Minnesota aims for a fourth straight win, New York looks to snap its five-game losing streak
SAINT PAUL, MN (March 16, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) schedule continues this weekend with a pair of Saturday games, including Minnesota against New York, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Xcel Energy Center.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in the United States can watch the game live on Bally Sports North, the Bally Sports app on mobile and tablet devices (including iOS and Android), ballysports.com when authenticated using pay-TV credentials, and on Bally Sports+, the standalone streaming subscription service available from Bally Sports. The game will also be available on MSG/MSGHD, and in Canada on CBC, cbcsports.ca, and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. Streaming of the game is available on CBC Gem and on the league’s YouTube channel. In the CBC studio will be host Andi Petrillo with analysts Hailey Salvian and Saroya Tinker. Clay Matvick will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Alexis Pearson and with Julie Friend reporting from rinkside.
GOALIE CELEBRATION GAME
Today’s game at Xcel Energy Center will be themed to celebrate goaltenders. The first intermission scrimmage will be played entirely by goalies, and the second intermission will feature a goalie shooting game sponsored by Woody Creek. Fans 21+ can also receive a t-shirt from Woody Creek upon entry. Throughout the game, the videoboard will spotlight Minnesota goaltenders Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney – the league’s top tandem – with a collection of fun interview segments.
SETTING THE STAGE
Two teams at opposite ends of the standings are also carrying two different streaks into today’s matchup. Minnesota (7-3-3-4) is tied for first place with both Montréal and Toronto with 30 points and have won three straight games. New York (2-4-3-7) is in sixth place with 17 points, three back of both Boston and Ottawa, and have lost five straight games. Minnesota’s winning streak equals their season opening stretch as the longest of their campaign to date. It began with a 2-0 win in New York on Mar. 3, followed by a pair of wins on home ice including a 4-3 shootout victory against Ottawa on Mar. 5, and a 4-0 win over Boston on Wednesday. They’ve recorded two of their three season shutouts during the current streak, produced their biggest offensive outputs of the year, and have outshot their opponents in all three contests. New York’s losing streak matches the longest of the PWHL season and includes three one-goal games. Since falling to Minnesota, they dropped a 4-3 decision to Montréal at Bridgeport’s Total Mortgage Arena on Mar. 6, and most recently suffered a 3-2 overtime loss in Boston last Sunday. Minnesota has improved its performance at home to five wins and 16 points in nine games. Five of New York’s six wins have come on the road where they’ve produced 14 points in 10 games. This is the fourth meeting in the season series with a fifth game slated for New York to end the schedule for both teams on May 4.
THE SEASON SERIES SO FAR
Minnesota leads New York 6-3 in points in the season series with the road team earning wins in all three games to date. On Mar. 3 at UBS Arena, Maddie Rooney posted a 29-save shutout in Minnesota’s 2-0 victory. The offense provided second period goals by Kelly Pannek and Abby Boreen. Pannek is the only player to record a point in all three games of the season series totalling two goals and two assists. The first two games required overtime with New York’s Emma Woods the hero in the 3-2 final at Xcel Energy Center on Jan. 14, and Boreen providing the winner in the 2-1 outcome at Total Mortgage Arena on Jan. 28. New York’s Ella Shelton produced a goal and three assists, and Alex Carpenter had a goal and two assists across the first two meetings. Rooney also started the first game of the season series and stopped 26 of 29. Corinne Schroeder returns to the New York crease for the third time in the season series. She stopped 39 of 41 to earn the team’s lone victory and stopped 35 of 37 in the most recent loss.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Today’s game features two of the league’s top four scorers led by New York’s Alex Carpenter who has 18 points, with eight goals and 10 assists in 16 games. She has 10 points in her last nine games and will look to get back on the scoresheet after being held without a point last time the teams met. Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle has 14 points, with eight goals and six assists in 17 games, and is currently riding a four-game point streak. Kelly Pannek also has points in four straight games to bring her total to 12. Her 10 assists are tied with Carpenter for a share of the league-lead. Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield (5G, 6A) is third in Minnesota scoring with 11 points and recorded her second multi-point game of the season on Wednesday to give her five points in her last four outings. Taylor Heise (4G, 5A) has nine points in 12 games and also produced two in Wednesday’s win over Boston. Michela Cava scored her second goal of the season on Wednesday playing on the top line with Coyne Schofield and Heise, where she is once again slotted. New York’s Ella Shelton (4G, 8A) leads all defenders in scoring with 12 points. Jessie Eldridge (6G, 4A), Jaime Bourbonnais (3G, 7A), and Abby Roque (3G, 7A) are tied for third in team scoring with 10 points each. Eldridge scored two powerplay goals 10 days ago against Montréal, Roque produced her third multi-point performance of the season in that contest, and Bourbonnais has eight points in her last eight games.
WELCOME BACK BRODT
Minnesota’s Sydney Brodt will make her PWHL debut after being activated from Long Term Injured Reserve. The 25-year-old from North Oaks, MN, suffered a long-term injury in the team’s first scrimmage at the preseason evaluation camp in Utica, NY, back on Dec. 4 against Ottawa. She had scored a goal in that contest. The former University of Minnesota Duluth captain won a gold medal with the U.S. National Women’s Team at the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship and spent last season as captain of the PHF’s Minnesota Whitecaps, where she produced nine points in 21 games.
KEEPING AN EYE ON COLLEGE HOCKEY
Eight teams will become four today in the 2024 NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey quarterfinals, and 29 PWHL players from these two teams will surely be keeping an eye on their alma mater. The matchups include No. 1 Ohio State against Minnesota Duluth, No. 2 Wisconsin against St. Lawrence, No. 3 Colgate against Cornell, and No. 4 Clarkson against No. 5 Minnesota. Former Buckeyes competing in today’s game are Minnesota’s Clair DeGeorge, Sophie Jaques, Liz Schepers, and New York’s Paetyn Levis, while former Bulldogs include Minnesota’s Sydney Brodt, Michela Cava, Maggie Flaherty, Maddie Rooney, and New York’s Elizabeth Giguère. Former Badgers include Minnesota’s Natalie Buchbinder, Mellissa Channell, Sophia Kunin, and New York’s Madison Packer and Abby Roque, while New York’s Kayla Vespa played for the Saints. Former Raiders include New York’s Jessie Eldridge and Olivia Zafuto, while teammates Jaime Bourbonnais, Jill Saulnier, and Micah Zandee-Hart are former Big Red. Former Golden Knights include New York’s Giguère and Ella Shelton, and former Gophers include Minnesota’s Lauren Bench, Abby Boreen, Taylor Heise, Amanda Leveille, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, Grace Zumwinkle, and New York’s Savannah Norcross.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“It’s another big home opportunity for us. We want to have a good start and bring a lot of passion to our game, and being in front of our home fans helps us do that. We want to put pressure on New York right away and work to dictate the pace of the game. They’re a dangerous team with players that can put pucks in the net, like every other team in this league. We’ll need to be ready to play.” – Ken Klee, Minnesota
“We understand this is a big game for us and we had a great week of practice to prepare for Minnesota. They’re a really good team, but we are coming off a strong 60 plus minute performance and hope to do it again today.” – Paetyn Levis, New York
“Puck management will be key for us today. Minnesota plays a high-pressure game so it will be important for our players to support the puck well and move it quickly. We’re still searching for that full 60 minutes of urgency and focus but I feel like we’re getting closer. We’re looking for another step in that direction today.” – Howie Draper, New York
QUICK HITS
Minnesota (+7) is second in goal differential and New York (-4) is tied for fourth…Minnesota (2.29) is fourth in goals-per-game average and New York (2.19) ranks fifth…Minnesota (1.88) allows the fewest goals-per-game and New York (2.44) allows the third most on average…Minnesota has scored first in nine of its 17 games this season and won eight of them, and New York has scored first in six of its 16 games and won four…Minnesota’s best offensive period is the first where they’ve scored 14 times, while New York’s best is the third period with 14 goals…Minnesota has played in 11 one-goal games with six wins, and New York in 10 with four wins…Minnesota (+64) is first in shot differential and New York (-113) ranks sixth…Minnesota (29.82) is second in shots-per-game average and New York (27.19) ranks sixth…Minnesota (26.06) allows the fewest shots-per-game and New York (34.19) allows the most on average…Minnesota has outshot its opponents 10 times, New York has outshot its opponent just once…New York (7.69) averages the most penalty minutes per game and Minnesota (5.41) averages the second fewest…New York (11/50) is second in powerplay efficiency at 22.0%…Minnesota (4/41) ranks fourth on the PP at 9.8%…New York (44/49) is third in penalty kill efficiency at 89.8%…Minnesota (32/42) ranks sixth on the PK at 76.2%…Alex Carpenter (NY) leads the league in scoring with 18 points…Carpenter and Kelly Pannek (MIN) are in a three-way tie for the league-lead with 10 assists…Carpenter leads the league with eight powerplay points…Grace Zumwinkle (MIN) is tied for the league-lead with three game winning goals…Abby Roque (NY) leads the league with 29 penalty minutes…Jade Downie-Landry (NY) is tied for the league-lead with eight minor penalties…Zumwinkle leads Minnesota with 64 shots on goal…Jessie Eldridge leads New York with 62 shots…Pannek (172/308) leads Minnesota in face-offs taken and with a win-rate of 55.8%…Roque (131/215) leads New York with a 60.9% face-off percentage…Carpenter (59.8%) leads the team with 291 draws taken…Maddie Rooney (MIN) has won four of her seven starts including two shutouts with a goals-against-average of 1.82 that ranks third, and a save percentage of .922 that ranks sixth…Corinne Schroeder (NY) has won five of her 10 starts with one shutout and a 1.98 GAA that ranks fourth and a .942 SV% that ranks second…Taylor Heise (MIN) will celebrate her 24th birthday on Sunday…Chloé Aurard (NY) turned 25 on Friday.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
MINNESOTA:
Coyne Schofield | Heise | Cava
Křížová | Pannek | Zumwinkle
Butorac | Fleming | Kunin
DeGeorge | Schepers | Bryant
Brodt
Stecklein | Jaques
Flaherty | Buchbinder
Greco | Channell
Rooney | Hensley
Scratches: Kremer, Leveille
NEW YORK:
Downie-Landry | Carpenter | Eldridge
Saulnier | Roque | Levis
Aurard | Woods | Giguère
Vespa | Labelle | Packer
Norcross
Hobson | Shelton
Zandee-Hart | Bourbonnais
Fällman | Baker
Schroeder | Levy
Scratches: Post, Zafuto
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Kyle Bauman (Fall River, WI) and Béatrice Fortin (Longueuil, QC).
Linespersons: Sarah Buckner (Plymouth, MN) and Joanie Duchesneau (Montreal, QC).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_minnesota and @pwhl_newyork.