2021-22
Record: 15-3-2 47pts
Playoffs: Lost in Isobel Cup Final
Key Losses
Hanna Beattie, D
Kaycie Anderson, F
Emily Fluke, F
Key Additions
Mallory Souliotis, D
Tori Sullivan, F
Lenka Serdar, F
2022-23 Preview
3 Questions:
Key players last season, what will be their encore performance?
Two impact players for the Connecticut Whale last season were Taylor Girard and Kennedy Marchment. Girard scored 11 goals and added 13 assists for 24 points on the year. This was good enough to earn the PHF Newcomer of the Year award. While Marchment scored 13 goals on the season, while adding 20 assists for 33 points on the year. She earned the well deserved MVP award for the season. Both players will be entering their second year in the PHF, and will hopefully avoid the dreaded “sophomore slump.” It will be interesting to see what situations Head Coach Colton Orr puts them in or whether or not they will be on the same line this season.
Key past players, what will be their impact on a new look Whale team?
This offseason saw the return of two impact players from the 2018-19 Whale season: forward Katerina Mrazova, and goalie Meeri Raisanen. Mrazova during the 18-19 season played 15 games, amassing 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points on the season. It led the team in both goals and points. She also notched a goal and an assist in the one playoff game played. While Meeri Raisanen started 12 games for the Whale. Her record was 2-9-1, with 1 shutout, she has a 3.03 GAA and a .908 save percentage. While the record is not the best, she kept the Whale in a lot of games that they had no business being in, and an injury unfortunately cut her season short.
They now return to a completely different team then their first go around. New coach, new players, a completely new system. While Raisanen will fight for the starters job with Abbie Ives, have to wonder where Mrazova will fit into the lineup.
How far will the Whale go?
Seems like a dumb question, considering the simple answer is however far the team can go, one game at a time. I bring this question up because last season saw a lot of firsts for the Whale. They ended the regular season on top of the standings for the first time, and they reached all the way to the Isobel Cup Finals for the first time in their franchise history. With the defeat at the hands of the Boston Pride, it feels like the Whale have some unfinished business. GM Alexis Moed has constructed a really good team that, on paper, should once again reach the Isobel Cup Finals. There is a real sense that the expectations heading into the season is Cup or Bust.
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