal at the 17:41 mark.

    Riveters Taylor Accursi would end up netting the winner in the shootout frame to seal the win for Metropolitan and they will now host the Connecticut Whale in the play-in contest of the 2019 NWHL Isobel Cup Playoffs on Thursday night at 7 p.m., ET at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House.  The winner of that contest will take on the Minnesota Whitecaps at TRIA Rink on Sunday at 2:30 p.m., ET.

     

    After these contests, the 2019 NWHL Isobel Cup Playoff schedule is now set.  You can see the schedule at the following link.

  • Whale Swept In Final Back To Back Of The Regular Season

    Whale Swept In Final Back To Back Of The Regular Season

    The Connecticut Whale played their last two games of the regular season at home at Terry Conners Rink. The first game was against the Buffalo Beauts and the second game was against the Minnesota Whitecaps.

     

    1st Game

    In the first game on Saturday, the Whale were defeated by the Buffalo Beauts. The Beauts jumped out to an early 3-0 lead by the end of the first period. Goals for the Beauts came from Annika Zalewski, Taylor Accursi, and Juliana Iafallo. Emily Pfalzer assisted on two of the goals in the first period.

    In the second period, there would be more Beauts dominance against the Whale, and late in the second period, the Beauts would get another breakthrough, the goal coming from Corinne Buie.

    In the third period, the Beauts would add another goal, it came from former Whale forward Kelly Babstock. It would be her fourth goal on the year and her first coming against her old squad. However, the Whale would spring to life a minute after the goal. Beauts forward Corinne Buie would take a slashing minor and on the ensuing power play, Whale defender Shannon Doyle scored. For Shannon Doyle, it was her fifth point in six games (one goal and four assists). Five minutes later, the Whale would add another goal from Rachael Ade.

    Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Whale would come to a comeback. The Beauts held on to take the game by a score of 5-2. Shenae Lundberg was the goalie of record for the Whale and she made 25 saves on 30 shots.

    3 Stars

    Shannon Doyle: Scoring on the powerplay, she now has three goals and five assists on the year, and now has eight points in her last eleven games.

    Rachael Ade: She now has two goals in her last three games as of Saturday. She pushes her totals to two goals and one assist for three points on the year.

    Katerina Mrázová: She added two primary assists assists adding to her points lead.

     

    2nd Game

    On Sunday, the Whale played their final home game of the regular season, against the Minnesota Whitecaps.

    In the first period, there were good back and forth action between the two teams. Unfortunately, a little over halfway through the first period, Whale forward Vanessa Gagnon went down with an apparent leg injury. Stunned by the situation, the Whitecaps would get a goal from Allie Thunstrom.

    In the second period, the Whitecaps would jump out to a 2-0 leas when Lauren Barnes beat Erin O’Neil. The Whale would get a goal back which was provided by their captain Emily Fluke. Mrázová came around the net and sent the puck across the crease and Fluke was there to put the puck home.

    https://twitter.com/WSportHilites/status/1102318153416278016

    Before the end of the second period, the Whitecaps would add to their lead with Lauren Barnes notching her second goal of the period and her second of the game.

    In the third period, there was a lot of great back and forth action, with great goaltending being supplied by both goalies Amanda Leveille and Erin O’Neil. However the Whale wouldn’t be able to make a comeback as Kendall Coyne Schofield would add an empty net goal. The Whitecaps would win the game by the final score of 4-1.

    3 Stars

    Erin O’Neil: The goalie of record for the Whale, she kept them in the game. She made 30 saves on 33 shots.

    Katerina Mrázová: Getting her third point over the weekend on an assist from the Emily Fluke goal, it pushes her point totals on the year to six goals and six assists for twelve points on the year.

    Emily Fluke: She notched her third goal of the year, which combined with her eight assists, gives her a point total of eleven. It is good for second on the team in points, finishing up an impressive sophomore campaign for her.

     

    Playoffs:

    The Whale will square off against the Metropolitan Riveters in the playoffs again; as it will be a rematch of last years semi-final matchup. The game will be at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House this Thursday March 7th at 7p EST.

     

    Tweet from Women’s Sports Highlights was used with their permission and you can follow them here: @WSportHilites