Today the NWHL announced another signing for the 2019-20 season.
At 1p the league announced that the Boston Pride has signed rookie forward Tori Sullivan from Northeastern to a one year contract.
Per the NWHL, Sullivan will receive $5,000 this season, and will partake in the 50 percent cut of revenue from league sponsorship and media deals. Plus she will receive 15 percent of revenue from apparel sold with her name on it.
TXHT will continue to provide NWHL coverage as more signings are announced.
Today the National Women’s Hockey League announced their forst two player signings for the 2019-20 NWHL season.
First signing announced at 1030a was that Kaleigh Fratkin resigned with the Boston Pride.
Fratkin signed a one year contract for $11,000.
"What makes me want to come back to the NWHL for another season is the excitement of the fans and how much growth and success the league has had in the last couple of years." – @fratkin13pic.twitter.com/OOnErkTinV
Then at 1130a today it was announced that Madison Packer resigned with the Metropolitan Riveters.
Packer’s contract is for one year and $12,000.
“I’m confident in the direction our sport is headed, and in the plan the NWHL has laid out for a strong season and positive experience for players and fans. It’s important to build off the momentum created by the league’s success last season." – @madison_packer_pic.twitter.com/q9cLYqTEKX
“Players competing in the 2019-20 season will also receive a 50 percent cut of all revenue from league-level sponsorship and media deals. Players also receive 15 percent of the revenue from apparel sold with their names on them.”
TXHT will continue to provide NWHL coverage as more signings are announced.
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.
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.
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.
Marc-Andre Fleury has recorded consecutive shutouts for the second time this season (also Nov. 23-24, 2018) and leads the League with eight performances in 2018-19. #NHLStats#VANvsVGKpic.twitter.com/Ho0v13v8I6
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.
*image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners
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.
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.
RECAP: @WhitecapsHockey claimed the regular-season title with a 4-1 win over the @CTWhale_NWHL!
TXHT has your coverage of the weekends contest for the Connecticut Whale at the following page.
Whale Swept In Final Back To Back Of The Regular Season The Connecticut Whale end the #NWHL regular season with loses to both the Buffalo Beauts and Minnesota Whitecaps at home. They will face the Metropolitan Riveters this… https://t.co/c7r6MIMOD4pic.twitter.com/sTow0hQACQ
RECAP: In an absolute thriller, the @Riveters came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the @BuffaloBeauts, 4-3, in the shootout and earned home ice for the No. 4 vs. No. 5 play-in game!
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.
For the second straight season, the @EdmontonOilers have a 40-goal scorer: Leon Draisaitl (40 in 2018-19) & @cmcdavid97 (41 in 2017-18).
The last time EDM had a 40-goal scorer in consecutive seasons: Mark Messier (45 in 1989-90) & Petr Klima (40 in 1990-91). #NHLStatspic.twitter.com/vaaMP25WBk
Boston Bruins Brad Marchand would score the lone goal in the contest with the goal at the 2:37 mark in the first period and he would be unsuccessful on registering the penalty shot in the first period at the 7:16 mark.
The Toronto Maple Leafs would have a convincing 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres last night in Toronto. For Toronto, there would be five different goal scorers in the contest.
TXHT has your coverage of the contest between the Maple Leafs and the Sabres at the following page.
The Pittsburgh Penguins would face off against the Montreal Canadiens last night and there would be four different goal scorers in the contest with Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel scoring two of the goals.
The Tampa Bay Lightning would tie the League record for fewest games to get to the 50 win mark with Lightning’s 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators last night.
Chalk up another milestone for the @TBLightning. On Saturday evening, the club matched the NHL record for fewest games required to reach the 50-win mark. #NHLStatspic.twitter.com/WNLE3q3D2e
In this contest, the Arizona Coyotes would take down the Detroit Red Wings with the 3-1 win and with the win, the Coyotes would win their sixth straight contest for the first time in seven seasons.
This win streak at six games means it is also the last time the team reached the postseason in the 2011-12 season, when they would reach the Western Conference Final.
There would be four different goal scorers for the Minnesota Wild as they would take down the Calgary Flames with the 4-2 win at the Calgary Saddledome last night.
In NWHL action yesterday, the Minnesota Whitecaps would defeat the Boston Pride with the 2-1 win. Minnesota’s Jonna Curtis would score the goal late to seal the win for the Whitecaps. This would be a crucial contest for the NWHL playoff standings.
RECAP: @Jonnacurtis6 comes up HUGE for @WhitecapsHockey, scoring the late game-winner for a 2-1 victory over @TheBostonPride in arguably the most important game of the season to date!
The other NWHL contest yesterday pitted the Buffalo Beauts against the Connecticut Whale and the Beauts would come away with their seventh straight win with the 5-2 win.
The Buffalo Beauts would open up the scoring with the games first five goals, with all five goals coming from different Beauts players.
The contest would be a hard fought battle, with a fair share of penalties throughout the entire contest.
RECAP: A balanced @BuffaloBeauts attack gives Buffalo their seventh straight win, a 5-2 victory over the @CTWhale_NWHL!
The NWHL Twitter Game of the Week pits the Metropolitan Riveters against the Buffalo Beauts and that game will be available on the NWHL’s Twitter page at 3 p.m., ET.
The other game today is the Minnesota Whitecaps facing off against the Connecticut Whale at 3 p.m., ET and that contest can be seen on the NWHL’s website at NWHL.zone.
The playoff outlook for the NWHL playoffs will be determined at the conclusion of today’s game with the NWHL Isobel Cup Playoff schedule being announced tomorrow.
The @BuffaloBeauts have clinched home ice for a semifinal.
The host of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game will be determined by today’s @CTWhale_NWHL and @Riveters results. The Whale currently hold the tiebreaker.
The Pittsburgh Penguins would face off against the Buffalo Sabres and would come out of this contest with a point, falling to the Buffalo Sabres by the score of 4-3 in the overtime frame.
*Image is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins and their respective owners
The Philadelphia Flyers would double up the New Jersey Devils last night with the 6-3 win and this would also mark the first win as a Philadelphia Flyer for Cam Talbot.
The Washington Capitals would visit the New York Islanders last night and would come away with two crucial points in the division standings. Washington would go on to defeat the Islanders by the score of 3-1.
Alex Ovechkin would register his 45th goal on the season for the 10th time in his career and now holds the League record for most 45 goals in a season.
Alex Ovechkin of the @Capitals scored 45+ goals in a season for 10th time in his NHL career and eclipsed Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy (both 9x) for the most such campaigns in League history. #NHLStatspic.twitter.com/OSxV2ZoMHk
TXHT has your full complete coverage of the contest at the following page.
Game Recap – 3/1/2019 – Washington Capitals v. New York Islanders After a controversial goal by the #Isles to start the game it would be an awkward self goal by Josh Bailey to give the #ALLCAPS the 3-1 victory. https://t.co/sqmBTRKXrSpic.twitter.com/ubBYVKSqhL
The Montreal Canadiens would visit the New York Rangers and they would come out of New York with the 4-2 win last night with Montreal’s Joel Arima registered hat trick in the contest.
24 des 28 buts de Brendan Gallagher cette saison ont été inscrits à égalité numérique, bon pour le 7e rang dans la LNH.
24 of Brendan Gallagher's 28 goals this season have been scored at even-strength, which is good for seventh in the NHL.#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/Z8mjvTekfn
Carolina’s Sebastian Aho would score his fourth SHG (shorthanded goal) on the season and would move into a tie with three others for the League lead.
Sebastian Aho of the @NHLCanes scored his fourth shorthanded goal of the season to move into a tie with Anthony Cirelli, Mark Jankowski and Michael Grabner for the League lead. #NHLStatspic.twitter.com/ZMYWIfZJ6R
There would be five different goal scorers for the Winnipeg Jets in their 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators last night. With the win for the Jets, they leapt ahead of the Predators for the Central Division lead.
The San Jose Sharks would squeak by the Colorado Avalanche with the 4-3 win, with San Jose’s Marcus Sorensen scoring two goals in the contest. On the three Avalanche goals, Gabriel Landeskog would have an assist on all three goals.
Three assists for Gabe Landeskog and an incredible goal from Sam Girard, but we didn’t put together a full game.#GoAvsGohttps://t.co/LcFPRCFVeW
The final games on the NWHL Regular Season begin tonight with the Minnesota Whitecaps visiting the Boston Pride at 7:30 p.m., ET. The game can be seen on NWHL.zone.
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.
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.
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:
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.
Emily Fluke’s trick shot attempt had a little bit of everything — cowboy hats, backwards goalies… pic.twitter.com/iWEfoDrfrb
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!
Looked like it was tied at the end of all competitions, we went to a shootout captain vs captain. Team Szabados with the win!!#NWHLAllStar#NWHL
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.
It wouldn’t be Nashville without someone throwing a catfish on the ice that landed right by Shannon Doyle just before the opening faceoff.
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.
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
The Boston Bruins would take on the Washington Capitals and would come away with the 1-0 win. The Washington Capitals have a record of 2-6-2 in their last ten games.
There would be four different scorers for the Montreal Canadiens in this contest against the Edmonton Oilers and would win this contest 4-3 in the overtime frame.
Les Canadiens ont dorénavant une fiche de 8-1-2 face aux équipes canadiennes lors du week-end du Super Bowl.
Edmonton would end the weekend of games with overtime heartbreakers, including losing in overtime in this contest to the Canadiens.
It was déjà vu for the #Oilers in Montreal on Sunday as they settled for their second straight single point with a second straight overtime heartbreaker. https://t.co/VYdCCxMyCq
Four different goal scorers would help the Calgary flames defeat the the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday afternoon.
The Buffalo Beauts faced off against the Metropolitan Riveters in the NWHL Twitter Game of the Week and would come away with the 3-2 win to notch their fifth straight win. With the win, the Buffalo Beauts moved to a record of 9-4-0 on the season.
This would be the first game for the Beauts at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House since the Isobel Cup final last season, when they would fall to the Riveters 1-0.
Both teams’ top lines were held at bay throughout the contest as the Beauts got goals from Taylor Accursi, Julianna Iafallo and Savannah Harmon.
For the Riveters’, their third line produced with Rebecca Morse and Kristin Lewicki each scoring their first goals of the season with Alexa Aramburu picking up the assists on both of the goals.
The Beauts will next have NWHL action against the Metropolitan Riveters on February 23rd.
The Whale’s next NWHL contest will be on Sunday, February 24th against the Boston Pride.
RECAP: @TheBostonPride pick up a 3-1 win over the @CTWhale_NWHL in front of another sold-out crowd!
The Boston Pride would face off against the Connecticut Whale and would come away with the 3-1 win. The Boston Pride are now 9-4-0 on the season, tied with the Buffalo Beauts for the same mark. With the loss, the Whale are now 2-9-2 on the season.
For the Pride, Jillian Dempsey and Denisa Krizova would both have a goal and assist in this contest. Dempsey leads all Boston Pride skaters with nine goals on the season and is second in the league.
Boston would get on the board just 1:20 into the game with Krizova scoring the goal.
Connecticut’s Rachael Ade would score to tie the game 1-1 with 55 seconds left in the first period. That would be Ade’s first career NWHL goal.
Dempsey would score her ninth goal of the season with her goal less than two minutes into the second period. Throughout most of the third period, the Whale would spend this time on the penalty kill. Toni Ann Milano would take advantage of a good rebound of the puck, sealing the 3-1 win for the Boston Pride.
For a full breakdown of the contest, TXHT’s Chris Vasilas has your recap at the following page.
Here is my recap of tonight's #Whale game against the #Pride.
Next weekend will be the #NWHLAllStarGame in Nashville, TN. I WILL BE THERE, COME SAY HI!!
The NWHL All-Star Game will commence next weekend in Nashville, Tennessee with the resumption of the NWHL schedule on Monday, February 18th, with the Boston Pride taking on the Metropolitan Riveters in a make-up contest that was postponed due to inclement weather.