The 2022–23 PHF season was the eighth and final ice hockey season of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) – known as the National Women's Hockey League during its first six seasons (2015–2021).
League business
The PHF decided not to hold a draft this year.
Montreal expansion The long-expected Montreal Force expansion franchise was announced in July and the team name, colors and logo were revealed in August. The team will not have an official home arena during the 2022–23 season but will instead play home games across the province of Quebec, with expected stops in Montreal, Gatineau, Quebec City, Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup, Saint-Jérôme, and Sept-Îles, Quebec, among others.
International players A record twenty international players signed as roster players in the PHF for the 2022–23 season. Of the international players, six are from Finland, five are from Czechia, four are from Sweden, two are from Austria, two are from Hungary, and one is from Switzerland. Signed as a practice player rather than to the main roster, Iveta Klimášová of the Buffalo Beauts is from Slovakia.
An additional four players are North American-born but hold multiple citizenship and have represented nations outside of North America in international competition (listed with nations of citizenship): Taylor Baker (Canada/Hungary). Janka Hlinka (Slovakia/United States), Leah Lum (Canada/China), and Lenka Serdar (Czechia/United States).
Player nationalities
Austria: Antonia Matzka, Janine Weber China: Leah Lum Czechia: Denisa Křížová, Dominika Lásková, Kateřina Mrázová, Lenka Serdar, Aneta Tejralová, Tereza Vanišová Finland: Anna Kilponen, Eveliina Mäkinen, Emma Nuutinen, Meeri Räisänen, Jenna Suokko, Minttu Tuominen Hungary: Taylor Baker, Réka Dabasi, Fanni Garát-Gasparics Slovakia: Janka Hlinka, Iveta Klimášová Sweden: Lovisa Berndtsson, Ebba Berglund, Ronja Mogren, Lovisa Selander Switzerland: Sarah Forster
Front office changes
On May 17, 2022, the Minnesota Whitecaps announced that Jack Brodt, who co-founded the team in 2004, would take a position with NLTT Hockey, the company who bought the Whitecaps in the 2021–22 season.
On August 21, 2022, Chi-Yin Tse was named as the new general manager for the Whitecaps.
Coaching changes
On May 9, 2022, Venla Hovi succeeded Ivo Mocek as head coach of the Metropolitan Riveters. Mocek remains with the team as associate head coach.
On May 17, 2022, Ronda Engelhardt took over as sole head coach of the Whitecaps.
Regular season Standings
Schedule The 2022–23 season schedule was published on September 19, 2022.
All times in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00); exception of November 5–6, 2022, which are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−04:00).
Regular season Date Time Visitor Score Home OT Notes Gamesheet November 5 2:00 Minnesota 2–3 Toronto OT 7:00 Montreal 5–4 Buffalo SO 7:00 Connecticut 0–4 Boston Shutout recorded by Corinne Schroeder (1) November 6 11:00 Minnesota 2–3 Toronto 1:00 Montreal 2–3 Buffalo 2:00 Metropolitan 0–2 Boston Shutout recorded by Corinne Schroeder (2) November 18 8:00 Boston 2–0 Minnesota Shutout recorded by Corinne Schroeder (3) November 19 1:00 Toronto 3–6 Metropolitan 6:00 Buffalo Connecticut Postponed due to inclement weather; rescheduled for January 17 7:00 Boston 5–4 Minnesota OT November 20 12:00 Toronto 5–2 Metropolitan 12:00 Buffalo Connecticut Postponed due to inclement weather; rescheduled for January 18 November 26 2:00 Metropolitan 3–5 Montreal Hat-trick recorded by Jade Downie-Landry 7:00 Toronto 2–3 Boston OT November 27 2:00 Metropolitan 3–2 Montreal 2:00 Toronto 7–3 Boston December 3 1:00 Connecticut 3–4 Montreal SO 7:00 Metropolitan 3–4 Minnesota December 4 1:00 Connecticut 3–2 Montreal 2:00 Metropolitan 1–4 Minnesota December 9 7:00 Minnesota 0–2 Connecticut Shutout recorded by Abbie Ives (1) December 10 2:00 Metropolitan 3–2 Toronto SO 2:00 Minnesota 4–3 Connecticut 7:00 Boston 3–0 Buffalo Shutout recorded by Corinne Schroeder (4) December 11 1:00 Boston 7–5 Buffalo Hat-trick recorded by Jillian Dempsey (1) 2:00 Metropolitan 2–5 Toronto Hat-trick recorded by Brittany Howard (1) December 16 7:00 Toronto 2–1 Buffalo Played outdoors at Riverworks in Buffalo December 17 2:00 Metropolitan 5–2 Connecticut 7:00 Toronto 6–4 Buffalo 7:00 Montreal 2–5 Minnesota Hat-trick recorded by Natalie Snodgrass(1) December 18 2:00 Boston 4–6 Connecticut 2:00 Montreal 4–1 Minnesota January 6 7:00 Boston 5–2 Connecticut January 7 3:00 Toronto 3–2 Montreal SO 7:00 Boston 4–1 Metropolitan 7:00 Minnesota 4–1 Buffalo January 8 1:00 Connecticut 6–0 Metropolitan Shutout recorded by Meeri Räisänen (1) 1:00 Minnesota 5–3 Buffalo 2:00 Toronto 3–2 Montreal January 14 3:00 Montreal 5–4 Connecticut Played at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Pittsburgh 3:00 Minnesota 3–2 Metropolitan 7:00 Buffalo 0–8 Boston Shutout recorded by Corinne Schroeder (5) January 15 2:00 Buffalo 1–2 Boston OT 2:00 Minnesota 4–1 Metropolitan January 17 7:00 Buffalo 0–3 Connecticut Rescheduled from November 19Shutout recorded by Abbie Ives (2) January 18 7:30 Buffalo 3–7 Connecticut Rescheduled from November 20Hat-trick recorded by Kennedy Marchment (1) January 21 2:00 Connecticut 4–7 Toronto 3:00 Boston 5–0 Montreal Hat-trick recorded by Loren Gabel (1)Shutout recorded by Corinne Schroeder (6) 7:00 Metropolitan 1–4 Buffalo January 22 1:00 Metropolitan 8–2 Buffalo 1:00 Boston 1–2 Montreal OT 2:00 Connecticut 4–1 Toronto January 27 7:00 Montreal 1–4 Connecticut February 3 7:00 Connecticut 1–2 Metropolitan SO February 4 1:00 Minnesota Montreal Postponed due to inclement weather; rescheduled for February 6 2:00 Buffalo 0–3 Toronto Shutout recorded by Elaine Chuli (1) 7:00 Metropolitan 0–5 Boston Shutout recorded by Corinne Schroeder (7) February 5 1:00 Minnesota 4–1 Montreal 2:00 Buffalo 2–7 Toronto 2:00 Connecticut 2–5 Boston February 6 1:00 Minnesota 3–2 Montreal Rescheduled from February 4 February 11 2:00 Montreal 3–0 Toronto Shutout recorded by Tricia Deguire (1) February 12 2:00 Montreal 1–2 Toronto February 18 7:00 Toronto 5–3 Connecticut 7:00 Montreal 1–4 Boston 7:00 Buffalo 4–2 Minnesota February 19 2:00 Toronto 4–6 Connecticut 2:00 Buffalo 1–0 Minnesota Shutout recorded by Samantha Ridgewell (1) 3:00 Montreal 1–2 Boston February 24 7:00 Boston 2–6 Metropolitan February 25 7:00 Toronto 1–0 Minnesota Shutout recorded by Elaine Chuli (2) 7:30 Buffalo 3–1 Montreal February 26 1:00 Buffalo 2–6 Montreal 1:00 Toronto 7–1 Minnesota 3:00 Metropolitan 3–6 Connecticut Hat-trick recorded by Justine Reyes (1) March 3 7:00 Minnesota 4–5 Boston SO March 4 1:00 Minnesota 1–5 Boston 7:00 Connecticut 2–1 Buffalo OT 7:00 Montreal 1–2 Metropolitan OT March 5 1:00 Connecticut 4–2 Buffalo 2:00 Montreal 3–4 Metropolitan March 10 7:00 Buffalo 2–5 Metropolitan March 11 2:00 Boston 3–2 Toronto 2:00 Buffalo 2–3 Metropolitan 7:00 Connecticut 3–0 Minnesota Shutout recorded by Abbie Ives (3) March 12 2:00 Boston 4–5 Toronto 2:00 Connecticut 3–1 Minnesota
News and notes December 10, 2022: Boston Pride goaltender Corinne Schroeder set a new PHF single season record for shutouts, recording her fourth shutout in just seven starts for the first place Pride. December 11, 2022: Boston Pride team captain Jillian Dempsey tied a PHF record with six points on Sunday including her first career hat-trick to lead Boston to a 7–5 win versus Buffalo.
Player statistics Scoring leaders The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of the season on March 12, 2023.
PlayerTeam Boston Pride 22 20 20 40 4 Connecticut Whale 24 17 18 35 6 Boston Pride 24 14 14 28 6 Connecticut Whale 24 10 18 28 16 Toronto Six 20 16 10 26 10 Toronto Six 24 12 13 25 16 Toronto Six 24 10 13 23 6Montreal Force 24 10 13 23 20 Montreal Force 23 11 11 22 8 Boston Pride 18 6 16 22 4 The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the season, noted with their overall league scoring rank:
Leading goaltenders The following goaltenders led the league in regular season save percentage at the conclusion of the season on March 12, 2023, while playing at least one-third of games.
Player Team Boston Pride 22 1290:15 19 1 36 7 .955 1.67 Minnesota Whitecaps 17 1013: 9 6 41 0 .923 2.43 Montreal Force 15 902:41 5 9 478 39 1 .918 2.59 Toronto Six 19 1127: 12 5 49 2 .919 2.58 Montreal Force 9 544:01 3 5 291 25 0 .914 2.76 Metropolitan Riveters 11 647: 5 5 30 0 .903 2.78 Connecticut Whale 16 935: 10 6 40 3 .896 2.74 Buffalo Beauts 13 714:06 2 8 43 0 .893 3.61 Connecticut Whale 9 515:35 4 2 24 1 .894 2.79 Metropolitan Riveters 8 477:16 4 4 27 0 .888 3.39 Awards and honors Most Valuable Player: Loren Gabel (BOS) Outstanding Player of the Year: Loren Gabel (BOS) Defender of the Year: Kali Flanagan (BOS) Goaltender of the Year: Corinne Schroeder (BOS) Newcomer of the Year: Loren Gabel (BOS) Rookie of the Year: Corinne Schroeder (BOS) Denna Laing Award: Lauren Kelly (BOS)
PHF Foundation Award Winners Boston: Sammy Davis Buffalo: Cassidy MacPherson Connecticut: Shannon Turner Metropolitan: Reagan Rust Minnesota: Denisa Křížová Montreal: Laura Jardin Toronto: Shiann Darkangelo
Player of the Month November 2022: Corinne Schroeder (BOS) December 2022: Brittany Howard (TOR) January 2023: Kennedy Marchment (CTW) February 2023: Loren Gabel (BOS) March 2023: Madison Packer (MET)
Three Stars of the Week November 5–6: 1. Corinne Schroeder (BOS), 2. Brittany Howard (TOR), 3. Élizabeth Giguère (BOS) November 18–20: 1. Sarah Bujold (MET), 2. Corinne Schroeder (BOS), 3. Leah Lum (TOR) November 26–27: 1. Jade Downie-Landry (MON), 2. Ann-Sophie Bettez (MON), 3. Fanni Garát-Gasparics (MET) December 3–4: 1. Kennedy Marchment (CTW), 2. Minttu Tuominen (MET), 3. Sydney Brodt (MIN) December 9–11: 1. Jillian Dempsey (BOS), 2. Loren Gabel (BOS), 3. Brittany Howard (TOR) December 16–18: 1. Natalie Snodgrass (MIN), 2. Shiann Darkangelo (TOR), 3. Taylor Girard (CTW) January 6–8: 1. Taylor Girard (CTW), 2. Loren Gabel (BOS), 3. Elaine Chuli (TOR) January 14–15: 1. Allie Thunstrom (BOS), 2. Ann-Sophie Bettez (MON), 3. Jonna Albers (MIN) January 17–22: 1. Loren Gabel (BOS), 2. Kennedy Marchment (CTW), 3. Brittany Howard (TOR) February 3–6: 1. Loren Gabel (BOS), 2. Shiann Darkangelo (TOR), 3. Corinne Schroeder (BOS) February 11–12: 1. Tricia Deguire (MON), 2. Elaine Chuli (TOR), 3. Alexandra Labelle (MON) February 18–19: 1. Corinne Schroeder (BOS), 2. Samantha Ridgewell (BUF), 3. Michela Cava (TOR) February 24–26: 1. Madison Packer (MET), 2. Tereza Vanišová (TOR), 3. Justine Reyes (CTW) March 3–5: 1. Kennedy Marchment (CTW), 2. Sarah Bujold (MET), 3. Jillian Dempsey (BOS) March 10–12: 1. Madison Packer (MET), 2. Daryl Watts (TOR), 3. Abbie Ives (CTW) March 16–20: 1. Jonna Albers (MIN), 2. Amanda Leveille (MIN), 3. Michela Cava, (TOR)
Playoffs The top four teams in the standings qualified for the Isobel Cup playoffs, which were held in two rounds. The first round was a best-of-three series, hosted at Bentley Arena in Waltham, Massachusetts and Mattamy Athletic Centre at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, starting Thursday, March 16, 2023. The two semi-final winners played a one-game championship final on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
Bracket
Semifinals (1) Boston Pride vs. (4) Minnesota Whitecaps
(2) Toronto Six vs. (3) Connecticut Whale
Isobel Cup final
References
Gamesheets
External links