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Tag: Minnesota Whitecaps

  • 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

  • March 3rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    March 3rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, March 3rd, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 10 games in NHL action yesterday. (Home team in italics)

    Edmonton 4, COLUMBUS 0

     

    LOS ANGELES 6, Chicago 3

    There would be six different scorers for the Los Angeles Kings last night in the 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday afternoon.

     

    BOSTON 1, New Jersey 0

    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.

     

    TORONTO 5, Buffalo 2

    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 Maple Leafs would also reach the 40 win plateau for the season in the fastest amount in the long and storied history of the franchise.

     

    Pittsburgh 5, MONTREAL 1

    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.

     

     

    TAMPA BAY 5, Ottawa 1

    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.

     

    Carolina 4, FLORIDA 3 (OT)

    The Carolina Hurricanes would win their fifth straight game with the 4-3 win in overtime over the Florida Panthers.

    Carolina’s Sebastian Aho would become the first player in franchise history to score the game winner in three consecutive games.

     

    Dallas 4, ST LOUIS 1

     

     

    ARIZONA 3, Detroit 1

    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.

     

    Minnesota 4, CALGARY 2

    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 a pre-game ceremony, the Calgary Flames retired Jarome Iginla’s number 12 to the rafters.

     

    There are eight games in NHL action today.

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats, you can see it at the following page.

    NWHL

    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.

    Minnesota Whitecaps 2, BOSTON PRIDE 1

     

    Buffalo Beauts 5, CONNECTICUT WHALE 2

    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.

    There are two NWHL games today…

    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.

  • March 2nd, 2019 — News and Notes

    March 2nd, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, March 2nd, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were eight contests in NHL action last night.

     

    BUFFALO 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT)

    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

    Philadelphia 6, NEW JERSEY 3

    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.

     

     

    Washington 3, NY ISLANDERS 1

    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.

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

     

    Montreal 4, NY RANGERS 2

    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.

     

    CAROLINA 5, St. Louis 2

    The Carolina Hurricanes would come away from this contest against the St. Louis Blues with a 5-2 in Raleigh last night.

    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.

     

    WINNIPEG 5, Nashville 3

    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.

     

    Vegas 3, ANAHEIM 0

    Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury would come away with a shutout win for Vegas in their 3-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks last night.

     

    SAN JOSE 4, Colorado 3

    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.

    *Image is the property of the San Jose Sharks Twitter page.

     

    There are 10 contests in NHL action today

    *Image is the property of the NHL and NHL Public Relations Twitter page

     

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

     

    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.

    TXHT will have coverage of the contest tomorrow.

  • Whale Set For Weekend Back To Back

    Whale Set For Weekend Back To Back

    The Connecticut Whale will close out their regular season with back to back home games at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford, CT, against the Buffalo Beauts and the Minnesota Whitecaps.

    The first game against the Beauts will be on Saturday at 6p EST. The last time the Whale played the Beauts at home was on Opening Day in which the Whale were defeated 4-0. Also, unfortunately, the last game the Whale played against the Beauts, they were also defeated 3-1 in Buffalo.

    The game can be watched here:

    https://www.nwhl.zone/watch

    3 Players to Watch

    Katerina Mrázová: Having scored the only Whale goal against the Beauts, she looks to continue her great rookie campaign, in which she has scored six goals on the year.

    Emily Fluke: She has had a great sophomore campaign in the NWHL, having scored two goals and added seven assists. She looks to continue to lead her team with fierceness and tenacity.

    Michelle Löwenhielm: The Swedish rookie scored in her last game against the Boston Pride, as she looks to continue her great play she has consistently displayed all season long.

    The Whale’s next game on Sunday is against the Minnesota Whitecaps. In the three previous games though, they have shown that they can skate well with them. Unfortunately the last game, they were defeated by the score of 9-0 and worse yet, that was the game they lost star goalie Meeri Räisänen for the rest of the season. Their last home game against the Whitecaps, they were beaten by a score of 4-1. The Sunday game will be at 3p EST.

    The game can be watched here:

    https://www.nwhl.zone/watch

    3 Players to Watch

    Amanda Boulier: In her previous homecoming match, the former Whale defender registered a goal and added two assists. Also, in her last game against the Whale in Minnesota, she scored a goal.

    Michelle Löwenhielm: Having scored the only goal against the Whitecaps, off a sweet assist from Emily Fluke, the Swedish All Star has three goals and three assists in her rookie year in the NWHL

    Shannon Doyle: She got a secondary assist on the Löwenhielm goal against the Whitecaps in Connecticut. She currently has registered five points in her last seven games.

  • 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

  • NHL ALL-STAR SKILL COMPETITION

    NHL ALL-STAR SKILL COMPETITION

    Here are your results for the NHL All-Star Game Skill Competition

    Faster Skater

    1. Connor McDavid – 13.378
    2. Jack Eichel – 13.582
    3. Matthew Barzal – 13.780
    4. Miro Heiskanen – 13.914
    5. Elias Petterson – 13.930
    6. Cam Atkinson – 14.152
    7. Kendal Coyne – 14.346
    8. Clayton Keller – 14.526

    Puck Control

    1. Johnny Gaudreau – 27.045
    2. Patrick Kane – 28.611
    3. Claude Giroux – 30.270
    4. Mark Scheifele – 32.161
    5. Gabriel Landeskog – 33.425
    6. John Tavares – 35.210
    7. Jeff Skinner – 35.407
    8. Elias Petterson – 43.632

    Saves Streak

    1. Henrik Lundqvist -12
    2. Andrei Vasilevskiy -8
    3. Devan Dubnyk – 7
    4. Marc-Andre Fleury 6
    5. John Gibson -3
    6. Braden Holtby -2
    7. Jimmy Howard – 2
    8. Pekka Rinne -2

    Premier Passer

    1. Leon Draisaitl – 1:09.088
    2. Sebastian Aho – 1:18.534
    3. Ryan O’Reilly – 1:25.897
    4. Keith Yandle – 1:34.661
    5. Thomas Chabot – 1:40.588
    6. Roman Josi – 1:40
    7. Erik Karlsson – 1:58.824
    8. Mikko Rantanen – 2:15

    Hardest Shot

    1. John Carlson – 102.8
    2. Brent Burns – 100.6
    3. Seth Jones – 99.4
    4. Steven Stamkos 96.2

    Accuracy Shooting:

    1. David Pastrnak – 11.3
    2. Kris Letang – 12.69
    3. Drew Doughty – 13.6
    4. Joe Pavelski – 14.42
    5. Nikita Kucherov – 19.00
    6. Blake Wheeler – 18.6
    7. Auston Matthews -20.16
    8. Kyle Palmieri -20.21
  • January 20th, 2019 — News and Notes

    January 20th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, January 20th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 11 contests on the NHL schedule yesterday.

     

     

     

    Anaheim 3, NEW JERSEY 2

     

    In the first contest of the day, the Anaheim Ducks took on the New Jersey Devils in the NHL European Game of the Week.  The Ducks, after getting their first win after losing twelve straight contests on Thursday night, would defeat New Jersey by the score of 3-2.

     

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1086790317385236481

     

    For the New Jersey Devils, they enter their bye week having lost their last three games and seven out of the last ten.

     

    COLORADO 7, Los Angeles 1

     

    The Colorado Avalanche took on the Los Angeles Kings and would soundly defeat the Kings thanks to six goals in the second period and would go on to win this contest by the score of 7-1.

     

     

    This would also be a heavily-filled penalty contest for the Kings, who amassed eight penalties in the contest.  Five of the eight penalties would come in the third period alone.

     

    NY Rangers 3, BOSTON 2

     

    Philadelphia 5, MONTREAL 2

    There would be four different scores for the Philadelphia Flyers in the contest and two different scorers for the Montreal Canadiens in this contest.

     

    Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher would lead all skaters for the Canadiens with eight shots on goal, but would not score on any of those shots.

     

     

    For the Flyers, goaltender Carter Hart would have 35 saves in the contest.  Hart has a record of 6-5-1 in those 12 contests.

     

     

    TAMPA BAY 6, San Jose 3

    Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos would go on to have a two goal, one assist performance and help the Lightning defeat the San Jose Sharks by the score of 6-3.

     

     

    San Jose Sharks Evander Kane would also have a two goal performance and Marcus Sorensen would become the eighth player for the Sharks this season to have at least ten goals.

     

    ST. LOUIS 3, Ottawa 2

    St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington would become the sixth different goaltender in Blues history to have at least a point in at least their first five contests.

     

     

    DALLAS 4, Winnipeg 2

    The Dallas Stars would take on the Winnipeg Jets and double up the Jets 4-2.

     

    In this contest for Dallas, there would be four different goal scorers in the contest.

    The Jets would not score until the third period and would fight to come back but it would still not be enough.

     

     

    Florida 4, NASHVILLE 2

     

    Nashville’s Nick Bonino and Auston Watson would score the goals for the Predators in this contest.

     

    MINNESOTA 2, Columbus 1

     

    Minnesota’s Zach Parise would score one of the two goals, his 20th on the season, in a hard fought battle between both teams in the contest.

    Columbus Blue Jackets Artemi Panarin would score the lone goal for the Blue Jackets in this contest.

     

    Calgary 5, EDMONTON 2

     

    Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi would notch two assists, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Milan Lucic notching the only two goals for the Oilers in this contest.

     

     

    VEGAS 7, Pittsburgh 3

     

    Vegas Golden Knights Jonathan Marchessault became the second different player to record hat tricks for the franchise.  Marchessault joins William Karlsson, who has two hat tricks with the franchise.

     

     

    Pittsburgh’s infographic from last night’s game.  Credit of the image goes to the Pittsburgh Penguins Twitter.

     

     

    In the lone NWHL of the day, the Connecticut Whale took on the Minnesota Whitecaps.

     

    MINNESOTA WHITECAPS 2, Connecticut Whale 0

     

    Minnesota Allie Thunstrom and Hannah Brandt scored the two goals for the Whitecaps in a hard fought battle for both sides.

    Minnesota’s win put them back in first place in the NWHL standings with a record of 9-4-0 on the season

     

    The game was scoreless until toward the end of the second period when Allie Thunstrom scored her third goal on the season.  The goals were assisted by  Brooke White-Lancette and  Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal. 

    Minnesota’s second goal was scored by Hannah Brandt, her fifth on the season.  Brandt’s goal would be assisted by Amy Menke and Kendall Coyne Shofield.

     

    Connecticut Whale goaltender Meeri Räisänen would go on to have a 29 save performance in the contest and would have more phenomenal saves throughout the contest.

     

    This contest ended up being the Whitecaps “You Can Play” game in which all Whitecaps players donned jersey with rainbow numbers and accents. The You Can Play Project is an initiative that emphasizes equality and respect in sport, particularly for LGBTQ+ individuals.

     

    Today there is only one contest in the NWHL.  The Minnesota Whitecaps will be hosting their last home game of the regular season.  The game will be available to watch on NWHL.zone/watch

     

    The game that was to take place between the Metropolitan Riveters and the Boston Pride has been postponed to a date to be determined.

     

     

    Today there are five games on the NHL schedule.

     

  • Whitecaps And Whale Set For Weekend Skirmish

    Whitecaps And Whale Set For Weekend Skirmish

    The Minnesota Whitecaps and Connecticut Whale will get to face each other two times this weekend. The first game will be on Saturday January 19th at 630p CST and Sunday January 20th at 2p CST. Both games will be in Minnesota at Tria Rink.

     

    News and Notes

    Earlier in the week, there was some roster moves the Whale had made. Erica Ayala broke the news about back up Whale goaltender and Annapolis, MD native Sam Walther no longer being with the team.

     

     

    Also, Mike Murphy, reported that the Whale had released two more forwards, Randi Griffin (a 2018 Olympian for the Unified South Korean team), and Sam Donovan (a 2017 NWHL 1st Round Draft Pick, 5th Overall).

     

     

    Murphy went on to report that the Whale did indeed also sign a goalie to replace Sam Walther, a familiar face, goalie coach and former Whale player Laura Brennan. She even dressed as Räisänen’s backup in the last game on January 13th against the Whitecaps.

     

     

    Last Game

    Last game was rough sledding for the Whale against the Whitecaps; they lost that game 4-1. Goals for the Whitecaps came from Jonna Curtis, Hanna Brandt, former Whale defender Amanda Boulier, and Amy Menke. The Whale were able to convert once against the Whitecaps, the goal coming from Michelle Löwenhielm, it was her second on the season.

     

    ➡️@michellelowen!!! Whale have cut the lead to 1 #NWHL pic.twitter.com/zl0YaA45q7

    — Women’s Sports Highlights (@WSportHilites) January 13, 2019

     

    Players to Watch

    The Whale will look to bounce back this weekend. They have proven that they can skate with the Whitecaps team, but need to find a way to convert the offensive chances they have been getting.

     

    Whitecaps: Amanda Boulier, D – The former Whale defender played really well against her old club tallying a goal and two assists, as she looks to build off that performance with a strong showing over the weekend.

     

    Whale: Michelle Löwenhielm, F – The Whale forward has had a good year this season, as she is tied for third on the team with five points. She currently has two goals in her last three games, and she’s been playing on the top line with Fluke and Mrázová, so she is getting good offensive chances.

     

    Where to Watch

    The game on Saturday is in fact, an NWHL Twitter Game of the Week, and it can be viewed here:

    https://twitter.com/nwhl

     

    The game on Sunday is going to be a little different, and the game can be viewed here:

    https://www.nwhl.zone/watch

     

    Tweets from Women’s Sports Highlights and Erica Ayala were used with their permission.