PWHL Player Safety Committee Announces Disciplinary Action
Published on May 4, 2026 under Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) News Release
NEW YORK AND TORONTO - The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) today announced that Minnesota Frost forward Britta Curl-Salemme has been suspended for one game and fined $250 following two separate incidents reviewed by the PWHL Player Safety Committee. Both incidents occurred in Game 1 of the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs between Minnesota and the Montréal Victoire on Saturday afternoon.
The fine is a result of Curl-Salemme's actions during an altercation at 4:47 of the second period where she and opponent Abby Roque were assessed minor penalties for roughing. In their review, the Player Safety Committee determined that Curl-Salemme grabbed and pulled Roque's facial protector, sending her opponent to the ice with a degree of violence that warrants supplemental discipline. Fines collected by the league support girls' hockey programming and equipment access initiatives.
The suspension is a result of the major penalty and game misconduct assessed to Curl-Salemme for an illegal check to the head on opponent Kaitlin Willoughby at 19:12 of the second period. In their review, the Player Safety Committee determined that Curl-Salemme made no attempt to play the puck as she raised her forearm to make direct contact with the head of her opponent, where such contact to the head was avoidable.
This is Curl-Salemme's first suspension of the 2025-26 season. Throughout her two-year PWHL career, Curl-Salemme was previously fined $250 for a cross-checking incident on Mar. 15, 2026 and incurred three separate one-game suspensions during the 2024-25 season for a high-sticking incident on Jan. 2, 2025, an illegal check to the head on Mar. 9, 2025, and an illegal check to the head during the playoffs on May 7, 2025. A player's history is considered, alongside several determining factors, in supplemental discipline decisions reviewed by the Player Safety Committee. Pursuant to PWHL Rule 23.6, a Player incurring two (2) Game Misconducts in the Physical Fouls category during a playoff series shall automatically be suspended for her Team's next Playoff Game. As such, the Game Misconduct assessed in this incident will remain on Curl-Salemme's accumulation record for the duration of the series.
The PWHL Player Safety Committee monitors all games and is responsible for providing independent review and recommendations on supplementary discipline. Chaired by Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, the committee also includes Vice Chair Chris Burkett, PWHL Vice President of Labour Relations and Player Safety; Cassie Campbell-Pascall, PWHL Special Advisor; Meghan Duggan, Special Consultant to PWHL Hockey Operations; Mike Murphy, a long-time NHL executive and former VP of Hockey Operations; Matt McMahon, a member of the NHL's Player Safety department.
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