PHF Weekend Pulse: February 5-6

February 7, 2022 - Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) News Release

(Brooklyn, N.Y.) - The Connecticut Whale took over first place in the Premier Hockey Federation standings and extended their winning-streak to eight games with a weekend road sweep over the Boston Pride. Meanwhile the Minnesota Whitecaps and Buffalo Beauts split their series by trading season-high goal totals.

Here's a closer look at the results, top performers, and other notable highlights.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5

Game 32

Connecticut Whale 3

Boston Pride 2

Amanda Conway and Emma Vlasic both scored a goal and an assist and Janine Weber had three helpers to give Connecticut their first win in Boston since February 2, 2018.

Game 33

Buffalo Beauts 1

Minnesota Whitecaps 8

Allie Thunstrom scored a hat-trick plus an assist and Jonna Curtis recorded five helpers in Minnesota's largest offensive output of the season leading to a third straight victory over Buffalo.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 6

Game 34

Connecticut Whale 6

Boston Pride 1

The Whale tied a franchise record with their eighth straight win powered by three-point performances from Taylor Girard and Kennedy Marchment and two goals from Alyssa Wohlfeiler.

Game 35

Buffalo Beauts 6

Minnesota Whitecaps 2

The Beauts snapped an eight-game losing streak with their first regulation win of the season and first victory in Minnesota in franchise history backed by Carly Jackson who made a season-high 40 saves.

PHF 3 STARS OF THE WEEK

First Star: Jonna Curtis was the weekend's top point producer with seven over two games scoring one goal with an impressive six assists helping Minnesota split their series with Buffalo. On Saturday the 27-year-old from Elk River, MN tied a PHF single game record with five assists as part of the Whitecaps 8-1 win over the Beauts. On Sunday she showcased her breakaway speed when scoring her seventh goal of the season and picked up a helper despite the 6-2 defeat. Curtis now has a three-game multi-point scoring streak with 11 during a stretch that has launched her into a tie for third overall in the PHF with 15 points in 12 games. The three-time All-Star also scored twice for Team Thunstrom in last weekend's showcase in Buffalo. Over four seasons in Minnesota, the University of New Hampshire graduate is the Whitecaps all-time leading scorer with 71 points in 53 games counting 30 goals and 41 assists. She's just the fifth in PHF history to reach the 30-goal plateau and the fourth all-time to surpass 70 points.

Second Star: Allie Thunstrom continued her own torrid scoring pace for the Whitecaps accumulating four goals and one assist for five points in two games against the Beauts. On Saturday she netted her first hat-trick of the season and third of her career while adding an assist in the 8-1 win. Though Minnesota fell to Buffalo by a 6-2 score on Sunday, the 33-year-old from Maplewood, MN used her world class speed to beat the defenders and register her PHF leading 11th goal of the season. Thunstrom now has points in four-straight games in addition to a third All-Star appearance mixed in between where she served as captain and tallied three points. The Boston College graduate is fifth in PHF scoring with 14 points in 12 games bringing her career totals to 62 points in 56 games including 41 goals which ranks third all-time.

Third Star: Janine Weber was instrumental in helping the Whale to a weekend road sweep over the Pride recording four points including a goal and three assists. On Saturday night in Boston she picked up three assists for the first time in her career which contributed to all three Connecticut goals in the 3-2 triumph. The 30-year-old from Innsbruck, Austria scored the game-winner in Sunday's 6-1 victory when she batted a rebound out of midair for her third goal of the season. Weber now has points in three-straight games and nine in total over 10 contests this season. One of the PHF's original members, the former Providence College Friar has now played in 70 career games over six seasons amassing 19 goals and 32 assists for 51 points. She's become just the 12th PHF player all-time to clear the half century mark for points.

SHIFT IN STANDINGS

There's a new top team in the PHF overall standings with Connecticut (10-3-1) and their 31 points overthrowing Toronto (9-1-1) who has 28 points. It's hard to say how long the lead will last with the Six scheduled to play five games over the next three weeks before the Whale return to action in March. The Boston Pride (7-5-0) remain locked in third place with 18 points followed by the Minnesota Whitecaps (4-7-1) who gained some ground in fourth place with 13 points. The Metropolitan Riveters (3-6-1) sit in fifth place with 10 points but have played the fewest games thus far, while the Buffalo Beauts (2-9-0) closed the gap with their latest victory but remain in sixth place with five points.

OPPOSITE EIGHT GAME RECORD STREAKS

Connecticut has now tied a franchise record for consecutive wins with eight, equaling a stretch that opened their inaugural 2015-16 campaign. This current run has been split with four wins at home and four on the road, whereas the Season 1 streak had two home wins with six-straight on the road in between. That season the Whale finished in second place with a 13-5-0 record but lost in the playoff semifinals. Before their win on Sunday, Buffalo's losing streak reached eight games which tied the 2019-20 season for the longest in franchise history. That season they finished in fourth place with an 8-15-1 record before being eliminated in a playoff qualifier.

SEASON HIGH SCORING

Eight goals on Saturday set a new season standard for the Whitecaps while the Beauts countered on Sunday with six to set their own season-high. Minnesota's previous season-high of six came two weeks earlier against Buffalo, while the Beauts previously peaked with four in their week two win against the Riveters. Buffalo spread out the offense on Sunday with six different goal scorers including Emma Keenan, Jenna Suokko, Emile Harley, and Autumn MacDougall each with two-point efforts, plus single goals from Kennedy Ganser and Erin Gehen who got her first since March 1, 2020. Aside from the aforementioned production by Jonna Curtis and Allie Thunstrom, Minnesota's spark was buoyed by season-high three-point performances from Taylor Turnquist and Audra Morrison with two and one goal scored respectively, while Meaghan Pezon got her first of the season and Emma Stauber found the back of the net for the first time since December 2, 2018. Special teams play factored heavily into the Whitecaps offense that capitalized four times on the power play and twice shorthanded.

CURTIS AND THUNSTROM TIE RECORDS

Saturday's result put Whitecaps star forwards Jonna Curtis and Allie Thunstrom in elite company. For Curtis, she became just the third player in PHF history to record five assists in a single game equaling Amanda Boulier who achieved the feat with Minnesota on October 12, 2019, and Amanda Kessel who first made the mark on January 6, 2019 with the Riveters. Thunstrom's hat-trick included two shorthanded goals which ties Boston's Jillian Dempsey for the most in a single PHF game this season. It also gives her three this year which ties former Pride forwards Alex Carpenter (2016-17) and Brianna Decker (2015-16) for the most in a single PHF season (per theirhockeycounts.com). The chemistry between Curtis and Thunstrom was evident on a 2-on-0 rush that contributed to their history.

100 GAMES FOR ORLANDO

Sunday's victory celebration was extra special for Buffalo as defender Elena Orlando suited up for the 100th game of her career. The 29-year-old from San Jose, CA becomes the fourth member of the PHF's prestigious century club following Boston's Jillian Dempsey and Kaleigh Fratkin along with Connecticut's Shannon Turner. Orlando graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2014 and became part of the league's commencement after a year overseas. Her first 17 games were played in Season 1 with the Riveters before joining the Whale for 72 contests over five seasons. She came out of retirement to sign as a free agent with the Beauts for Season 7 and has been in the lineup for all 11 of their games to date.

FIRST CAREER PHF GOALS

Three players celebrated first career PHF goals this weekend including defender Taylor Turnquist who opened the scoring for Minnesota on Saturday with a top shelf snipe on the power play just 1:41 into the first frame. The goal was part of a two-tally effort for the sophomore in her 17th career game and 10th with the Whitecaps following a championship season with Boston. On Sunday, Buffalo forward Jenna Suokko made history becoming the first player from Finland to score a PHF goal when she redirected a point shot at 15:54 of the first period. The Tampere native joined the Beauts as a free agent this offseason and scored in her 11th career game. Also on Sunday, Connecticut defender Hannah Bates notched her first goal in her 12th career game with a third period blast from the point. The Whale selected the St. Cloud State graduate in the fourth round of the 2021 draft.

WELCOME BACK PARKER

Boston bolstered their offense with the reacquisition of forward Mary Parker who has signed with the defending Isobel Cup champions. The 28-year-old from Milton, MA made her debut on the weekend skating in both games at Warrior Ice Arena against the Whale. Parker played four years collegiately with Harvard followed by a year at Boston University then joined the Pride for the end of the 2016-17 campaign. She amassed 46 games and 30 points including 19 goals over the course of five regular seasons, and most recently scored two goals and two assists during the 2021 playoffs.

SAMOSKEVICH MAKES DEBUT

Connecticut also added some depth for their championship pursuit with the signing of forward Melissa Samoskevich. The 24-year-old from Sandy Hook, CT played in her first regular season game on Sunday and second PHF contest of her career after suiting up for the Whale in the 2021 semifinal. The former Quinnipiac Bobcats captain was the club's second overall pick in the 2018 draft and won gold as a member of the U.S. National Women's Team at the 2019 IIHF World Championship. She also currently serves as an assistant coach for Penn State Women's Hockey.

TWO MORE WINS FOR IVES

All-Star Abbie Ives continues to get it done in the Connecticut crease backstopping the Whale to two more victories to bring her season total to eight wins across 11 starts. Her weekend included 24 and 34-save performances against Boston for a collective goals-against-average of 1.50 and a save percentage of .951. The results improve her season stats to a 2.22 GAA which ranks third overall along with a .909 SV% that ranks fifth. She's the first goaltender across the PHF this season to log more than 700 minutes played.

LEVEILLE PICKS UP A WIN AND RARE POINT

Amanda Leveille is quickly approaching a major milestone between the Minnesota pipes following her perfect 22-save outing in 40 minutes of work on Saturday. The PHF's all-time winningest goaltender has 49 career victories with the half century mark imminent to add to an already illustrious resume. Her achievements also now include a first career PHF point having produced an assist on Taylor Turnquist's first career goal. It's the first assist by a PHF goaltender on record since Mariah Fujimagari did it for Buffalo on January 4, 2020. The only other two PHF goaltenders with assists to their credit are Brittany Ott with Boston and Jaimie Leonoff with Connecticut both in 2015-16. This weekend the Whitecaps gave Jenna Brenneman the majority of work playing the third period of Saturday's game followed by her first career start on Sunday where she stopped 33 of 38 shots faced despite the loss.

The PHF regular season schedule continues February 12-13 with two weekend series between Minnesota and host Toronto, along with Metropolitan at Buffalo. Catch the action live on ESPN+ in the United States and on ESPN international affiliates including TSN Direct in Canada.

• Discuss this story on the Premier Hockey Federation message board...

Premier Hockey Federation Stories from February 7, 2022

• PHF Weekend Pulse: February 5-6 - PHF
• Marchment and Wohlfeiler Dominate in Series Finale, Securing First Place for Connecticut - Connecticut Whale

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.