PHF Roundup: Season Eight, Week Eleven
Melissa Burgess
- 6 min read

PHF Roundup: Season Eight, Week Eleven

Recapping a PHF game where the Boston Pride shut out the Metropolitan Riveters 5-0, with other news, notes & highlights from around the league.

PHF Roundup: Season Eight, Week Eleven by Melissa Burgess

Game of the Week

Boston Pride 5, Metropolitan Riveters 0

Corinne Schroeder recorded her seventh shutout of the season on Saturday, as the Boston Pride took an easy 5-0 victory over the Metropolitan Riveters. Schroeder has easily been the PHF's best goaltender this season, leading across the board in wins, GAA, and save percentage, and is a huge part of why the Pride sit atop the league standings.

The Riveters outshot the Pride 17-10 in the first period, but Schroeder came up big time and time again to keep the game scoreless. Metropolitan dominated zone time and possession, though Boston did manage to squeak in a few good scoring chances when they did have the puck.

All it takes is one opportunity, as Sammy Davis showed when she opened the scoring for Boston with 4:10 to play in the period.  Élizabeth Giguère had the puck along the boards and got tripped up going into the corner, but was able to recover and send a pass across to Davis in front for the tap-in. While Burt was able to get a piece of the puck, she couldn't quite handle it to keep it out of the net.

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The Pride held on to the one-goal lead for a long time, including the entire middle frame. The Riveters did well to keep it close, focusing on their backchecking and at times seemingly playing keep-away with the puck, but couldn't find the equalizer. They even killed off a lengthy 5-on-3, but also lost Madison Packer, who was helped off after blocking a close-range shot from Kaleigh Fratkin.

Early in the third period, a turnover in the Boston zone led to an odd-player rush at the other end, with Loren Gabel, Jillian Dempsey, and Allie Thunstrom leading the way. The Riveters defender committed to Gabel but then fell, turning it into essentially a 3-on-0 opportunity. Gabel passed it over to Thunstrom, who backhanded it up in the air and into the net.

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Captain Jillian Dempsey added a power-play goal at 9:44 to make it a three-goal game. A tic-tac-toe play with Giguère, Gabel, and Thunstrom saw the former slide a pass through the crease to Dempsey, who was lurking on Burt's left and pounced on the loose puck.

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Despite being down by three, the Riveters clearly still felt it was a close enough game. They pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker with 5:20 to play; at that point, as the commentators said, what do you have to lose? Metro did put some pressure on, and Minttu Tuominen blasted a strong shot from the point that could have broke open the game a bit. Instead, the Pride gained possession, skated to the the other end of the ice and scored on the empty-netter, with Loren Gabel getting the insurance marker.

To add insult to injury, the Riveters found themselves on the penalty kill soon after. Kaleigh Fratkin wasted little time with a blast from the point through a clear shooting late, and the Pride held strong for the final minutes en route to a 5-0 win.

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Gabel, who is now the PHF's leading scorer, recorded three points. Dempsey also had three points, while Giguère contributed a pair of assists. Schroeder stopped all 34 shots faced, and has overall stopped 577 of 604 shots faced this season.

Saturday's broadcast was littered with technical difficulties throughout, but thankfully for those watching at home, no goals or other major infractions happened during these times. The broadcast cut out seven times over the course of the game, missing roughly a total of six minutes and change – but to be honest, I'm not even sure the commentators, who were broadcasting offsite from Florida, were aware of the issues. In the end, it's not a huge deal, but it is certainly frustrating – and would've been even more so if something important had happened during these times.

Other Weekend Action

  • A shootout goal from Minttu Tuominen was the difference-maker in Friday's Riveters win over the Whale. Tuominen scored the lone goal in the shootout, as five other skaters were stopped by their respective netminders. Fanni Garát-Gasparics and Taylor Girard had the goals in regulation, while Katie Burt stopped 32 of 33 shots faced.
  • The Six have won eight of their last nine games after handily sweeping the weekend over the Beauts. Shiann Darkangelo scored twice in Saturday's 3-0 win, while Lindsay Eastwood and Michela Cava each had two points. Elaine Chuli stopped 26 shots in her first shutout of the season.
  • Sunday's rematch between the Beauts and Six started off closer – it was 2-2 after the first period. Toronto scored five unanswered goals to snatch a 7-2 win. Madi Nichols (BUF) and Daryl Watts (TOR) each scored their first PHF goals. Buffalo went 0-7 on the power play. Eleven Toronto players recorded points.
  • This weekend's series between the Whitecaps and Force was pushed back a day; Minnesota had travel issues, with an airport closure due to extreme cold. Sunday's game was actually closer than the scoreboard would make it appear. Catherine Daoust and Jonna Albers scored in the first period, and the game remained tied for a long time. Liz Schepers broke the tie at 9:13 of the third period on the advantage. The Whitecaps then scored two empty-netters to win 4-1.
  • The Pride pulled off a 5-2 win over the Whale on Sunday, despite being outshot by a 50-33 margin. Loren Gabel had two goals and two assists, while Corinne Schroeder had another huge performance in net for Boston. Nine Pride players registered at least one point.
  • Finally, the Whitecaps and Force finished their series on Monday afternoon, with Minnesota coming out on top 3-2. Brittyn Fleming, Ashleigh Brykaliuk, and Denisa Křížová scored for the Whitecaps, while Ann-Sophie Bettez and Alexandra Labelle tallied for Montreal. Amanda Leveille played both games, earning her 60th and 61st career regular-season wins.

News & Notes

  • The Buffalo Beauts signed goaltender Samantha Ridgewell to a contract for the rest of the season, valued at $6,500. Ridgewell's signing gives the Beauts a third option in net, as Kassidy Sauvé announced that she will not return this season and will instead have surgery and focus on preparing for next season.
  • The Beauts also signed forward Maggie Knott for the rest of the season. Iveta Klimášova was not with the team this weekend.
  • Connecticut's Kennedy Marchment was named PHF Player of the Month for January. She recorded 14 points (9G, 5A) in eight games and is slated to set new career highs in goals and points.
  • With just a few weeks left in the regular season, the PHF still has not revealed any details for the Isobel Cup playoffs. This is the first season with seven teams, so any playoff format will be different than what we've seen in years past. Based on reports from Dan Rice, it appears the format could be as simple as the top four teams making the playoffs outright. Realistically, this information should have been released before the season even started.

↑ After starting the season with a four-game losing streak, the Minnesota Whitecaps have really picked up the pace. They are now on a six-game winning streak dating back to January 7 and have won nine of their last 10 games.

↑ Unsurprisingly, the Toronto Six are having a great season. They've won eight of their last nine games and had a season-long six-game win streak from December 11 through January 21.

↑ The Boston Pride have won nine of their last 11 games and have lost only three games total this season to date. They are, hands-down, the team to beat.

═ Both the Metropolitan Riveters and Connecticut Whale are 2-2 in their last four games. The Whale are on a two-game losing streak.

↓ The Buffalo Beauts' dreadful season continues. The team has now lost nine of its last 10 games and has just two wins on the season. Based on points percentage, this is currently their worst season in franchise history.

↓ The Montreal Force have lost four of their last five games. They haven't been able to string together a pair of wins yet this season.

League Standings

  1. Boston (14-2-1), 40 points
  2. Toronto (12-2-2), 36 points
  3. Minnesota (10-4-2), 32 points
  4. Connecticut (8-7-2), 26 points
  5. Metropolitan (6-12-0), 16 points
  6. Montreal (6-9-1), 16 points
  7. Buffalo (2-12-2), 8 points

The Six, Whitecaps, Force, and Beauts each have eight games remaining in the regular season. The Pride and Whale each have seven games left, while the Riveters have only six games left.

League Leaders

League Leaders

  • Goals: Goals: Loren Gabel (17)
  • Assists:Assists: Élizabeth Giguère, Loren Gabel (14)
  • Points:Points: Loren Gabel (31)
  • Shots: Shots on goal: Loren Gabel (95)
  • PIM: PIM: Olivia Zafuto (25)
  • GAA: GAA: Corinne Schroeder (1.64)
  • Save Percentage:Sv %: Corinne Schroeder (.955)

Upcoming Games

Upcoming Games

  • Saturday, February 11: Montreal at Toronto, 2:00 PM Eastern
  • Sunday, February 12: Montreal at Toronto, 2:00 PM Eastern

Only the PHF's Canadian teams are in action next weekend, likely an accommodation for Americans with the Super Bowl scheduled for Sunday.

(Photo: Michelle Jay/Boston Pride)

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