I hope that everyone enjoyed their holidays, because there is actually some NWHL action to be played this weekend! The Connecticut Whale and the Boston Pride are set to play against each other on December 30th in Stamford, CT. This will inevitably be a tough matchup for the Whale, as the Pride boast being the league leaders at this point of the season; eking out top spot from the Minnesota Whitecaps with a better goal differential.
The last game that these two teams played against each other was all the way back on October 20th in which, the Boston Pride came out on top by a final score of 4-2. The goals in that game for the Pride came from Emily Field, Lauren Kelly, McKenna Brand, and Gold Medalist Gigi Marvin. In net for the Pride was Katie Burt, who made 13 saves in the game. For the Whale, it was Meeri Räisänen in net, making 28 saves off of 31 shots in the game. Goals for the Whale came from Katerina Mrázová and Emily Fluke.
The last game that the Pride played, back on December 9th, was against the defending Isobel Cup Champions Metropolitan Riveters, they came away with a 5-2 victory in Newark. Goals in that game came from Amanda Pelkey, Dana Trivigno, Kaleigh Fratkin, Mallory Souliotis, and McKenna Brand. It was Katie Burt again playing and making 21 saves off of 23 shots.
The last game that the Whale played, back on December 8th, was against the Buffalo Beauts in Buffalo. The game ended in defeat for the Whale by the final score of 3-1. It was a tough game that day, as Katerina Mrázová got the lone goal for the Whale and Meeri Räisänen made 32 saves off of 35 shots in the game.
3 Players to Watch
Emily Fluke: She really loves to play against Boston; no I mean really loves to play Boston. In the 7 career games she has played against the Pride, she has tallied 4 goals and added 3 assists for 7 points!
Katerina Mrázová: Her first NWHL goal came against the Pride, and it set her off on a goal scoring streak. In the 6 games she’s played, she has scored 6 goals in her last 5 games.
Meeri Räisänen: In her last game against the Pride, she made 28 saves. In her last 3 games though, she has faced 104 shots and has made an impressive 98 saves.
3 Dark Horse Players to Watch
Nina Rodgers: The rookie from Boston University has been playing pretty well these last few games. She has been building off her 2 point performance in Pittsburgh, and with more attention possibly thrown at Mrázová and Fluke, she might get more offensive chances.
Jamie Goldsmith: Having been one of the hardest working players for the Whale this season, and probably one of their best penalty killers. Her last goal came against the Pride last season, and maybe this is the game where she breaks her drought.
Jordan Brickner: The only player on the Whale team who can boast that she is in the plus category of the plus minus stat; the veteran defensemen, like Jamie Goldsmith, her last goal came against the Pride last season. Maybe this is the game where she can also break her drought.
The game will be played at Terry Conners Rink at 3p, and you can watch the game here:
https://www.nwhl.zone/watch
