PWHL camp results — Rivalry series rosters — Women’s hockey links
The IX: Hockey Friday with The Ice Garden, Dec. 8, 2023
Greetings from Angelica Rodriguez at The Ice Garden. Here we are — zeroing in on the holidays and the start of a New Year, and inching ever closer to that Jan. 1 puck drop for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Evaluation camp in Utica, N.Y., has come to a close, and I got to see a bit of all six teams in action on Tuesday. Simply put, fans are in for a treat when it comes to the on-ice talent — but then again, we all knew that was the case, right?
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Here’s a brief overview of each scrimmage day’s results and standouts from each matchup. A quick note on the scrimmage format — each team played three standard periods, plus a 3-on-3 overtime for five minutes, followed by a shootout. This was regardless of the final score in regulation. With that said, here we go.
Monday, Dec. 4
Blayre Turnbull had a hat trick and Kristen Campbell made 33 saves as Toronto skated all over Boston, earning some early bragging rights for what’s bound to be a good rivalry.
Ottawa got off to a hot start with goals from Jincy Roese, Natalie Snodgrass, and Mikyla Grant-Mentis, but Minnesota quickly took over as Susanna Tapani exploded for a three-point game (1 G, 2 A).
Jessie Eldridge had a monster game with two goals and an assist, and Abbey Levy made 24 saves as New York blanked Montreal during regular scrimmage time; however, Montreal made good in the shootout, with Tereza Vanišová, Marie-Philip Poulin, and Laura Stacey all scoring.
Tuesday, Dec. 5
Toronto got out to a hot start, scoring 3 on Lauren Bench before Minnesota took advantage of some flat play in the second period and pulled out the win in regulation play. However, Toronto got the tying point with a shootout win. Rebecca Leslie scored two of the first three for Toronto, who let penalties get them off their game as time went by.
Jillian Dempsey had a great showing — for Montreal, that is — scoring what would be the game winning goal off a great give and go with Ann-Sophie Bettez. Bettez also had a goal of her own to open the scoring, while Boston took the shootout and earned a point toward the final score.
Corinne Schroeder. That’s it, that’s the recap. But for real, the former Boston Pride netminder was absolutely on point facing off against fellow Canadian Emerance Maschmeyer, gaining the edge with a sparkling 40-save performance for New York. For her part, Maschmeyer was neck and neck, making 23 of 24 stops in regulation and only allowing two goals in the shootout.
Thursday, Dec. 7
Kelly Pannek had herself a day, scoring twice, while Brittyn Fleming had two assists in what was a very good showing for Minnesota — but it was Montreal whose power play shined, with Brigitte Laganière and Poulin both capitalizing on the skater advantage and keeping the score close.
Renata Fast was all over the scoresheet (2 G, 1 A), but it wasn’t enough to stop New York from breaking loose and dominating both the third period and the overtime session. Emma Woods scored twice, and Eldridge had a goal and an assist.
Boston snuck a win in just under the wire, with Loren Gabel being the big story of the day. Gabel tallied two goals and one assist, creating excellent chemistry with Alina Müller who assisted on both of her goals.
For a more in-depth look (kind of) at each of these teams, check out my overview at Black Rosie Media – and stay tuned for a livestream this weekend going over the finer points.
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Women’s hockey links
For the newly initiated, and even for those who have been around for way longer than the norm (*waves*), here’s a comprehensive look by Hailey Salvian at The Athletic as to how we got to where we are now with the PWHL. I appreciate the breakdown of each era and league, and I think it’s important to remember that each new iteration of women’s hockey has contributed to what we have today. Let’s hope this sticks around.
Rivalry Series rosters have been announced for December, and we have two new names on Team USA to look out for — Kirsten Simms and Ally Simpson. Simms is part of a stacked roster at No. 3 Wisconsin, with 30 points on the season (just behind team leader and USA teammate Britta Curl). Simpson, meanwhile, is a fifth-year out of No. 4 Colgate who has a good amount of size and great playmaking ability (14 assists so far this year). She captained the Collegiate Series squad and also played on the U18 team, so she has pretty deep USA Hockey roots.
As for Canada, three players are set to make their National Team debuts: Anne Cherkowski, Jennifer Gardiner and Nicole Gosling. Cherkowski and Gosling are teammates at Clarkson, Cherkowski having a knack for power-play tallies (four on the year so far, eight last season) while Gosling is second on the squad in terms of both assists (15) and overall points (22). As for Gardiner, she is probably the player I’m most excited to see, as she’s been tearing up the ice for Ohio State and will almost definitely be in the running for the Patty Kaz later this season, as she was last year.
Another former women’s hockey head coach is coming back into the men’s hockey fold. Boston Pride bench boss Paul Mara has been named assistant coach of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, affiliate of the New York Rangers. The team announced the hire on Tuesday, with Mara joining the team immediately and coaching to a 4-3 OT loss Wednesday evening.
Give @Delaware_IH a follow on Twitter — they’re the newest D1 women’s hockey team in the NCAA, set to make their on-ice debut as a member of College Hockey America in the 2025-26 season. Exciting stuff, especially considering their club hockey squad has seen a ton of success in recent years.
And lastly, our fearless leader Mike Murphy and I have put together a directory of LGBTQ+-inclusive leagues and programs, and we’d love it if you could circulate or even let us know who we’re missing. This is something I’m so proud of as a queer woman and puckhead, and it means so much that we keep it current and relevant.
| Mondays: Soccer |
| By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
| Tuesdays: Tennis |
| By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer |
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