Tag: PWHL Three Stars of the Week

Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of March 31st through April 6th.

First Star – Shiann Darkangelo (F – OTT)

Darkangelo scored in each period of Ottawa’s 4-0 victory over the Fleet at Boston’s Tsongas Center Apr. 2, collecting her first career hat trick and helping lift the Charge to its third victory in four games. Darkangelo needed just four shots to score the three goals, and she notched a few “firsts” in the process. She scored on her first shot of the game, just 45 seconds into the contest – the quickest goal in team history. The tally also was Darkangelo’s first career power-play goal. She added scores at 7:42 of the second period and 6:29 of the third to complete her second three-point performance of the season — she had three assists in an 8-3 victory over Minnesota Feb. 13 – and the third hat trick by an Ottawa player this season. Tereza Vanišová has the other two. The performance lifted Darkangelo’s season stats to 8-6—14, tied with Jincy Roese (3-11—14) for fourth on the Charge behind Gabbie Hughes (5-10—15), Emily Clark (9-8—17) and Vanišová (15-5—20).

Second Star – Gwyneth Philips (G – OTT)

Philips made 17 saves in the 4-0 triumph at Boston, becoming the first rookie PWHL netminder to record multiple shutouts with her second of the campaign. Boosted by the offensive support supplied by Darkangelo’s hat trick and a goal by Roese, Philips backstopped the victory that lifted Ottawa into a playoff spot – one point behind the third-place Fleet and one ahead of Minnesota entering the international break. The 24-year-old Philips recorded her other shutout with a 1-0 verdict at Minnesota Jan. 21; she made 22 stops and protected the lead Brianne Jenner provided with a goal just 3:19 into the contest. The two shutouts make Philips one of three PWHL goalkeepers with multiple shutouts this season: Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney leads with three and Schroeder has two. Philips’ 2.25 goals-against average stands fifth in the PWHL, and her .915 save percentage ranks third behind Boston’s Aerin Frankel (.924) and Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens (.932).

Third Star – Corinne Schroeder (G – NY)

Schroeder sent New York into the international break with 16 saves in a 1-0 triumph over the Victoire at Place Bell. A goal by Jade Downie-Landry, scored with 12 seconds left in the first period, was the difference maker, and Schroeder made the lead stand up with her third shutout of the season – taking the league lead in that department and tying the single-season record set by Toronto’s Kristen Campbell in the PWHL’s inaugural campaign. The contest marked Schroeder’s second 1-0 triumph of the season; the 25-year-old from Elm Creek, Manitoba noched a similar result against Toronto Jan. 12, keeping the Sceptres off the scoreboard until Jessie Eldridge tallied at 3:37 of overtime. That victor marked Schroeder’s second consecutive shutout; she made 26 stops in a 5-0 triumph at Minnesota Jan 4. Schroeder has faced 544 shots in 19 appearances for the Sirens this season, second only to the 632 Frankel has faced in 22 games with the Fleet.

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Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of March 24th through 30th.

First Star – Laura Stacey (F – MON)

Stacey became just the fifth player in PWHL history to record four points in a game when she collected two goals and two assists in Montréal’s 4-1 victory at Minnesota Wednesday. Her first multiple-goal game of the season earns her “3 Stars of the Week” recognition for the third time in five weeks and place her alone in second in the PWHL 3 Stars of the Week standings. The four points marked her best single game of the season, surpassing the 1-2—3 she scored against Toronto Jan. 30. Both of Stacey’s assists set up goals by 3 Stars of the Week standings leader Marie-Philip Poulin; the two have combined on 10 goals this season, the third most by any duo in the PWHL. Stacey had her fourth power-play goal of the season, tied with five others for the league lead, and her third game-winning goal. Each of those scores pushed Stacey past last season’s total in those categories, and the four-point game increased her season’s total to 10-10—20 – surpassing last season’s 10-8–18. With 98 shots on goal, Stacey leads the PWHL and her plus-11 rating is tied for third behind Toronto’s Hannah Miller (+13) and Poulin (+15).

Second Star – Tereza Vanišová (F – OTT)

Vanišová followed last week’s First Star of the Week honors with a history-making performance Saturday in Ottawa’s 2-1 Takeover Tour triumph over Boston at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Before 8,578 fans, a record crowd for professional women’s hockey in Missouri, Vanišová scored twice in 32 seconds – the fastest two goals by the same player in PWHL history. By scoring at 16:26 and 16:58 of the third period, Vanišová helped the Charge rally for a hugely important victory to remain in the thick of the playoff hunt entering Wednesday’s critical game in Boston. Her performance knocked 17 seconds off the prior mark for the two fastest goals: Boston’s Susanna Tapani scored twice in 49 seconds (at 16:43 and 17:32 of the third period at Minnesota Jan. 2, a game the Frost won, 4-3, in overtime). Vanišová also had an assist in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Sirens: she set up Brianne Jenner for the goal that gave the Charge a 3-0 lead with 4:02 left in the second period before New York roared back with six consecutive scores in the third. With 15-5—20, Vanišová has nearly doubled last season’s point total (2-10—12 with Montréal and Ottawa). She leads Ottawa in goals and points and is tied with Stacey for 10th overall among the PWHL’s scoring leaders.

Third Star – Daryl Watts (F – TOR)

Watts scored half of her team’s six goals last week, collecting two in Toronto’s 4-2 victory at Boston Wednesday and one in Sunday’s 5-2 loss at Minnesota. The Boston contest marked Watts’ third game of two goals this season; only Poulin, with four, has more. One of her goals at Boston was scored on the power play – Watts’ fourth such goal of the season, tied with five others for the PWHL lead. With eight power-play assists, Watts is third in the league, behind teammates Miller (9) and Renata Fast (11), and her 93 shots trails only the 95 by Boston’s Hilary Knight and the 98 by Stacey. On Sunday, Watts pulled the Sceptres within 4-2 with 12:25 remaining in regulation before Minnesota’s Taylor Heise scored her second goal of the game to crush the comeback with 5:44 to play. Watts has points in five of her past six games, collecting 5-3—8 and 20 shots in that span, and a league-leading eight multi-point games for the season.

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Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of March 17th through 23rd.

First Star – Tereza Vanišová (F – OTT)

Vanišová scored three goals in an 8:44 span at Prudential Center Saturday and became the first player in PWHL history to record two hat tricks in a season as the Charge collected a 5-2 victory over the New York Sirens. Vanišová opened the spree by barging into the slot and tipping in Aneta Tejralová’s right-point shot at 15:11 of the second period. Just 2:18 later, Vanišová grabbed her own rebound and skated behind the net before pulling in front for a 10-foot shot past Corinne Schroeder from the goalie’s left. Vanišová completed her second hat trick in nine games by converting a rebound at 3:55 of the third period. She finished with a career-high nine shots while notching her fifth multi-point game of the season. Her hat trick matched a similar performance in an 8-3 rout of Minnesota Feb. 13. With 13-4—17 for the season, Vanišová leads the Charge in goals and points. After taking just 42 shots in 23 games last season, she has 72 in 24 contests this season – the sixth-highest total in the PWHL.

Second Star – Kristen Campbell (G – TOR)

The Sceptres snared a pair of 2-1 triumphs last week and Campbell backstopped both of them, making 27 saves against New York on Wednesday and adding a season-high 32 Sunday in defeating Montréal at Place Bell before a sellout crowd of 10,172. In the latter victory, which pulled Toronto within three points of the first-place Victoire (both teams have five games remaining), Campbell made 17 stops in the second period and held the Victoire off the scoresheet until Marie-Philip Poulin connected on a power play with 4:45 left in the third period. It was the eighth consecutive outing in which Campbell had permitted two goals or fewer; she also leads the PWHL with eight outings of one goal or fewer. Her save percentage in the eight outings since Feb. 14 is .951, and for the season, Campbell’s .918 save percentage is tied with teammate Raygan Kirk for third in the PWHL behind the .930 by Boston’s Aerin Frankel and the .932 by Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens.

Third Star – Susanna Tapani (F – BOS)

Tapani was a force in the Fleet’s only game of the week, a 3-2 shootout victory over Montréal at the Tsongas Center Tuesday. The 32-year-old from Turku, Finland set up Fleet captain Hilary Knight’s power-play goal in the closing minute of the first period to open the scoring. Then Tapani scored to provide a 2-1 lead in the second period and collected the decisive goal in the sixth round of the shootout, helping Boston extend its points streak to nine games (4-3-2-0). The shootout goal was Tapani’s third in six attempts this season and her second shootout winner. With five multi-point games this season and 10-5—15 for the campaign, Tapani is third on the team in scoring behind Alina Müller (7-10—17) and Knight (13-13—26). Tapani has needed only 49 shots to score her 10 goals, a 20.4 shooting percentage that is second in the PWHL to Minnesota’s Brooke McQuigge (7 goals on 32 shots, 21.9%). 

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Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of March 10th through 16th.

First Star – Hilary Knight (F – BOS)

For the second consecutive week, Knight has earned the PWHL’s First Star after a stellar performance in Boston’s 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Charge on Saturday. In her only game of the week, Knight recorded a goal and two assists, marking her fifth multi-point outing of the season and her third game with three or more points in the last month. Against the Charge, Knight recorded the primary assist on Alina Müller’s power play goal at 8:34 of the second period, giving the Fleet a 1-0 lead. Then, with less than eight minutes to go in the third frame, Knight scored the eventual game-winning goal on a breakaway–– her fourth game-winner of the season––before adding the sole assist on Jill Saulnier’s empty-net insurance marker. Boston’s captain has now recorded seven points in her last three games, highlighted by a career-high four-point performance against New York on Mar. 5, which tied the PWHL record for most points in a game. Knight now sits second in the league in scoring with 12-12—24, trailing only New York rookie Sarah Fillier in points (10-15—25) and Montreal’s Marie-Philip Poulin in goals (14); she also sits second in the league in game-winning goals with four, just one behind league-leader Poulin. Knight’s performance against the Charge helped the Fleet climb into second place in the PWHL standings with 38 points in 23 games, surpassing their inaugural season total of 35 points in 24 games. The victory also extended their team-high point streak to eight games (4-2-2-0). 

Second Star – Abby Roque (F – NYS)

Roque has been named the second star of the week after an impressive showing that included recording points in both games for the Sirens. In a pivotal matchup against first-place Montréal on Wednesday, Roque helped the Sirens snap a nine-game losing streak with a two-point performance (1-1—2). She scored the opening goal of the game, a key strike to ignite her team’s offense, and later assisted on the 3-2 overtime-winning goal, marking her second multi-point contest of the season. Roque—a native of Sault Ste. Marie, MI— also contributed in Sunday’s PWHL Takeover Tour Detroit, adding an assist in the Sirens’ 4-1 victory over Minnesota. She sits fourth in team scoring with 5-10—15 on the season, marking a significant milestone as she surpassed her inaugural season total of 13 points. Additionally, Roque extended her career-high point streak to five straight games (2-4—6), which has helped her move into a tie for 15th in PWHL scoring. Roque’s impact extended beyond just her point production this week–– she excelled in the faceoff circle, winning 76.2% of her draws against Montréal and 52.4% against Minnesota.

Third Star – Corinne Schroeder (G – NYS)

Schroeder played a crucial role in backstopping the Sirens to two straight victories last week, helping end her team’s nine-game losing streak with a .953 save percentage and a 1.48 goals-against average. The goaltender made 28 saves– including 16 in the second period— in a 3-2 overtime win against first-place Montréal on Wednesday to secure New York’s first victory since Jan. 27. She made her second straight start for the Sirens on Sunday during the eighth stop of the PWHL Takeover Tour––in front of a U.S. record-breaking crowd of 14,288 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit––making 33 saves while allowing just one goal against to backstop the Sirens to their second straight victory. With the pair of victories, Schroeder now has eight wins on the season—one more than her inaugural season total–– moving her into a tie for third in the category with Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney. Schroeder ranks fourth in the PWHL with a .915 save percentage, having faced the fourth-most shots (468). She is also one of just two PWHL goaltenders this season, tied with Rooney, with multiple shutouts (2).

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Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of March 3rd through 9th.

First Star – Hilary Knight (F – BOS)

Boston’s captain collected her first career PWHL hat trick and added an assist in Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over New York at the Tsongas Center. It was Knight’s second multi-goal game in five contests after none in her first 48 PWHL outings (including playoffs); she also scored twice against the Sirens in a 4-1 Boston victory at Prudential Center Feb. 17. Though she went without a point in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Montréal at Agganis Arena, Knight helped the Fleet stretch its team-record point streak to seven games (3-2-2-0) and match their 35-point total for the 24 games of the PWHL’s inaugural season. Knight finished the week with eight shots on goal and 76 for the season – now tied for second in the league with the Victoire’s Stacey. With 11-10—21 in the 2024-25 campaign, Knight leads her team in points, is second in PWHL goals to the 14 by Montreal’s Marie-Philip Poulin and is tied for third in points with Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield (10-11—21) and Toronto’s Daryl Watts (6-15—21).

Second Star – Laura Stacey (F – MON)

Last week’s First Star Of The Week collected a goal in Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout victory over Minnesota at Place Bell, set up Montréal’s only goal in a 4-1 loss at Toronto Thursday and added two assists Saturday in the Victoire’s 3-2 overtime triumph over Boston at Agganis Arena. Against the Fleet, the dynamic winger set up the game-opening goal by Poulin just 3:41 into the contest and assisted on Cayla Barnes’ game-winner just 21 seconds into overtime. With 1-3—4 and 16 shots on goal for last week’s three games, Stacey stretched her scoring streak to six games, over which she has accounted for 4-5—9, 29 shots and a plus-6 rating. With 8-8—16 for the season, Stacey ranks second in points on the Victoire to the 14-5—19 amassed by Poulin, while her assist total is fourth on the team to the 11 by Erin Ambrose and Jennifer Gardiner and the nine by Barnes.

Third Star – Maddie Rooney (G – MIN)

Rooney allowed only one goal in regulation time during her two appearances last week. In a 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal at Place Bell, Rooney was beaten only by a Stacey shot 17 seconds into the middle period and a Poulin solo in the shootout. She rebounded in her next outing, Friday against Ottawa, stopping all 19 Charge shots in a 5-0 shutout before 10,782 in a Takeover Tour contest at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. That triumph helped the Frost avenge an 8-3 loss to Ottawa in the team’s previous meeting and gave Minnesota the distinction of having participated in the three PWHL games ever decided by five goals; the New York Sirens recorded a 5-0 triumph over the Frost Jan. 4. The shutout in Raleigh was Rooney’s second blank of the season and made her the first goalie to record multiple shutouts in each of the league’s first two campaigns. She has six performances of one goal-against or less this season, tied with Toronto’s Kristen Campbell and second only to the seven by Montreal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens.

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Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of February 24th through March 2nd.

First Star – Laura Stacey (F – MON)

With a goal and an assist in each contest, Stacey helped Montréal make some franchise history, sweep its two-game week and build its first-place lead to seven points over Toronto entering Women’s Empowerment Month. Saturday against Boston, before a “Duel At The Top” crowd of 17,324 at Montréal’s Bell Centre, Stacey scored with 16.3 seconds remaining in overtime – launching herself toward the rebound of a Cayla Barnes shot and sending a 10-foot backhand into the net as she landed. The Victoire have two overtime victories this season and Stacey has scored the winner in both of them; she notched the other just 15 seconds into extra time at Toronto on Dec. 21. Just 36 seconds into The Duel, Stacey assisted on the fastest goal from the start of a game in Victoire history, teaming with Jennifer Gardiner to set up the first of two goals by defender Kati Tabin. In Montréal’s other contest, Feb. 25 against Toronto, Stacey set up Gardiner’s 1-1 goal at 4:01 of the second period and added the 3-1 tally into an empty net with exactly one minute left in regulation. With goals in three straight games and 7-5—12 for the season, Stacey is second on the team in tallies to the 12 by Marie-Philip Poulin (12-5—17).

Second Star – Gabbie Hughes (F – OTT)

Hughes earned 3 Stars Of The Week recognition for the second time in three weeks after scoring two goals and setting up a third in Ottawa’s only contest – a 5-4 overtime conquest of the New York Sirens at TD Place Feb. 26. In doing so, Hughes recorded her second three-point performance and third multi-point effort in a five-game span since the international break, totaling 5-3—8. The second Star of the Week for games of Feb. 10-16 opened the scoring 3:15 into the game and closed it just 36 seconds into overtime, giving Ottawa its first overtime victory in team history and pulling the Charge within two points of fourth-place Minnesota. She also set up the goal by Emily Clark that gave the Charge a 4-3 lead at 5:21 of the third period. Hughes has 14 goals in her PWHL career and four of them have been game-winners. With 5-5—10 for the season, she is within two points of matching last year’s 9-3—12. Hughes is tied for third on the Charge in goals, behind Clark (7) and Tereza Vanišová (9), and her point total is third on the team behind Clark (14) and Vanišová (13).

Third Star – Kati Tabin (D – MON)

Tabin had a career-best two goals, and a season-high five shots on net, in Saturday’s Duel at the Bell Centre. Her two-goal performance – the first by a Victoire defender in team history – started with a 50-foot wrist shot from the left point that sailed past Stacey’s screen and beat Boston goalie Aerin Frankel inside the post to her right just 36 seconds after the opening draw. Tabin’s second goal was a slap shot, also from the left point, that tied the score 2-2 at 13:01 of the third period and set the stage for Stacey’s dramatic OT winner. The five-shot game ended a nine-game stretch in which Tabin had totaled only six shots. The five shots also topped her previous season-high of four, at Toronto Dec. 21, and was the second-highest total of her career; Tabin had seven shots on goal at Boston, Feb. 4, 2024. With 3-2—5 for the season, the 27-year-old from Winnipeg is one point shy of matching last season’s 1-5—6.

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Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of February 17th through 23rd.

First Star – Emily Clark (F – OTT)

Clark contributed two goals, two assists and eight shots to Ottawa’s attack during a week in which the Charge split a pair of narrow decisions at TD Place – losing a 3-2 verdict in overtime to the Boston Fleet on Thursday before collecting a 3-1 triumph Saturday over the Montréal Victoire. Clark created some late-game heroics in the game against Boston, helping to force overtime by setting up Tereza Vanišová’s game-tying 15-foot rocket to the top corner with 2.9 seconds remaining in regulation play. Clark participated in all three Ottawa goals on Saturday – setting up Stephanie Markowski’s first career PWHL goal at 9:08 of the first period, then answering Laura Stacey’s second-period goal with one of her own at 16:41 of the second and adding an empty-net score with 1:07 to play. That tally capped the first multi-goal game and three-point performances of Clark’s PWHL career. Clark is riding a five-game point streak, the longest current run in the PWHL, authoring 3-5—8 in that skein and raising her season’s total to 6-7—13. The six goals is a PWHL career high for Clark and her current point total is within two of matching the 4-11—15 she aggregated in 24 games last season.

Second Star – Kristen Campbell (G – TOR)

Campbell made 23 saves in a 4-1 victory at New York on Wednesday and followed that performance with 22 stops in a 2-1 triumph over the Frost at Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota – the Sceptres’ first victory ever at Xcel. Sunday’s victory was Campbell’s fifth of the season and her third straight – her longest such run of the campaign. The 27-year-old from Brandon, Man., has permitted only one goal in each of those past three outings. The only goal she surrendered to Minnesota was scored by Michela Cava during a Frost power play. New York’s Alex Carpenter was the only player to beat Campbell at even strength during the two games that helped Toronto run its overall winning streak to six. The second-place Sceptres have points in nine consecutive games and have pulled within two points of league-leading Montréal (which has played three fewer games) heading into tomorrow night’s showdown against the Victoire at Place Bell.

Third Star – Hannah Miller (F – TOR)

Miller had a hand in all four Toronto goals Wednesday, becoming the first PWHL player to collect two goals and two assists in a single contest as the Sceptres defeated the Sirens 4-1 at Prudential Center. Miller became the third PWHL player, and the first forward, to collect four points in a single game, joining defenders Claire Thompson of Minnesota (1-3—4 against Ottawa Dec. 19) and Erin Ambrose of Montréal (0-4—4 on Mar. 8, 2024). On the way to earning her third PWHL 3 Stars of the Weekrecognition of the season and her second in as many weeks, Miller opened the scoring with an even-strength goal at 7:53 of the second period, then helped Toronto’s league-leading power play (21 for 62, 33.9%) produce three goals to seal the outcome. On an assist from Miller, Julia Gosling notched the 2-0 game-winner during a Toronto power play at 13:12 of the second period and Miller padded the Sceptres’ lead to 3-0 at 9:19 of the third. Less than two minutes after Carpenter gave New York some comeback thoughts, Gosling collected her second of the night – on assists from Miller and Renata Fast – just 19 seconds after New York’s Gabby Rosenthal took a minor for high-sticking. With 10 goals this season, Miller trails only Marie-Philip Poulin of Montréal, who has 11. Miller’s 12 assists lead a four-way tie for third among PWHL playmakers.

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Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of January 27th through February 2nd.

First Star – Marie-Philip Poulin (F – MON)

With a hat trick in Montréal’s 4-1 victory against Ottawa Wednesday and two goals four minutes apart in the second period of a 2-1 road triumph over the New York Sirens Sunday, Poulin doubled her goal total for the season and helped the first-place Victoire stretch their winning streak to five games. The Victoire captain played a pivotal role in Montréal’s three-win week, contributing five of the team’s nine regulation goals and sealing Thursday’s 4-3 shootout victory over Toronto with the winning goal. Her hat trick was the first in the PWHL this season and the second of Poulin’s PWHL career; she had three goals against New York on Jan. 10, 2024. With 10-2—12 in 14 games, Poulin has matched her goal total for last season and has helped Montréal expand its first-place lead over Minnesota to six points. She is now tied with Toronto’s Natalie Spooner for most career regular-season goals with 20 and leads the current campaign with 10; Toronto’s Hannah Miller is second with 7. This marks Poulin’s fourth Three Stars Of The Week recognition of the 2024-25 season and her second stint in the top spot, which she also achieved for the week of Jan. 6-12. 

Second Star – Renata Fast (D – TOR)

Fast had points in all three of Toronto’s games last week. She had a career-high goal and two assists in Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss at Minnesota, added an assist and took a season-high six shots on goal in Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss at Montréal, then scored the game-winning goal on the power play to help the Sceptres collect a 4-2 victory over Ottawa at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday. The Sceptres boast the PWHL’s most powerful power play with 13 goals, and Fast has had a hand in nine of the scores (2-7—9). Her power-play point total, which leads the league, has been a key component in Toronto’s 28.9% success rate on the advantage, a significant lead over Minnesota’s 20.9%. With 3-10—13 in 15 games for the season, Fast has tied her point total across all 24 games last season and is tied for the team scoring lead with Miller (7-6—13) and second overall among PWHL defenders behind Minnesota’s Claire Thompson (3-11—14). Fast also now has a three-game point streak to go with her season-opening six-game point streak (1-5—6).

Third Star – Ann-Renee Desbiens (G – MON)

Desbiens made 31 saves in the victory over Ottawa Tuesday and 23 more in the triumph at New York Sunday, improving her statistics across three critical goaltending categories. Desbiens raised her season’s record to 8-1-1, lowered her PWHL-leading goals-against average (among netminders with 240 or more minutes of playing time) to 1.77 and improved her league-leading save percentage to .935 in helping Montréal carry its surge into the international break. The 30-year-old from Clermont, Québec, has surpassed her victory total for all of last season, when she was 7-5-4, and after allowing only a single goal in each of last week’s contests, Wednesday against Ottawa and Sunday in New York, has permitted just 18 goals in her 10 games. Her eight victories lead the PWHL, ahead of the six by Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney, Boston’s Aerin Frankel and New York’s Corinne Schroeder, who are tied for second. Desbiens’ save percentage leads Schroeder’s .933 by a whisper, while her goals-against average leads Rooney (1.96) and Schroeder (1.98).

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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.

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Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of January 13th through 19th.

First Star – Erin Ambrose (D – MON)

Ambrose assisted on five of the six goals the Victoire scored across their two games for the week. Friday, in Montréal’s 4-2 victory over Minnesota at Place Bell, Ambrose had three assists – doubling the season’s total she brought to the contest and coming within one of matching her career-high four-assist game, also against Minnesota, last April 18. On Sunday, before a PWHL Takeover Tour™ sell-out crowd of 18,259 at Videotron Centre in Québec City, Ambrose set up both goals in Montréal’s 2-1 triumph over Ottawa. The Victoire power play went 4-for-8 (50%) for the week, and Ambrose had assists on each of the scores, including both game-winners – by Marie-Philip Poulin at 5:52 of the second period against Minnesota and by Kati Tabin at 13:47 of the third period against Ottawa. With eight assists for the season (five of them on the power play), Ambrose is tied with Toronto defender Renata Fast and Minnesota forward Taylor Heise for second in the PWHL in that category; Minnesota’s Claire Thompson leads with 10. At plus-7, Ambrose is tied with Montréal teammate Mikyla Grant-Mentis for the PWHL’s top ranking. 

Second Star – Abby Boreen (F – MON)

Boreen scored twice – the first multiple-goal game of her PWHL career – in Friday’s victory over Minnesota and added an assist against Ottawa. She drove down the right wing and slammed in a 10-foot shot off a pass from Jennifer Gardiner to open the scoring at 8:05 of the first period against her former team, then she boosted Montreal’s lead to 4-1 at 10:22 of the third period, barging into the goalmouth to bury the rebound of a Catherine Dubois shot. Sunday against Ottawa, she had the secondary assist on the game-winner by Tabin. With 5-3—8 for the season, Boreen is tied for the PWHL lead in goals and joins Ambrose in the scoring lead for the first-place Victoire, who used their two victories to create a three-point lead over the Frost. Boreen, a 24-year-old from Somerset, Wisconsin, also has surpassed the totals of goals and points (4-1—5) she compiled in nine regular-season games with Minnesota last season. 

Third Star – Kendall Coyne Schofield (F – MIN)

The Frost scored four goals across two games last week and Coyne Schofield played a role in three of the tallies. The Minnesota captain had a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Sirens at Prudential Center, scoring at 1:32 of the second period to pull the Frost even at 1-1 and setting up the goal by Mellissa Channell-Watkins that provided a temporary 2-1 lead at 10:39 of the third. In addition to collecting her third multi-point performance of the season, Coyne Schofield also led all skaters with five shots in the contest and leads the league in the category with 38. The 32-year-old native of Palos Heights, Illinois also scored to pull the Frost within 3-1 at 17:22 of the second period in their 4-2 loss to Montréal. With points in eight of her 12 games this season and 5-6—11 for the campaign, Coyne Schofield is in a three-way tie for the PWHL scoring lead with teammate Claire Thompson (1-10—11) and New York’s Sarah Fillier (5-6—11) and is tied with six others for the PWHL lead in goals.

*All Graphics and Pictures courtesy of the PWHL.

*Player Profiles written by PWHL Staff.

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