James Thomas Lowell Sun Photo

 

By Scott Lowe – MYHockeyRankings.com

Week 3 of the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League season has come and gone, but not before making its mark just like the opening two weeks of the 2024 campaign did.

The Week 3 final tally:

• Five games
• 27 goals
• Four games with exactly five goals scored
• One shootout – the league’s first
• One overtime game
• One hat trick – by New York’s Jade Downie-Landry
• A three-assist performance by Alina Müller
• Four games decided by a single goal
• 21,673 more spectators in attendance
• Multiple “Captain Clutch” sightings

Just another week at the office.

Minnesota continued to lead the pack. Marie-Philip Poulin continued to dazzle. Fans continued to pour through the turnstiles in droves. Games continued to go down to the wire, and the fantastic finishes, speed, skill and competitiveness kept providing a thrill a minute for a growing North American. fanbase.

Now here is the Week 3 edition of MHR’s Pulse of the PWHL:

 

Home is Where the Wins Are (Sometimes)

Montreal became the first Canadian PWHL team win on home ice Jan. 16, earning a 3-2 victory over visiting New York in front of 6,334 fans at Place Bell. Of course, it was none other than “Captain Clutch,” Marie-Philip Poulin, who would tally the game-winning goal with 6:24 remaining in the third period. It was her fourth goal of the season, with Maureen Murphy dishing out her second assist of the game and fifth of the year. Gabrielle David and Leah Lum scored first-period goals for Montreal, while Jaimee Bourbonnais and Jessie Eldridge scored once apiece in the second and third periods to knot the game and set up Poulin’s heroics. Alex Carpenter dished out a pair of assists, her third and fourth of the season, and Ella Shelton picked up her fifth helper of the year for New York. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 30 saves to earn the win in goal. Poulin, Tereza Vanišová and Carpenter were the game’s three stars.

 

Overtime is Their Time

Minnesota became the fourth of the PWHL’s six teams to win an overtime game Jan. 17 as Susanna Tapani buried the OT game-winner in a 3-2 victory at Ottawa’s TD Place to send 5,609 spectators home disappointed. Tapani scored 1:57 into the extra session, with Grace Zumwinkle assisting, to make a winner of netminder Nicole Hensley (24 saves). Tapani, who scored twice, and Hensley were the contest’s first and second stars, with Ottawa’s Savannah Harmon receiving third-star accolades. Zumwinkle had Minnesota’s other goal, while Harmon and Lexie Adzija scored for Ottawa.

 

Boston Battles Back

Loren Gabel rallied her team twice, tying the game at 1 in the second period, and breaking a 2-all tie with 1:50 left in the third period as Boston earned a 3-2 road win in front of 2,491 disappointed fans at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Center Jan. 17. Hannah Miller staked Toronto to a 1-0 lead 9 minutes into the opening frame and tied the game 7:45 into the third period before Gabel won it. Alina Müller set up all three Boston goals with primary assists, and Gabel also assisted on Megan Keller’s second-period goal to earn first-star recognition. Miller and Boston’s Emma Söderberg (30 saves) were the game’s other two stars.

 

Shoutout for the First Shootout

The PWHL’s first-ever shootout took place Jan. 20 as host Montreal fell to Toronto, 4-3, at Verdun Auditorium. As if the shootout alone wouldn’t have been thrilling enough, it was set up by Marie-Philip Poulin’s end-to-end game-tying rush in the final minute that left all six Toronto players shaking their heads and had all 3,232 fans screaming their approval. That was Poulin’s second goal of the game and sixth of the season, but she wasn’t done. “Captain Clutch” would go on to shoot four times in the six-round shootout, scoring once, but it was not enough as goals by Hannah Miller and Lauriane Rougeau secured the victory for the visitors. Kristen Campbell stopped 21 shots in regulation and thwarted five of six Montreal shootout attempts to secure the victory. Sarah Bujold scored Montreal’s other regulation goal, while Jocelyne Larocque, Maggie Connors and Natalie Spooner tallied for Toronto. Rougeau, Poulin and Ann-Renée Desbiens (35 saves) were the game’s three stars.

 

Hat’s Off for Downie-Landry

New York’s Jade Downie-Landry notched the PWHL’s third hat trick – and her team’s first – in a 4-1 victory vs. Boston in front of 4,007 at Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass. Jan. 20. Downie-Landry scored once in each period for her first three goals of the season to earn No, 1-star honors. Jessie Eldridge also netted her fourth goal of the year in the middle frame, while Loren Gabel tallied Boston’s lone score in the third. Corinne Schroeder stopped 32 shots to earn the win in goal and garner second-star honors. Gabel was named the game’s third star. Schroeder and Minnesota’s Nicole Hensley became the first PWHL goalies to reach three wins on the season.

   

Three Stars of the Week

1. Marie-Philip Poulin – Montreal (F)
2. Jade Downie-Landry – New York (C)
3. Alina Müller – Boston (C)

“Captain Canada” aka “Captain Clutch” aka Marie-Philip Poulin earned PWHL first-star accolades for the second-straight week after scoring three goals in two games, including a game-winner and a highlight-reel game-tying goal. She also scored once in four attempts during the league’s first-ever shootout. Poulin leads the league in goals with six and is second with seven points.

Jade Downie-Landry scored three goals on five shots during Week 3 and won two-thirds of her faceoffs. She recorded New York’s first hat trick Jan. 20 in a 4-1 victory vs. Boston. Downie-Landry is tied for fourth in the PWHL with three goals and tied for seventh with five points.

Alina Müller had four assists in two games and set up all three of her team’s goals Jan. 17 in a 3-2 win vs. Toronto. She assisted on the game-winning goal in the final two minutes to help Boston to its first regulation win and added four shots on goal while going plus-three. Müller had the primary assist on all four of her team’s Week 3 goals. She is tied for the second in the PWHL with five assists.

 

Standings Through Week 3

The PWHL standings are based on a three-point system in which teams are awarded three points for a win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout lost and no points for a regulation loss.

Here is a look at the standings through Week 2:

1. Minnesota 3RW 1OTW 1OTL – 12 pts
2. Montreal 2RW 1OTW 1L 1OTL 1SOL – 10 pts
3. New York 2RW 1OTW 3L – 8 pts
4. Ottawa 1RW 2OTL – 5 pts
5. Boston 1RW 1OTW 2L – 5 pts
6. Toronto 1RW 1SOW 4L – 5 pts

 

Goal Leaders

Marie-Philip Poulin MON – 6

Grace Zumwinkle MIN – 5

Jessie Eldridge NY – 4

Alex Carpenter NY – 3

Taylor Heise MIN - 3

 

Assist Leaders

Alex Carpenter NY – 6

Alina Müller BOS – 5

Maureen Murphy MON – 5

Ella Shelton NY – 5

Tereza Vanisova MON – 5

  

Points Leaders

Alex Carpenter NY – 8

Ella Shelton NY – 7

Marie-Philip Poulin MON - 7

Grace Zumwinkle MIN – 6

Jessie Eldridge NY – 6

 

Save Percentage Leaders

Corinne Schroeder NY – .949

Nicole Hensley MIN – .946

Maddie Rooney MIN – .943

Elaine Chuli MON – .938

Ann-Renée Desbiens – .915

 

Week 4 Schedule & Viewing Guide

Tuesday, January 23, 2024
7:00 p.m. ET – Toronto at Ottawa (The Arena at TD Place)
Linear TV: Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario
Streaming: Sportsnet+, YouTube

Wednesday, January 24
7:00 p.m. ET – Boston at Ottawa
TV: TSN3/TSN5
Streaming: YouTube

8:00 p.m. ET – Montreal at Minnesota
TV: Bally Sports North Extra
Streaming: TSN+, YouTube
French: ICI TOU.TV

Friday, January 26
7:00 p.m. ET – New York at Toronto
TV: TSN1/TSN5, MSG/MSGHD
Streaming: YouTube

Saturday, January 27
3:30 p.m. ET – Ottawa at Montreal
TV: CBC
Streaming: CBC Gem, YouTube
French: RDS2

4:00 p.m. ET – Minnesota at Boston
TV: NESN, Bally Sports North Extra, Sportsnet One
Streaming: Sportsnet+, YouTube

Sunday, January 28
1:00 p.m. ET – Minnesota at New York
TV: MSG/MSGHD, Bally Sports North, Sportsnet Ontario/East/West/Pacific
Streaming: Sportsnet+, YouTube

 

CLICK HERE for the PWHL scores and schedule