Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of January 20th through 26th.
First Star – Alina Muller (F – BOS)
The Fleet scored six goals while splitting two games last week, and the dynamic Müller played a role in four of them – scoring a goal and setting up two others in Boston’s 4-1 victory over Toronto Wednesday at the Tsongas Center, then adding an assist in Sunday’s 5-2 loss at Minnesota. Goals in the first or last five minutes of a period can create huge swings in momentum, and Müller was at her most productive at those junctures against Toronto. She opened the scoring at 4:27 of the first, turning a wrist shot from the rim of the left-wing circle into her first goal of the season. After her strong forecheck helped Boston establish some solid offensive zone time, Müller used a no-look backhand pass across the goalmouth to set up Emily Brown’s first goal of the season at 17:48 of the session. Then, just 58 seconds into the third period, Müller grabbed the rebound of her own shot and set up Shay Maloney for a 3-0 Boston lead. Sunday at Minnesota, Müller set up the Hilary Knight goal that brought the Fleet within 2-1. After going without a point in her first eight games this season, Muller has points in three straight contests.
Second Star – Hannah Miller (F – TOR)
Miller scored twice against New York Saturday, lifting the Sceptres to a 4-2 victory over New York and giving Toronto its second victory in as many appearances at the Battle On Bay Street, presented by Scotiabank. Before a crowd of 19,102 at Scotiabank Arena, Miller was a force in the closing minutes of the first and second periods. She opened the scoring at 18:34 of the opening session, driving to the front of the net and tipping in a point shot from Kali Flanagan. Then, at 18:47 of the second, Miller stole the puck, broke in alone up the middle and fired a 15-foot shot between the pads of Sirens goalie Corinne Schroeder for her sixth goal of the season. Miller thus capped her first two-goal game of the season and her third goal in two Battle On Bay Street appearances; she also scored in a 3-0 victory over Montréal in the inaugural edition of the classic. With 6-3—9 in 12 games this season, Miller is within one of matching her goal total for 23 games during the 2024 season. She shares the PWHL goal-scoring lead with last week’s Third Star, Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield.
Third Star – Taylor Heise (F – MIN)
With five shots in a 1-0 loss to Ottawa on Tuesday and seven more in Sunday’s 5-2 victory over Boston, Heise produced 12 of her team’s 49 shots – nearly one-fourth of the Frost’s total across the two home games at Xcel Energy Center. In Sunday’s triumph, the Lake City, Minnesota native opened the scoring with a snap shot from the inner rim of the left wing circle – igniting a seven-point performance by her line with Michela Cava (0-2—2) and Coyne Schofield (1-2—3). After the Fleet had halved Minnesota’s lead to 2-1, Heise powered a rising wrist shot over Emma Söderberg’s left glove from almost the same location for the game-winner and the fourth two-goal performance of her PWHL career; last season, she had two goals plus an assist against Toronto on Jan. 10, plus consecutive two-goal showings in the playoffs. With 4-8—12 in 13 games this season, including three two-point performances, Heise has matched last season’s goal total and is within one of matching her assist total over 19 games as a rookie in 2024. With 42 shots, Heise is third in the PWHL – one behind Coyne Schofield and three behind Knight.
*All Graphics and Pictures courtesy of the PWHL.
*Player Profiles written by PWHL Staff.
TXHT may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through Cool Hockey and Dr. Squatch ads/links in this article.
Leave a Reply