Category: Connecticut Whale

A Whale Of A Time In Nashville

The NWHL hosted their All Star festivities in Nashville, TN this past weekend. The best players from all five teams came down and showcased their talents in front of an electric Nashville crowd. The skills competition was held at the Ford Ice Center, the practice facility for the Predators; while the All Star Game itself was at the Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville.

The Whale had originally sent five players down, but Meeri Räisänen could not attend as she was called up to the Finnish National Team. [Congrats are in order for her!]

The four players that did go to the All Star game were Shannon Doyle, Emily Fluke, Michelle Löwenhielm, and Katerina Mrázová.

Doyle and Mrázová played for Team Szabados; Fluke and Löwenhielm played for Team Stecklein.

NWHL-ASG2019-Roster-4_large

Photo from nwhl.zone

 

Skills Competition

Only two skills competition events were needed for the Whale players as it was Mrázová vs Fluke in the trick shot challenge, and it was Löwenhielm vs Doyle in the hardest shot competition.

 

At the end of the six events, it was tied at three apiece. A best two out of three shootout was required between Beauts goalie Shannon Szabados and Whitecaps defender Lee Stecklein. Szabados stopped all the attempts by Stecklein, giving Shannon Doyle and Katerina Mrázová the bragging rights so far over the weekend.

 

All Star Game

The All Star Game took place at Bridgestone Arena after the Blues v. Predators game, in which the St. Louis Blues proved victorious in overtime.

Predators Game.jpg

Also, it wouldn’t be Nashville without someone throwing a catfish on the ice that landed right by Shannon Doyle just before the opening faceoff.

Catfish Opening Faceoff.jpg

 

The All Star game was two 25 minute halves of four on four hockey. The Whale had a really spectacular showing in Nashville. After Riveters forward Audra Richards gave Team Szabados the 1-0 lead, Whale defender Shannon Doyle had a great rush up the left side of the ice. She got to the left circle, she made a great drop pass to Katerina Mrázová, who then roofed it over Nicole Hensley’s shoulder to give Team Szabados the 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

 

After some halftime music by a live band at Bridgestone Arena, the second half began with Team Stecklein chasing a 2-0 lead. Team Stecklein would get a goal back when Beauts forward Lisa Chesson redirected a shot from Pride forward Gigi Marvin which found the back of the net. A few shifts would go by without a goal, but during that goalless break, we got to see some pretty spectacular defending at the blue line from Michelle Löwenhielm. Later in the half, Emily Fluke would net a five hole goal that tied the game at two. We also got to see an awesome celly between the Team Stecklein players:

 

At the end of the second half, the game was tied at two. Just like yesterday’s skills competition, the game would require a shootout to determine a winner. In the shootout, there would only be one goal, and it came from Riveters forward Amanda Kessel. It would give Team Szabados the victory and the sweep for the weekend!

 

It was a pretty historic All Star weekend, the best part about it was the attendance by the Nashville faithful. The recorded attendance was 6, 120, which set a record for largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in the United States!

 

Not to mention that All Star MVP and Beauts goalie Shannon Szabados talked about the amazingness of nearly ONE MILLION people that watched over the weekend!

 

Here is my favorite photo from the weekend!:

 

 

The Whale have three games left on the season, all of them will be home games. The first game will be against the Boston Pride on February 24th at Terry Conners Rink. Puck drop for that game will be 3p EST. The game will be a Twitter Game of the Week, and you can watch that here: https://twitter.com/nwhl

 

Tweets from Women’s Sports Highlights and Anya Battaglino were used with their permission. You can follow them here: @WSportHilites and @battaglinoa

TXHT at the NWHL All Star Festivities!

The NWHL hosted their All Star festivities in Nashville, TN this past weekend. The best players from all five teams came down and showcased their talents in front of an electric Nashville crowd. The skills competition was held at the Ford Ice Center, the practice facility for the Predators; while the All Star Game itself was at the Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville.

Here’s how the rosters looked for the weekend:

NWHL-ASG2019-Roster-4_large
Photo from nwhl.zone

Skills Competition

It was a full house at the Ford Ice Center for the NWHL skills competition; people gathered to watch the players have fun and show off. The first event was the fastest skater, in which Kristin Lewicki won the event last year. This year had the likes of Michelle Picard, Amanda Pelkey, Lexi Bender, and Kendall Coyne Schofield for Team Szabados; and Lisa Chesson, Jonna Curtis, Kate Schipper, and Allie Thunstrom for Team Stecklein. If anyone saw the NHL’s fastest skater competition, knows that Coyne was going to be the odds on favorite, and she delivered. Coyne was actually faster than when she did the NHL’s event, [14.3 for the NHL and 13.9 for the NWHL].

The next competition was the fastest goalies, in which Amanda Leveille returned to defend her title. All four goalies Katie Burt, Amanda Leveille, Shannon Szabados, and Nicole Hensley skated. The final showdown came in the form of a “battle of the teammates” Szabados v Hensley, and it was Nicole Hensley who claims bragging rights.

Accuracy shooting was up next, where Corinne Buie was the winner last year. The three shooters for Team Szabados were Haley Skarupa, Haley Scamurra, and Savannah Harmon and the three shooters for Team Stecklein were Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, and Emily Pfalzer. In the end, it was Dani Cameranesi who proved to be the most accurate!

Talents were on display during the next event, which was the trick shot challenge. All of the skaters have great hands and great creative minds. For Team Szabados it was Amanda Kessel, Madison Packer, and Katerina Mrázová and for Team Stecklein it was Gigi Marvin, Emily Fluke, and Jillian Dempsey. In this particular event, the fans got to vote for the winner of the competition. The event had everything, from Amanda Kessel doing the Flying V from the Mighty Ducks, to Madison Packer with a smooth spin-o-rama attempt that almost scored, to Emily Fluke throwing a cowboy hat, and having her second shot saved by Katie Burt with her back toward her.

In the end it was Team Stecklein who won over the fans and getting their vote.

Up next was the hardest shot competition with players who can really bring the heat on their slapshots. Last years winner of the event was Kelsey Koezler, and the players looking to take the title were, for Team Szabados were Shannon Doyle, Amanda Boulier, Audra Richards, and Blake Bolden; and for Team Stecklein were Michelle Löwenhielm, Alyssa Gagliardi, Courtney Burke, and the captain Lee Stecklein. There were a lot of really hard shots, but Blake Bolden won with her shot reaching 80 mph!

The last event was a go for goal shootout relay in which all the skaters for Team Szabados and Team Stecklein took shootout attempts, and the team with the most goals was declared the winner. After some pretty nifty attempts, it was Team Stecklein who won the event.

This meant at the end of all competitions, both teams were tied at three wins a piece. It meant that to settle it in a tiebreaker, it was captain vs captain in a best two out of three shootout attempts. Szabados made all the saves and her team won the Skills Competition!

Audio from Dani Cameranesi of the Buffalo Beauts [Team Stecklein]

Audio from Kendall Coyne Schofield of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Szabados]

All Star Game

The All Star Game took place at Bridgestone Arena after the Blues v. Predators game, in which the St. Louis Blues proved victorious in overtime.

Predators Game.jpg

It wouldn’t be Nashville without someone throwing a catfish on the ice that landed right by Shannon Doyle just before the opening faceoff.

Catfish Opening Faceoff.jpg

Both teams skated to two 25 minute halves of four on four hockey. In the first half, Team Szabados jumped out to the lead, the goal coming from the Riveters rookie forward Audra Richards. Richards, who has eight goals on the year continues her scoring prowess by getting the opening marker. Later in the half, Shannon Doyle led the rush and made a nice drop pass on top of the circle, and it fell on the stick of leading Connecticut Whale scorer Katerina Mrázová, who roofed the shot over Nicole Hensley. The goal gave Team Szabados a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

During the intermission, and because Nashville is known as Music City, there was some live music being played while we waited for the second half.

The second half had a lot of good back and forth action and then Gigi Marvin took a shot from the point which got redirected by Lisa Chesson and it found the net beating Katie Burt. The goal cut the Team Szabados lead in half. Later in the half, the game would be tied at two as Whale captain Emily Fluke netting a five hole goal!

Both goalies [Leveille and Burt] made really incredible saves and at the end of the second half, the score was tied at two. The game moved into a shootout in which Amanda Kessel was the first shooter and she beat Leveille five hole. Then Katie Burt stopped all three Team Stecklein attempts, giving the victory to Team Szabados!

The best part about the All Star Game weekend was the attendance by the Nashville faithful. The recorded attendance was 6, 120, which set a record for largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in the United States!

Audio from Amanda Kessel of the Metropolitan Riveters [Team Szabados]:

Audio from Jonna Curtis of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Stecklein]:

Audio from Shannon Szabados of the Buffalo Beauts [Team Szabados]:

Audio from Lee Stecklein of the Minnesota Whitecaps [Team Stecklein]:

Tweet from Women’s Sports Highlights and Anya Battaglino were used with their permission. You can follow them on Twitter here: @WSportHilites and @battaglinoa

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February 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is Monday, February 4th, 2019, and these are your news and notes from yesterday.

 

There were only three games on the NHL slate yesterday.

 

 

 

Boston 1, WASHINGTON 0

The Boston Bruins would take on the Washington Capitals and would come away with the 1-0 win.  The Washington Capitals have a record of 2-6-2 in their last ten games.

 

TXHT has your full recap of the contest between the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals at the following page.

 

MONTREAL 4, Edmonton 3 (OT)

There would be four different scorers for the Montreal Canadiens in this contest against the Edmonton Oilers and would win this contest 4-3 in the overtime frame.

 

Edmonton would end the weekend of games with overtime heartbreakers, including losing in overtime in this contest to the Canadiens.

 

Calgary 4, CAROLINA 3

Four different goal scorers would help the Calgary flames defeat the the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday afternoon.

 

There will be four games taking place on the NHL schedule tonight.

 

 

NWHL

 

To recap from this weekend’s slate of NWHL contests…

 

The Buffalo Beauts faced off against the Metropolitan Riveters in the NWHL Twitter Game of the Week and would come away with the 3-2 win to notch their fifth straight win.  With the win, the Buffalo Beauts moved to a record of 9-4-0 on the season.

This would be the first game for the Beauts at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House since the Isobel Cup final last season, when they would fall to the Riveters 1-0.

Both teams’ top lines were held at bay throughout the contest as the Beauts got goals from Taylor Accursi, Julianna Iafallo and Savannah Harmon.

For the Riveters’, their third line produced with Rebecca Morse and Kristin Lewicki each scoring their first goals of the season with Alexa Aramburu picking up the assists on both of the goals.

The Beauts will next have NWHL action against the Metropolitan Riveters on February 23rd.

The Whale’s next NWHL contest will be on Sunday, February 24th against the Boston Pride.

The Boston Pride would face off against the Connecticut Whale and would come away with the 3-1 win.  The Boston Pride are now 9-4-0 on the season, tied with the Buffalo Beauts for the same mark.  With the loss, the Whale are now 2-9-2 on the season.

For the Pride, Jillian Dempsey and Denisa Krizova would both have a goal and assist in this contest.  Dempsey leads all Boston Pride skaters with nine goals on the season and is second in the league.

Boston would get on the board just 1:20 into the game with Krizova scoring the goal.

Connecticut’s Rachael Ade would score to tie the game 1-1 with 55 seconds left in the first period.  That would be Ade’s first career NWHL goal.

Dempsey would score her ninth goal of the season with her goal less than two minutes into the second period.  Throughout most of the third period, the Whale would spend this time on the penalty kill.  Toni Ann Milano would take advantage of a good rebound of the puck, sealing the 3-1 win for the Boston Pride.

For a full breakdown of the contest, TXHT’s Chris Vasilas has your recap at the following page.

 

The NWHL All-Star Game will commence next weekend in Nashville, Tennessee with the resumption of the NWHL schedule on Monday, February 18th, with the Boston Pride taking on the Metropolitan Riveters in a make-up contest that was postponed due to inclement weather.

Lundberg Debuts But Whale Come Up Short Against The Pride

The Connecticut Whale squared off against the Boston Pride on Groundhog’s Day tonight at the Warrior Ice Arena. The Whale played a solid game, but unfortunately fell short against the Pride; dropping this game 3-1. This also pushes the Whale losing streak to seven games.

 

News and Notes

The Whale had some signings to announce before this game. As suspected, Colleen Murphy will join the Whale for the rest of the season to bring some stability on the back line.

 

The Whale also announced that they had signed former goalie Shenae Lundberg to a professional tryout.

 

1st Period

In the first period, the Boston Pride got off to a great start; getting a goal about a minute and twenty seconds into the game. The goal was scored by Denisa Krizova, giving the Pride the momentum from the start and establishing a good fore-check.

Before the end of the first period, it looked like the Whale were going to be down a goal heading into intermission, Rachael Ade took a shot on the left side of the half boards and it beat Katie Burt to tie the game at one all.

The goal for Ade is her first NWHL goal, and her first on the season!

 

2nd Period

The Boston Pride came out flying again in the second period, and about two minutes into the second period, Jillian Dempsey cleaned up a rebound in the slot, shooting it past Lundberg. The goal was the ninth of the year for Dempsey.

After the goal, there was good back and forth action between the two teams, however the defenses played a little tighter and the goalies were coming up large with some great saves.

 

3rd Period

The action in the first half of the third period was a lot like the end of the second. There was great back and forth action, and great saves by Burt and Lundberg.

In the second half of the third period, at the nine minute mark, Shannon Doyle got called for a hooking penalty. It knocked Denisa Krizova out of the game for a little bit of time. On the ensuing power play, Toni Ann Miano scooped up a rebound to get the Pride an insurance marker.

After the power play goal, Rachael Ade took a hooking call, sending the Pride back to the power play. Before the puck fell, obviously upset with the call, the referees escorted Emily Fluke to the box. After a brief stint in the box, and still before the puck dropped, the refs then escorted Emily Fluke off the ice. Officially on the boxscore, they gave Fluke a ten minute unsportsmanlike conduct misconduct, with zero minutes. Meaning that the Whale would not be five on three.

After that bit of craziness, the Pride played lock down on defense and kept the Whale shots to a minimum and gave them no significant offensive chances. Katie Burt sealed the deal for a Pride win, making 25 saves on 26 shots.

 

Boxscore

https://www.nwhl.zone/game/show/22207070?subseason=512423&referrer=4170047

 

3 Stars of the Game

Shenae Lundberg: She played really solid on her debut. Making 22 saves on 25 shots, as she was really in the zone.

Rachael Ade: Scoring the lone goal for the Whale tonight, she had a beautiful shot on the half boards to tie the game at one before the end of the first period. It is also her first NWHL goal!

Shannon Doyle: She got the assist on the Rachael Ade goal, giving her six points on the year. She currently has a four game point streak, heading into the All Star Break.

 

 

The next game that the Whale play will be on February 24th as they look to exact some revenge against the Boston Pride in Stamford, CT.

Next weekend is the NWHL All Star Game in Nashville, TN. Where Shannon Doyle, Emily Fluke, Michelle Löwenhielm, and Katerina Mrázová will be participating.

 

Tweets from Women’s Sports Highlights were used with their permission. You can follow them here: @WSportHilites

January 21st, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is Monday, January 21st, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

 

There were five contests in NHL action yesterday.

 

CHICAGO 8, Washington 5

 

The Chicago Blackhawks would face off against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals and would come away with an 8-5 win in Chicago.

 

This contest would fast and furious for the Chicago Blackhawks and would end the first period with a 3-1 lead, thanks to goals from Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane with the third goal credited to Jonathan Toews.  The third goal would be due to Washington Capitals Dmitry Orlov hitting the puck into his own net.

 

The second period would get very chippy in the first six minutes of gameplay with six penalties being duelled out within 45 seconds.  Washington would try to get shots in but nothing would hit in the second period, aside from Dmitry Orlov’s goal.  Alex DeBrincat would score for Chicago, making the score 4-2 at the end of the second period.

 

The third period is when Washington would turn on the jets to make a full comeback and came within a goal to make the contest 5-4, but the comeback would not be enough as Chicago would score three more goals.

 

Jonathan Toews would score three goals in the contest, giving him his second hat trick on the season.

 

With an assist from Chicago’s Patrick Kane, he now has sole possession of third place in terms of assists all-time in the long and storied history of the Blackhawks franchise.

Toews would have his third game in which he registered at least five points in a game.

 

TXHT has your full recap of the contest at the following page.

 

 

NY ISLANDERS 3, Anaheim 0

 

The Metropolitan Division-leading NY Islanders faced off against the slumping Anaheim Ducks and would go on to win this contest 3-0.  With this win by the Islanders, they have now won their last five contests.

 

This would also be the second consecutive shutout that the Islanders would have in this contest.

 

VANCOUVER 3, Detroit 2

Vancouver Canucks rookie phenom Elias Pettersson would return to action in this game and would record one goal and one assist to help lift the Canucks past the Detroit Red Wings by the score of 3-2.

 

 

 

 

 

Arizona 4, TORONTO 2

Carolina 7, EDMONTON 4

Edmonton Oilers Leon Drasital would score two goals for his team but that would not be enough as the Oilers would fall to the Carolina Hurricanes by the score of 7-4.

For Carolina, the scoring would be often.  Nino Niederreiter would have two goals in the contest and Hurricanes phenom Sebastian Aho would find the score sheet three times with three assists in the start of a road trip for Carolina.  Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin would have three assists of his own in this contest.

 

 

There are only four games in action today in the NHL.  The first game starts at 3 p.m. with the Nashville Predators visiting the Colorado Avalanche.

 

 

 

 

NWHL

 

In NWHL action yesterday, the Minnesota Whitecaps would close out the home portion of the regular season schedule with a win over the Connecticut Whale, sweeping the weekend series.

The Minnesota Whitecaps would go to throttle the Connecticut Whale by the score of 9-0 in front of another sold-out crowd at TRIA Rink.

Minnesota’s Jonna Curtis would lead all skaters for the Whitecaps with a goal and three assists in the contest and would once again tie all NWHL skaters for most points on the season.  Curtis has 17 points on the season thus far.

Kendall Coyne Schofield had two goals and an assist in the contest and Katie McGovern would have two goals of her own.

Allie Thunstrom would also have a tally and a helper while Emma Stauber had two assists.

Kalli Funk would go on to net her first career NWHL goal.

Whitecaps goaltender Julie Friend picked up the shutout in her first career start, recording 18 saves.

For the Whale, star Meeri Räisänen would leave in the second period due to a collision and Laura Brennan would replace her in net.  Brennan would have 11 saves on 18 attempts while Räisänen had 21 saves on 23 attempts before she had to depart the contest.

Games coming up for the Connecticut Whale:

  • February 2nd, 2019: at Boston Pride
  • February 24th, 2019: vs. Boston Pride
  • March 2nd, 2019: vs. Buffalo Beauts
  • March 3rd, 2019: vs.  Minnesota Whitecaps

 

Games coming up for the Minnesota Whitecaps:

  • March 2nd, 2019: at Boston Pride
  • March 3rd, 2019: at Connecticut Whale

 

 

 

 

January 20th, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is Sunday, January 20th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

 

There were 11 contests on the NHL schedule yesterday.

 

 

 

Anaheim 3, NEW JERSEY 2

 

In the first contest of the day, the Anaheim Ducks took on the New Jersey Devils in the NHL European Game of the Week.  The Ducks, after getting their first win after losing twelve straight contests on Thursday night, would defeat New Jersey by the score of 3-2.

 

https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1086790317385236481

 

For the New Jersey Devils, they enter their bye week having lost their last three games and seven out of the last ten.

 

COLORADO 7, Los Angeles 1

 

The Colorado Avalanche took on the Los Angeles Kings and would soundly defeat the Kings thanks to six goals in the second period and would go on to win this contest by the score of 7-1.

 

 

This would also be a heavily-filled penalty contest for the Kings, who amassed eight penalties in the contest.  Five of the eight penalties would come in the third period alone.

 

NY Rangers 3, BOSTON 2

 

Philadelphia 5, MONTREAL 2

There would be four different scores for the Philadelphia Flyers in the contest and two different scorers for the Montreal Canadiens in this contest.

 

Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher would lead all skaters for the Canadiens with eight shots on goal, but would not score on any of those shots.

 

 

For the Flyers, goaltender Carter Hart would have 35 saves in the contest.  Hart has a record of 6-5-1 in those 12 contests.

 

 

TAMPA BAY 6, San Jose 3

Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos would go on to have a two goal, one assist performance and help the Lightning defeat the San Jose Sharks by the score of 6-3.

 

 

San Jose Sharks Evander Kane would also have a two goal performance and Marcus Sorensen would become the eighth player for the Sharks this season to have at least ten goals.

 

ST. LOUIS 3, Ottawa 2

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington would become the sixth different goaltender in Blues history to have at least a point in at least their first five contests.

 

 

DALLAS 4, Winnipeg 2

The Dallas Stars would take on the Winnipeg Jets and double up the Jets 4-2.

 

In this contest for Dallas, there would be four different goal scorers in the contest.

The Jets would not score until the third period and would fight to come back but it would still not be enough.

 

 

Florida 4, NASHVILLE 2

 

Nashville’s Nick Bonino and Auston Watson would score the goals for the Predators in this contest.

 

MINNESOTA 2, Columbus 1

 

Minnesota’s Zach Parise would score one of the two goals, his 20th on the season, in a hard fought battle between both teams in the contest.

Columbus Blue Jackets Artemi Panarin would score the lone goal for the Blue Jackets in this contest.

 

Calgary 5, EDMONTON 2

 

Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi would notch two assists, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Milan Lucic notching the only two goals for the Oilers in this contest.

 

 

VEGAS 7, Pittsburgh 3

 

Vegas Golden Knights Jonathan Marchessault became the second different player to record hat tricks for the franchise.  Marchessault joins William Karlsson, who has two hat tricks with the franchise.

 

 

Pittsburgh’s infographic from last night’s game.  Credit of the image goes to the Pittsburgh Penguins Twitter.

 

 

In the lone NWHL of the day, the Connecticut Whale took on the Minnesota Whitecaps.

 

MINNESOTA WHITECAPS 2, Connecticut Whale 0

 

Minnesota Allie Thunstrom and Hannah Brandt scored the two goals for the Whitecaps in a hard fought battle for both sides.

Minnesota’s win put them back in first place in the NWHL standings with a record of 9-4-0 on the season

 

The game was scoreless until toward the end of the second period when Allie Thunstrom scored her third goal on the season.  The goals were assisted by  Brooke White-Lancette and  Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal. 

Minnesota’s second goal was scored by Hannah Brandt, her fifth on the season.  Brandt’s goal would be assisted by Amy Menke and Kendall Coyne Shofield.

 

Connecticut Whale goaltender Meeri Räisänen would go on to have a 29 save performance in the contest and would have more phenomenal saves throughout the contest.

 

This contest ended up being the Whitecaps “You Can Play” game in which all Whitecaps players donned jersey with rainbow numbers and accents. The You Can Play Project is an initiative that emphasizes equality and respect in sport, particularly for LGBTQ+ individuals.

 

Today there is only one contest in the NWHL.  The Minnesota Whitecaps will be hosting their last home game of the regular season.  The game will be available to watch on NWHL.zone/watch

 

The game that was to take place between the Metropolitan Riveters and the Boston Pride has been postponed to a date to be determined.

 

 

Today there are five games on the NHL schedule.

 

Whitecaps And Whale Set For Weekend Skirmish

The Minnesota Whitecaps and Connecticut Whale will get to face each other two times this weekend. The first game will be on Saturday January 19th at 630p CST and Sunday January 20th at 2p CST. Both games will be in Minnesota at Tria Rink.

 

News and Notes

Earlier in the week, there was some roster moves the Whale had made. Erica Ayala broke the news about back up Whale goaltender and Annapolis, MD native Sam Walther no longer being with the team.

 

 

Also, Mike Murphy, reported that the Whale had released two more forwards, Randi Griffin (a 2018 Olympian for the Unified South Korean team), and Sam Donovan (a 2017 NWHL 1st Round Draft Pick, 5th Overall).

 

 

Murphy went on to report that the Whale did indeed also sign a goalie to replace Sam Walther, a familiar face, goalie coach and former Whale player Laura Brennan. She even dressed as Räisänen’s backup in the last game on January 13th against the Whitecaps.

 

 

Last Game

Last game was rough sledding for the Whale against the Whitecaps; they lost that game 4-1. Goals for the Whitecaps came from Jonna Curtis, Hanna Brandt, former Whale defender Amanda Boulier, and Amy Menke. The Whale were able to convert once against the Whitecaps, the goal coming from Michelle Löwenhielm, it was her second on the season.

 

➡️@michellelowen!!! Whale have cut the lead to 1 #NWHL pic.twitter.com/zl0YaA45q7

— Women’s Sports Highlights (@WSportHilites) January 13, 2019

 

Players to Watch

The Whale will look to bounce back this weekend. They have proven that they can skate with the Whitecaps team, but need to find a way to convert the offensive chances they have been getting.

 

Whitecaps: Amanda Boulier, D – The former Whale defender played really well against her old club tallying a goal and two assists, as she looks to build off that performance with a strong showing over the weekend.

 

Whale: Michelle Löwenhielm, F – The Whale forward has had a good year this season, as she is tied for third on the team with five points. She currently has two goals in her last three games, and she’s been playing on the top line with Fluke and Mrázová, so she is getting good offensive chances.

 

Where to Watch

The game on Saturday is in fact, an NWHL Twitter Game of the Week, and it can be viewed here:

https://twitter.com/nwhl

 

The game on Sunday is going to be a little different, and the game can be viewed here:

https://www.nwhl.zone/watch

 

Tweets from Women’s Sports Highlights and Erica Ayala were used with their permission.

TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

 

Audio Version:

 

YouTube Version:

 

This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by our friend from The Hockey Writers Nate Oliver, and TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

 

TXHT starts off with NWHL talk with Michael and Nate as we review the partnership between the NHL’s Boston Bruins and the NWHL’s Boston Pride. Plus a recap of last weekend’s action, as well as a preview for this upcoming weekend’s games. Also we talk about some other news and notes throughout the NWHL.

 

Then Michael opens up the forum to Nate and Steve as they ask him questions about Alex Ovechkin, Madison Bowey, and the Capitals future on defense.

 

Plus Michael and Steve talk about the Maple Leafs and the situation with the fans booing defenseman Jake Gardiner, and the slippery slope that is the growing negativity of “fans” on social media. Also all three geek out over hockey cards and some of their prized items in their memorabilia collections.

 

This week’s episode was recorded on Wednesday, January 16th, 2019

Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

 

Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

January 14th, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is Monday, january 14th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

 

There were six games that took place yesterday.

 

CAROLINA 6, Nashville 3

 

Carolina Hurricanes Sebastian Aho would go on to record a hat trick in the contest and Nashville Predators Filip Forsberg would go on to have a two goal performance in the Carolina’s 6-3 win.

Aho would be the fourth player in the franchise history of the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes to begin their career with the franchise and  have three seasons with at least 20 goals.

 

Justin Williams would also extend his goal scoring streak to five games and be the sixth player to do this at the age of 37 or older.

 

WINNIPEG 4, Anaheim 3 (OT)

The Winnipeg Jets would win this contest with 11 seconds left to take down the Anaheim Ducks 4-3.  Winnipeg’s Bryan Little would score his 10th goal on the season with this game winner.

Winnipeg Jets Patrik Laine would join a rare company when he scored his 25th goal on the season.

 

He would be the seventh player in League history to have at least three 25 goal seasons before their 21st birthday.

 

COLUMBUS 7, NY Rangers 5

 

Before the contest between both teams, Rick Nash, who had played for both franchises in his career, participated in the ceremonial puck drop.

 

 

Columbus would go on to win its third game in four days in this contest when they went on to defeat the New York Rangers by the score of 7-5.

 

 

NY ISLANDERS 5, Tampa Bay 1

The New York Islanders faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning and would win the contest 5-1.  With the Islanders win, they would snap the Lightning’s 12 game win streak against Metropolitan division opponents.

 

NY Islanders goaltender Thomas Griess would go on to have a 26 save performance in this contest to extend the hot streak that the Islanders have been on.  The team has won eight out of their last ten contests.

The Lightning now has a record of 35-9-2 on the season, good for 72 points.

 

VANCOUVER 5, Florida 1

Vancouver’s Loui Eriksson would open up the scoring in the second period for the Canucks when he scored his eighth goal in the season, giving Vancouver the 1-0 lead at the 12:32 mark.

Late in the third period, Brock Boeser and Jay Beagle would both score empty net goals, sealing the 5-1 win for the Canucks.

Eriksson had a four-point night to top all scorers for points in the game.

 

CALGARY 7, Arizona 1

The Calgary Flames would take on the Arizona Coyotes last night and the Flames would drub the Coyotes, winning the contest by the score of 7-1.

Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano would score twice in the contest and Johnny Gaudreau would score a goal and have an assist in the contest.

Arizona’s lone goal would come on a power play from Jordan Oesterle late in the second period.  Arizona cold never get out of the box and would fall behind early.

With this contest, the Flames would hold onto their best record in the Western Conference and now has a record of 30-13-4 (64 pts) Arizona has a record of 20-22-3 (43 pts).

 

 

Today’s Schedule of Games…

 

 

 

NWHL

 

Saturday in the two NWHL contests…

 

BOXSCORE: Buffalo Beauts 5, Metropolitan Riveters 1

 

 

For the first time since the 2018 Isobel Cup Final last March, the Buffalo Beauts and Metropolitan Riveters faced off and the Beauts would walk away with a dominant 5-1 win over the Riveters at HarborCenter yesterday afternoon in the NWHL Twitter Game of the Week.

Buffalo’s Hayley Scamurra would score twice and by doing so would tie teammate Maddie Elia for the lead in NWHL goals with nine on the season.

 

BOXSCORE: Boston Pride 5, Minnesota Whitecaps 4

 

 

In the contest between the Boston Pride and the Minnesota Whitecaps, The Pride went on to defeat the Whitecaps by the score of 5-4.

This was a contest for the battle for first place overall in the NWHL standings and this contest was playded before a sold out crowd at the Warrior Ice Arena.

This was the first contest since the Pride announced the new partnership with the NHL’s Boston Bruins.

The scoring in this contest would be fast and furious as the Whitecaps would open up the scoring in the first period when Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield would score at the 3:25 mark.  Then Boston would even the score just 35 seconds later when Kaleigh Fratkin scored her second goal on the season.

Then at the 6:24 mark, Boston’s Amanda Pelkey would score her fourth goal on the season.  Almost two minutes later, Minnesota’s Amanda Menke would even the score at 2 a piece.  After that, the Pride would score three unanswered goals to give the Pride a 5-2 lead at the end of the first period.

The second and third periods were quiet on the scoring front for the Pride but the Whitecaps would score a goal in each period.  However, that would not be enough as the Minnesota Whitecaps would fall to the Pride in their first game on the weekend.

 

 

Yesterday’s action in the NWHL…

 

BOXSCORE: Minnesota Whitecaps 4, Connecticut Whale 1

 

 

After falling to the Boston Pride 5-2 on Saturday night, the Minnesota Whitecaps would have a dominant performance against the Connecticut Whale and would defeat the Whale by the score of 4-1.

Minnesota’s Janna Curtis would open up the scoring for the Whitecaps with her goal at the 6:58 mark in the first period, her sixth on the season.  Then about six minutes later, Hannah Brandt would score a goal on the power play to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead.

Minnesota goaltender Amanda Leveille would once again have a contest with great saves and would register 26 saves in the contest.

Amy Menke would have a great game, registering two assists before getting a goal of her own about halfway through the second period.

Despite having four minutes of power play time in the third period, the Whale would not convert on the chances given and would fall to the Whitecaps.

 

Upcoming games in the NWHL:

 

  • January 19: Connecticut Whale at Minnesota Whitecaps (Twitter Game of the Week)
  • January 20: Boston Pride at Metropolitan Riveters; Connecticut Whale at Minnesota Whitecaps
  • January 26: Boston Pride at Buffalo Beauts (Twitter Game of the Week)
  • February 2: Buffalo Beauts at Metropolitan Riveters (Twitter Game of the Week); Connecticut Whale at Boston Pride

Sorokina Returns To Haunt The Whale

The Connecticut Whale faced off for the last time against the Metropolitan Riveters this season. It was a spirited bout that saw the Riveters pick up the 6-3 win over the Whale, giving both teams a split in the season series. Earlier in the week, the Connecticut Whale and the Metropolitan Riveters made a trade with each other, which saw backup Whale goalkeeper Maria Sorokina be shipped to the Riveters in exchange for future considerations.

Here is a quick summary of the game, in which the Whale went down two goals before the ten minute mark of the first period. The first goal coming from Audra Richards, which is her first time scoring on the road this season. The second goal came from Madison Packer, on the breakaway, after a beautiful pass from Amanda Kessel. The Whale managed to get one back, as Nina Rodgers got the goal, when a Riveters penalty expired.

The Riveters would add another goal before the period ended, and it was Alexa Gruschow with the goal.

In the second period, there was a net mouth scramble in which Kayla Meneghin, while unfortunately not credited with an assist on the play, tied up traffic in front for Jamie Goldsmith to sweep the puck in the net. This goal is Goldsmith’s first of the year and it breaks her drought.

The Riveters would then rattle off two more unanswered goals in the second. Goals coming from Rebecca Russo, off a rebound in front of the net; and Audra Richards notching her second goal of the game. Coincidentally, both goals she scored this game came via the power play. With her two goals in this game, it pushes her goal totals to eight. In the third period, the Whale would strike first and fast, as the puck went across the crease and Emily Fluke had a wide open net to shoot at; her goal coming on the power play.

That would be as close as it gets for the Whale, as almost four minutes later, Miye D’Oench would notch an insurance marker for the Riveters, sealing them the victory.

Some notable stats for some players in this game, Maria Sorokina would record 18 saves on 21 shots, and Räisänen would make 13 saves on 19 shots in the game. Madison Packer had a goal and three assists for four points in the game. Amanda Kessel had five assists on the game and a lot of them were really pretty. For the Whale, Katerina Mrázová improved her point totals adding two assists in the game.

The Whale’s penalty kill coming into the game was the best in the league. Unfortunately they suffered a less than stellar performance. The penalty kill gave up two goals, both to Audra Richards. It really is something that they should forget, as the penalty kill has been one of the best things about the team all season long.

It’s not going to get any easier for the Whale, as their next three games will be against the Whitecaps. The first of the three games will be on Sunday January 13th at Terry Conners Rink, at 3p.

Boxscore
https://www.nwhl.zone/game/show/22207053?subseason=512423&referrer=4170047

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