5 takeaways from Week 12 of the PWHL: Denver deserves a team, Boston’s the best
We are well into the second half of the PWHL season, and things are heating up on multiple fronts.
From expansion talk to the battle for first place, and the plethora of teams fighting for the last playoff spot, everyone is jacked for what could unfold over the next few weeks. We saw stellar performances and untimely letdowns in the week that was, with some individuals solidifying their spots in the award conversations.
Mile High Hockey (PWHL’s Version)
The PWHL’s second trip to Denver this year, and third in the league’s history, only further proves that one of the favorites for league expansion is the Mile High City. A city that’s quietly a crazed-women’s sports town, with the Denver Summit making its debut in the National Women’s Soccer League this past weekend, showed up on Sunday afternoon to see the New York Sirens take on the Minnesota Frost. 15,512 were inside Ball Arena, one of the best crowds during the Takeover Tour this year. They were treated to an exciting contest, as the Sirens nearly erased a 4-0 deficit, falling to the two-time Walter Cup champions, 4-3.
If you add the first game at Ball Arena this season, the average crowd was 13,562. If you really want to get into the weeds, the three Takeover games in Denver over the past two seasons average out to 13,714. Those numbers are pretty positive when trying to entice the league to make a permanent residence in town. The atmosphere for every trip to the city has been electric, making Denver a surefire spot for the PWHL’s next wave of expansion.
Boston proves its worth
We saw a true marquee matchup in Laval on Sunday, as the Boston Fleet visited the Montreal Victoire with first place on the line. Even though the Fleet has been the top team in the league for most of the season, heading into Quebec, where the Victoire hasn’t lost this season, it wasn’t going to be easy. That was even more so when Boston fell behind 3-0.
Yet, the Fleet somehow turned things around. In front of the passionate Victoire faithful, Boston rallied, with Loren Gabel, Megan Keller and Susanna Tapani scoring, with the latter finding the back of the net with just 14 seconds to go in regulation. Ella Huber completed the comeback with the winner in overtime, giving the Fleet a seemingly improbable 4-3 victory.
Ella. Huber.
ELLA HUBER CALLS GAME.
The game not only kept the Fleet atop the PWHL standings but also showed that this team has the grit and desire required to be a true championship contender. Most teams would’ve folded over, especially against a team like Montreal. However, Boston proved, once again, that this group is for real and is difficult to stop.
Sunday, injury Sunday
In the league’s tripleheader to cap off the weekend, a number of notable names went down with injury in a variety of ways.
Unquestionably, the biggest news of the day was Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin leaving in the first period against the Fleet, right after she scored the first goal of the game. It appeared that the superstar tweaked the same knee that caused her to miss Canada’s last two group-stage games at the Winter Olympics, as well as Victoire’s first game coming out of the break.
Head coach Kori Cheverie didn’t have much of an update after the game, but did mention that Poulin exited the game for “precautionary reasons.”
In that same game, Victoire defender Maggie Flaherty laid a massive hit on Fleet forward Jill Saulnier, sending Saulnier hard into the boards. Saulnier struggled to get off the ice, while Flaherty was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct.
Scary moment here for Jill Saulnier. Maggie Flaherty catches Saulnier who isn't looking. Saulnier's head made significant contact with the boards. #PWHL
To no one’s surprise, Saulnier didn’t return to the game.
In the Takeover Tour game in Denver, Sirens forward Taylor Girard had to be stretchered off the ice after awkwardly falling to the ice, injuring her right knee. The sight of seeing the former PHF star having to be carried off the ice might spell the end of her season, taking a key secondary scorer out of the New York lineup.
in case anyone not watching was wondering how that happened
In Toronto, Seattle, Torrent defender Cayla Barnes took a hard hit from Sceptres blueliner Ella Shelton along the boards. Barnes didn’t leave the bench, but didn’t see any ice time for the rest of the game. Torrent head coach Steve O’Rourke noted postgame that the team was trying to figure exactly what was ailing Barnes.
There were no immediate updates on Saulnier, Girard, or Barnes injuries.
Safe to say…Sunday wasn’t a safe day for hockey players.
It’s time for the Torrent to tank
Speaking of the Torrent, I think we had an idea going into this season that this expansion team would struggle. They certainly didn’t obtain the same quality of talent that the Vancouver Goldeneyes did, and everyone quickly learned that camaraderie is important in the PWHL. Despite playing in so many close games, Seattle hasn’t been able to pick up enough points to be considered a real threat to qualify for the Walter Cup Playoffs. In fact, the Torrent were the first team this season to lose in regulation 10 times. Following a 2-0 loss to the Sceptres on Sunday, Seattle has lost six of its past seven games, giving the team 13 defeats in regulation and extra time.
With that, Seattle might think about packing it in for the year. Yes, it goes against the spirit of sport to tank, but there doesn’t seem to be much hope for the team to get back into the postseason race, sitting nine points back of fourth as of Monday morning. With the fact that there is a lot of talent in this year’s PWHL Draft, the sooner Seattle becomes Gold Plan-eligible, the better chance they have at getting the first overall pick. The Torrent might be able to get a franchise player that could help carry this team for a long time.
College hockey fun
The NCAA Women’s D-I Hockey Tournament got underway this past weekend, showcasing the best up-and-coming talent, with loads of future PWHLers representing their schools, some for the last time. We saw entertaining matchups in the first round of the tournament, with Yale outlasting Minnesota Duluth and Connecticut beating Princeton.
The regional finals went (mostly) as expected. Top-seeded Ohio State ran away with a 6-1 victory over Yale, and Wisconsin hammered Quinnipiac 6-0. Atlantic Hockey America champion Penn State scored a notable win over UConn in its quarterfinal, sending the program to the Frozen Four for the first time. The one true upset during regionals was Hockey East runner-up Northeastern hanging on to beat Minnesota, on the road, making the Huskies the first HEA team to play in the Frozen Four in three years.
Many are expecting another Wisconsin/Ohio State matchup in the national championship game, but I wouldn’t be too keen on taking the Huskies or the Nittany Lions lightly, especially with Penn State playing on home ice.
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