NWHL Reveals Expanded Schedule for the 2019-20 Season
July 29, 2019 - Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) News Release
Coming off its most successful season, the National Women's Hockey League has announced an expanded 24-game schedule for 2019-20. The NWHL's fifth season opens on IIHF Girls' Hockey Weekend with games featuring four of the league's five teams.
Among the new and notable details of the schedule:
The Buffalo Beauts will make their home on the "feature rink" at Northtown Center in Amherst, a state-of-the-art arena that is one of the newest venues in the region. Northtown is the home of Jr. NWHL affiliate Amherst Youth Hockey and was one of the host sites of the Girls' Tier I and Tier II New York State Championships last season.
The Riveters will play at ProSkate, a premier hockey facility in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey. Like Danbury Arena - the new home of the Connecticut Whale - ProSkate is a partner venue of the New York Rangers' initiative Junior Rangers Girls' Hockey.
The Minnesota Whitecaps will once again play at TRIA Rink, where the team sold out all 10 games they hosted last season. The Boston Pride will return to Warrior Ice Arena, where they sold out all home games in 2019.
As announced last week, the season begins on IIHF Girls' Hockey Weekend with NWHL games played after Try Hockey for Free clinics led by Junior Rangers Girls' Hockey, the recently-announced initiative of the New York Rangers. After a Try Hockey for Free clinic at Danbury Arena at 11:40 a.m., the Connecticut Whale will host the Buffalo Beauts at 2:30 p.m. After a clinic at ProSkate Ice Arena in Monmouth Junction, N.J. at 1:30 p.m., the Riveters will host the Boston Pride at 4 p.m.
The defending Isobel Cup champions, the Minnesota Whitecaps, begin defense of their crown on Oct. 10-11, with back-to-back matinee games against the Riveters at TRIA Rink.
Two mid-season games are listed as To Be Announced: Dec. 28 when the Beauts host the Riveters, and Feb. 1 when the Whale host the Riveters. The NWHL is finalizing plans for special events at unique venues in the local communities. Details on these games will be announced very soon.
The NWHL's preseason includes games against NCAA Division I programs, including the University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Duluth, Boston University, Northeastern, University of Connecticut, Merrimack, along with the first game against the new D1 team at Long Island University. Check NWHL.zone for details.
In 2015, the NWHL became the first women's hockey league in the U.S. and Canada to pay its players. For the NWHL's fifth season, salary caps for each team have been increased by 50 percent, and the players will receive a 50 percent split of revenue from all league-level sponsorship and media deals.
The increases were a result of the strides made by the players and the NWHL. Last season, 16 of the 46 games drew sold-out crowds. The 2019 NWHL All-Star Game in Nashville had a crowd of 6,200 - the largest ever for a professional women's hockey game in the U.S. Combined, the NWHL Skills Challenge (sold out at Ford Ice Center) and All-Star Game generated more than one million viewers on Twitter.
The league also launched the Jr. NWHL - an affiliate program that connects future stars of professional women's hockey to the current players. The program has been highly effective in building a pipeline of potential NWHL players and forever fans. The Jr. NWHL has already signed up more than 100 youth hockey organizations across the U.S. (see map). This summer, the Jr. NWHL Summer Clinic series includes events in North Carolina, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Boston and Long Island.
Information on season tickets and individual game tickets, as well as broadcast details, will be available in the coming weeks.
2019-20 NWHL Schedule (all times local to site)
October
5 Buffalo @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 2:30 PM
Boston @ Metropolitan ProSkate 4 PM
12 Metropolitan @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 2 PM
Buffalo @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 6:30 PM
13 Buffalo @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 2:30 PM
Metropolitan @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 3 PM
19 Connecticut @ Buffalo Northtown Center 11:30 AM
Minnesota @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 6:30 PM
20 Connecticut @ Buffalo Northtown Center 1:30 PM
Minnesota @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 2:30 PM
26 Minnesota @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 3:30 PM
Metropolitan @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 6:30 PM
27 Minnesota @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 1:30 PM
Metropolitan @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 2:30 PM
November
16 Buffalo @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 6:30 PM
17 Buffalo @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 12:30 PM
23 Connecticut @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 6:30 PM
Minnesota @ Buffalo Northtown Center 7:30 PM
24 Minnesota @ Buffalo Northtown Center 1 PM
30 Buffalo @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 4:30 PM
Metropolitan @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 6:30 PM
December
7 Boston @ Metropolitan ProSkate 7 PM
8 Metropolitan @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 1:30 PM
14 Metropolitan @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 7 PM
15 Metropolitan @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 1 PM
21 Minnesota @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 5 PM
Boston @ Buffalo Northtown Center 5:30 PM
22 Boston @ Buffalo Northtown Center 1 PM
Minnesota @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 1:30 PM
28 Boston @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 3:30 PM
Metropolitan @ Buffalo Event TBA TBA
29 Metropolitan @ Buffalo Northtown Center 1 PM
Boston @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 1:30 PM
January
4 Minnesota @ Metropolitan ProSkate 7:30 PM
Boston @ Buffalo Northtown Center 7:30 PM
5 Boston @ Buffalo Northtown Center 1 PM
Minnesota @ Metropolitan ProSkate 4:30 PM
11 Connecticut @ Metropolitan ProSkate 6:30 PM
Buffalo @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 7 PM
12 Buffalo @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 1 PM
Connecticut @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 2:30 PM
18 Connecticut @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 1 PM
19 Connecticut @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 3 PM
20 Metropolitan @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 1:30 PM
25 Boston @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 6 PM
Connecticut @ Metropolitan ProSkate 6:30 PM
26 Boston @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 1 PM
Connecticut @ Metropolitan ProSkate 4:30 PM
February
1 Metropolitan @ Connecticut Event TBA TBA
15 Connecticut @ Boston Warrior Ice Arena 6:30 PM
Buffalo @ Metropolitan ProSkate 7:30 PM
16 Buffalo @ Metropolitan ProSkate 4:30 PM
22 Minnesota @ Buffalo Northtown Center 2:30 PM
Boston @ Connecticut Danbury Arena 3:30 PM
23 Minnesota @ Buffalo Northtown Center 1 PM
Boston @ Metropolitan ProSkate 4:30 PM
29 Buffalo @ Metropolitan ProSkate 6:30 PM
Connecticut @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 7 PM
March
1 Buffalo @ Metropolitan ProSkate 4:30 PM
Connecticut @ Minnesota TRIA Rink 1 PM
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