The 2018–19 NWHL season is the fourth season of the
National Women's Hockey League
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), com ...
. All four teams from the previous three seasons returned: the
Boston Pride
The Boston Pride was a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The Pride played at Warrior Ice Arena, which is also the practice fac ...
,
Buffalo Beauts
The Buffalo Beauts were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, at the Northtown Center.
The Beauts were established in 2015 as one of the four founding f ...
,
Connecticut Whale, and the
Metropolitan Riveters
The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) were a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.
They were one of the four charter franc ...
while the
Minnesota Whitecaps
The Minnesota Whitecaps were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at the Richfield Ice Arena. Established in 2004, the ...
entered the league as an expansion team bringing the league to five teams.
League news and notes
*This is the first full season of the
Buffalo Beauts
The Buffalo Beauts were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, at the Northtown Center.
The Beauts were established in 2015 as one of the four founding f ...
being owned and controlled by
Pegula Sports and Entertainment
Pegula Sports & Entertainment (PSE) was an American sports and entertainment company based in Buffalo, New York. The company was established after billionaire Terry Pegula combined his sports, property and entertainment assets into one company. ...
, the owners of the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
NHL team, instead of the league. The Beauts took part in a doubleheader event immediately before a Sabres game on December 29, 2018, at
KeyBank Center
KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the Nation ...
.
*On May 15, 2018, the league announced its first expansion franchise; the
Minnesota Whitecaps
The Minnesota Whitecaps were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at the Richfield Ice Arena. Established in 2004, the ...
had been purchased by the league and had joined the NWHL for the 2018–19 season.
The Whitecaps had played in the
Western Women's Hockey League
The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) was a women's hockey league in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada (some former National Women's Hockey League teams) and one from the United States. The league offi ...
(WWHL) from 2004 to 2011 and then operated independently from any league after the WWHL ceased operations, including playing a few exhibition games against other NWHL teams during the inaugural 2015–16 season.
*On August 13, 2018, the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
revealed its partnership with the Whitecaps. As part of a cross-promotional marketing agreement, the Whitecaps' home opener on October 6 at the
TRIA Rink, the Wild's practice facility, became part of a doubleheader to take place before the Wild's home opener at the
Xcel Energy Center
Xcel Energy Center is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000 and often called "The X" by fans, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena ...
.
*August 21, 2018: The Whitecaps' new logo and colors of blue, while, silver and black were unveiled.
*September 29, 2018: The Champions Cup was played between the NWHL's 2018 Isobel Cup champion Metropolitan Riveters and the
Swedish Women's Hockey League
The Swedish Women's Hockey League (), abbreviated SDHL, is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Sweden. It was established in 2007 as the by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and was renamed prior to the 2016–17 season. The league has ...
(SDHL) 2018 champion
Luleå HF
Luleå Hockeyförening, also known as Luleå Hockey, is a professional ice hockey club from Luleå, Sweden. The club has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden, since the 1984–85 season. They are ...
at
Hobey Baker Memorial Rink
Hobey Baker Memorial Rink is a 2,054-seat hockey arena in Princeton, New Jersey. It is home to the Princeton University Tigers men's and women's ice hockey teams as well as the venue for club and intramural hockey teams, intramural broomball, ...
in
Princeton, New Jersey
The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
. Luleå defeated the Riveters 4–2. The game had been originally scheduled to take place at Norrbotten Arena in Sweden, but scheduling challenges forced a relocation. Luleå
*January 10, 2019: The Boston Pride and the NHL's
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
announced a partnership to further promote women's hockey in Massachusetts. The partnership makes the Pride the fourth NWHL to become officially associated with an NHL team.
*At the conclusion of the season, the league had set new attendance records with 16 sold out games, led by the Whitecaps selling out all ten home games including the playoffs.
One league movement
Starting in March 2018 and throughout the off-season, current and former players took to
social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
to promote the concept of one unified professional women's hockey league between the NWHL and the
Canadian Women's Hockey League
The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; ) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's Senior ice hockey, senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league expanded into Alberta (2011) and ...
. Players utilized the
hashtag
A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...
#OneLeague to indicate their support. The push continued during the NWHL All-Star Game.
Head coaching and front office personnel changes
Head coaches
All-Star Game
The
2019 NWHL All-Star Game and its Weekend festivities took place on February 9–10, 2019, at
Bridgestone Arena
Bridgestone Arena (originally Nashville Arena, and formerly Gaylord Entertainment Center and Sommet Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1996, it is the home of the Nashville Predat ...
in
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
.
The skills challenge took place on February 9 at the Ford Ice Center, the
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...
' practice facility, in front of a sell-out crowd.
Kendall Coyne Schofield of the Minnesota Whitecaps won the fastest skater, two weeks following her appearance as the first woman to compete in the NHL's
Skills Competition
Skills competitions refer to special Exhibition game, exhibition contests that take place during all-star games or other special events in professional sports. Generally, they are held the day before the all-star games.
These events seem to serv ...
as part of the
2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game also in the fastest skater competition. Meanwhile, three Buffalo Beauts teammates won the other skills challenge events:
Blake Bolden had the hardest shot,
Nicole Hensley won the fastest goalie competition, and
Dani Cameranesi captured the accuracy shooting title.
The All-Star Game took place on February 10 immediately following a game between the NHL's
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
and the
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...
at
Bridgestone Arena
Bridgestone Arena (originally Nashville Arena, and formerly Gaylord Entertainment Center and Sommet Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1996, it is the home of the Nashville Predat ...
. The game was a four-on-four format between teams led by
Shannon Szabados and
Lee Stecklein
Lee Ethel Stecklein (born April 23, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey Defenceman, defenseman for the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a former member of the United States women's national ice hockey ...
, with Team Szabados winning 3–2 following a shootout. The game set an attendance record with 6,120 at the arena.
Regular season
Standings
Final standings.
Schedule
*All regular season games were scheduled to be contested on Saturdays and Sundays. There is one neutral-site game in Pittsburgh on December 2 with the Connecticut Whale as the home team against the Metropolitan Riveters at the
UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
*On December 29, 2018, the Whitecaps faced the Beauts at the KeyBank Center as part of a doubleheader involving both the NWHL and the NHL. After the NWHL game, the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
hosted the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
.
Playoffs
Awards and honors
*
Maddie Elia, Buffalo Beauts, 2019 Most Valuable Player
*
Hayley Scamurra, Buffalo Beauts, 2019 Players' Top Player of the Year
*
Shannon Szabados, Buffalo Beauts, 2019 Goaltender of the Year
*
Blake Bolden, Buffalo Beauts, 2019 Defender of the Year
* Hayley Scamurra, Buffalo Beauts, 2019 Scoring Champion
*
Jillian Dempsey
Jillian T. Dempsey (born January 19, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The former captain of the Boston Pride of the now-defunct Premier Hockey Federatio ...
, Boston Pride, 2019
Denna Laing
Denna Christine Laing (born May 12, 1991) is an American former professional ice hockey player. She last played for the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) until a career-ending injury. At the collegiate level, she accumula ...
Award
*
Jonna Curtis, Minnesota Whitecaps, 2019 Newcomer of the Year
Regular season weekly awards
Transactions
Retirement
Signings
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 NWHL season
NWHL