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Connecticut Whale

Girard Finishes Fantastic First Season with Whale

March 20, 2022 - Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)
Connecticut Whale News Release


When Taylor Girard was chosen first overall in the 2021 draft it marked a franchise first moment for the Connecticut Whale.

Fast forward nine months and the Premier Hockey Federation newcomer is one of the big reasons her club has the opportunity to achieve even more firsts with their sights set on top spot in the overall standings and an Isobel Cup title.

The Quinnipiac University graduate has quickly adapted from NCAA to pro hockey and has been a difference maker throughout a record breaking season for the Founding Four member.

"It's been a lot of fun," Girard said of her rookie season, ahead of her final two games. "I think our team has a lot of really good chemistry so it's been a lot of fun being able to win these games."

The 23-year-old is one of seven first year PHF players on the Whale roster who have come together with veterans to find organizational success like never before. They set a franchise record with 12-straight victories and their 14 overall exceeds the total number produced over the past five seasons combined.

"Winning 12 games in a row was amazing," she said. "Personally I've never done that throughout my years of playing hockey. This is just really special and a true testament to our team. We truthfully want to win for each other, and we celebrate everybody else's success. I think that's been a key to our winning. Just playing for each other and celebrating one another and having fun doing it."

Heading into Sunday's finale the Macomb, MI native has a season-high six-game point-streak and a total of 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 19 games. When it's all said and done her points-per-game average will be the highest ever for a rookie in the immediate season following their draft selection.

"I think it all comes down to our team pushing each other to work harder," she said. "Playing with Kennedy (Marchment) and Wohlfy (Alyssa Wohlfeiler) has been really awesome. Obviously they both have given me a lot of success with my goals. They have made some really awesome plays for me to just stand at the side of the net and tap it in. I owe a lot of my success this year to everybody else who is working so hard to make those sweet plays."

There's no denying the chemistry Girard has with Marchment and Wohlfeiler. In fact her unassisted goal on Saturday is the only one she's had all season that didn't involve at least one of the pair. She also has just one assist this year that didn't somehow include those linemates.

"It's probably cliché but everything is really great," she says of her first year experience in the PHF. "It's cool being able to come to a new team and just create friendships right away, and then being able to experience different things. Being able to say that I'm a professional athlete has also been really cool."

Even though she's a pro, the former Bobcat hasn't lost touch with where she came from. Girard and fellow Quinnipiac alumnae Abbie Ives and Melissa Samoskevich regularly watch games including the team's heartbreaking double overtime loss to Ohio State in the regional final of the NCAA championship tournament. Girard's roommate Taylor House scored the tying goal. One part of the pro game vs college that's been exciting for Girard is the passionate fan bases across the PHF.

"The amount of fans has been really cool," she said. "I think we were in Boston when we came out for the first period to almost a sellout crowd and I really thought how awesome that was. With women's hockey in college we didn't get as many fans, unless you played at Wisconsin or Minnesota, but the people that come out here and really care about the game makes for an amazing experience."

Girard and the rest of The Pod will count on their fans in Danbury to give them a boost against Toronto as the 2021-22 schedule comes to a close. The Six remain the only team the Whale haven't beat so far this season including Saturday's overtime loss and a sweep north of the border back in November.

"Those games were so long ago at the beginning of our year," Girard said. "We were still kind of getting a feel for each other and figuring some lines out and different stuff like that. I think that this time Toronto is going to see a much different team and it's going to be really exciting for us to actually showcase ourselves better than we did the first time around."

If Saturday's game was any indication, Sunday should be another nail biter to determine first overall. A win over Toronto in regulation would still give Connecticut the number one seed for competition in Tampa Bay, March 25-28. Regardless of the outcome, Girard knows this battle of the titans bodes well for playoff preparation where the matchups will only intensify.

"These games are absolutely the games you want to play in right before you go into playoffs," she said. "You want to be battling before one and done scenarios. I think this is exactly what we want and it's working out to play these games right before playoffs. They are going to be some really tough games and that's going to be really good for us."

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