PHF Weekend Primer: December 18-19
December 17, 2021 - Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) News Release
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) - This weekend in Premier Hockey Federation action will take the regular season schedule into the holiday break. The four games feature Founding Four members in the Buffalo Beauts and visiting Connecticut Whale, while the PHF's newest clubs go head-to-head as the Minnesota Whitecaps host the Toronto Six.
Here's a closer look at the weekend ahead.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 18, 2021
7:00 PM ET - Connecticut Whale (4-3-1) vs Buffalo Beauts (1-2-0)
(ESPN+, ESPN International & TSN Direct with Sam Fryman and Erica Ayala)
The Buffalo Beauts are chomping at the bit to return to action for the first time in four weeks in what will be just their fourth game of the season when they take on the Connecticut Whale who have won two-straight. Kennedy Marchment leads the Connecticut attack with 11 points in eight games which is tied for first across the PHF, while fellow newcomer and first overall pick Taylor Girard stands fifth in the scoring race with eight points in as many games. The Beauts counter with a newcomer of their own in second rounder Anjelica Diffendal who is tied for the team lead with four points in three games alongside veteran Cassidy MacPherson. These Founding Four rivals have met 30 times over regular season history since 2015-16 with Buffalo holding the 19-11 advantage. The victories have come in waves as the Whale won the first seven head-to-head meetings, and the Beauts rattled off 15 consecutive up until last season in Lake Placid where a 2-1 shootout favored Connecticut. Their last meeting at Northtown Center was March 6, 2020 play-in game where Hanna Beattie scored twice and Emma Vlasic tallied three assists in the Whale's 5-3 triumph.
8:00 PM ET - Toronto Six (5-1-1) vs Minnesota Whitecaps (1-4-1)
(ESPN+ with Josh Tolle with Kelly Schultz, Twitch International with Mark Schoenster)
The Minnesota Whitecaps are equally excited to see the puck drop at home where they've earned all four of their points so far this season. They'll have their hands full with the Toronto Six who make their first trip to the Twin Cities on the heels of a two-game sweep over the Riveters last weekend to take over first place in the PHF standings. Toronto's Mikyla Grant-Mentis is tied for the PHF lead in scoring with 11 points in seven games and holds a leading 1.6 points-per-game mark. Both Lindsay Eastwood and Michela Cava have six points in seven games. Minnesota's top point producers have been Allie Thunstrom and Jonna Curtis who both have four points in six games. The clubs met head-to-head twice in Lake Placid with split outcomes including a 6-5 shootout win for the Whitecaps on January 24, and a 4-3 win for the Six on January 30. Toronto enters the weekend with the top power play and penalty kill efficiencies in the PHF, while Minnesota has the second best penalty kill but has struggled thus far with the advantage scoring just one goal on 20 opportunities.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 19, 2021
12:00 PM ET - Toronto Six vs Minnesota Whitecaps
(ESPN+, ESPN International & TSN Direct with Josh Tolle and Kelly Schultz)
1:00 PM ET - Connecticut Whale vs Buffalo Beauts
(ESPN+ with Sam Fryman and Erica Ayala, Twitch International with Dave Lamont)
*The weekend series between the Boston Pride and the host Metropolitan Riveters has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols affecting the Pride and will be rescheduled for a later date.
STARTING SECOND HALF AND FULL CENTURIES (TAKE TWO)
Last weekend's weather postponement delayed the Whitecaps and Beauts from advancing into their second half and full centuries in all-time PHF history. Minnesota (33-14-3) will begin the weekend by playing in their 51st regular season game since joining the PHF in 2018-19, while Buffalo (45-47-8) will hit the ice for the 101st time since the league launch in 2015-16. On Saturday we'll see the Whitecaps wear purple for Hockey Fights Cancer at TRIA, with the team hosting a Youth Hockey event at Roseville Ice Arena on Sunday. Buffalo will also have a fun promotion at home on Sunday when it's a 'Paws for Love' game in support of the Erie County SPCA.
NEW BEAUTS MEET LONG TIME WHALE TEAMMATES
Buffalo's busy off-season not only included the acquisition of 10 PHF newcomers, but a pair of free agents who are no strangers to their Connecticut counterparts. Defender Elena Orlando and forward Grace Klienbach will meet many of their former teammates for the first time this weekend, skating opposite the Whale uniform that has largely defined their careers to date. Orlando is one of only five current PHF players who has played in all seven seasons and spent five of them in Connecticut where she amassed 71 of her 91 career games from 2016-21. Klienbach spent the first three seasons of her career with the Whale over four years from 2017-21 playing in 41 games and was the team's Foundation Award recipient last season for her impact in the community.
TABIN TO STAY WITH WHALE
The Whale announced this week that they have officially signed defender Kati Tabin to a contract for the remainder of the 2021-22 season. The 24-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba began her PHF tenure on a PTO and has appeared in four of the Whale's games so far this season. She's a former Quinnipiac University captain who graduated from the Bobcats program in 2020.
In other roster news the Whale announced that forward Emma Polaski has requested a release from her 2021-22 contract due to full time work commitments. The second round draft pick from Syracuse University made her professional debut this season with The Pod playing in six games.
MUNROE RECOGNIZED BY CHA
Another Whale defender and Syracuse University graduate, Allie Munroe, received some nice recognition from College Hockey America. The former Orange captain was named one of CHA's top-20 players of all-time as part of a campaign to honor the conference's first 20 seasons. Munroe was a two-time CHA Defenseman of the Year in 2017 and 2019 and was a three-time All-CHA selection. She currently ranks eighth in the CHA and fourth in Syracuse history in points by a blueliner. The PHF newcomer has five points through eight games including her first career goal scored during the Whale's recent weekend sweep over the Whitecaps.
CAVA COMES BACK TO MINNESOTA
Toronto Six forward Michela Cava is coming back to the State of Hockey that helped shape her collegiate career. The PHF newcomer played two seasons for the University of Minnesota-Duluth from 2014-16 exploding offensively during her senior season with 38 points including 19 goals in 37 games. She'll reunite opposite former Bulldogs turned Whitecaps in Ashleigh Brykaliuk and Emma Stauber in what will be a 'close-to-home' game for the native of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
ROSEVILLE REUNION
The Whitecaps game on Sunday at Roseville Ice Arena will be a special homecoming for veteran defenders Winny (Brodt) Brown and Chelsey (Brodt) Rosenthal who grew up in the Roseville, MN community and are both graduates of the Roseville Area Youth Hockey Association. It's only fitting that it'll be Youth Hockey Day where young Raiders in attendance can be inspired from the pair who have done so much to grow the game. Back in 1996, Brown led Roseville High School to an undefeated season and the Minnesota state title with 62 goals and 61 assists in 30 games. Rosenthal led the school to a state title in 1999. Both players are original Whitecaps whose tenure within the organization predates the PHF and consists of a 2010 Clarkson Cup title and 2019 Isobel Cup title among the highlights.
IVES AND JACKSON MEET AGAIN
Sophomore stoppers Abbie Ives and Carly Jackson have dominated the crease for the Whale and Beauts respectively so far this season. Ives has started seven of eight games for Connecticut where she's won three decisions and posted a goals-against-average of 2.83 and save percentage of .888. Jackson has logged every minute for the Beauts in three games winning once with a goals-against-average of 3.71 and save percentage of .896. When the pair last went head-to-head on January 23 they were both making their PHF debuts. Ives got the win in the 2-1 shootout making 24 saves opposite Jackson's 42-save performance.
CHULI VS LEVEILLE
The weekend's other goaltending battle is likely to feature Toronto's Elaine Chuli who has started and won five games this season, opposite Minnesota's Amanda Leveille who has started all six for her squad. The Six stopper was the PHF's First Star of the Week after posting back-to-back victories over the Riveters including her first shutout of the season and second all-time. The lone win of the season for the Whitecaps tender was by shutout to give the two-time PHF Goaltender of the Year eight for her career. Chuli's save percentage of .942 ranks second in the PHF while Leveille's .924 mark ranks third.
STREAKS TO WATCH
Whale top scorer Kennedy Marchment carries a seven-game point-streak into Buffalo where a pair of Beauts in Taylor Accursi and Cassidy MacPherson have points in all three contests to start the season. Defender Lindsay Eastwood is Toronto's active leader with points in three-straight games. Two-game point streaks that can be extended this weekend include Buffalo's Anjelica Diffendal and Dominique Kremer, Connecticut's Amanda Conway, Taylor Girard, Cailey Hutchison, Allie Munroe, Shannon Turner, and Toronto's Taylor Woods.
STATS SNAPSHOT
Taylor Girard and Mikyla Grant-Mentis share the PHF lead with two game-winning goals. Grant-Mentis has the top plus-minus in the PHF at +11. Buffalo's Emilie Harley and Missy Segall are tied for the PHF lead with a .333 shooting percentage. Kennedy Marchment is third in shots on goal with 41, while other team leaders include Toronto's Shiann Darkangelo with 32, Minnesota's Allie Thunstrom and Jonna Curtis both with 28, and Anjelica Diffendal with 13. Shannon Turner and Toronto's Saroya Tinker are one-two in blocked shots with 14 and 12 respectively. Allie Munroe leads the PHF with 18 takeaways, followed by Turner with 17, Grant-Mentis with 15, Darkangelo with 14, and Marchment with 13. Darkangelo is the best on draws with a .648 winning percentage. Other team leaders in this category include Catherine Crawley (.586) who leads the Whale, Buffalo's Cassidy Vinkle (.477), and Minnesota's Ashleigh Brykaliuk (.448).
About Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)
The PHF is the home of professional women's hockey in North America. Established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League, the NWHL rebranded to become the PHF in 2021 and maintains the mission to provide strong role models and fuel the continued growth of the sport. The league is made up of the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, and the Toronto Six who all compete annually for the Isobel Cup. For more information visit premierhockeyfederation.com.
Premier Hockey Federation Stories from December 17, 2021
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