PWHL in the Motor City as part of Takeover Weekend presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics
DETROIT, MI (March 16, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) schedule continues on Saturday night with PWHL Takeover Weekend presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics, featuring Boston and Ottawa, at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena at 6:00 p.m. ET.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in the United States can watch the game live on Bally Sports Detroit Extra, 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 in Canada on Sportsnet ONE and streaming on Sportsnet+ and on the league’s YouTube channel. Jamie Hersch will have the play-by-play call alongside Becky Kellar and with Ailish Forfar reporting from rinkside.
TONIGHT AT LITTLE CAESARS ARENA
Little Caesars Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings, is the fourth NHL venue to host a PWHL game this season. During tonight’s game, the past, present, and future of women’s hockey will be celebrated. Performing the ceremonial puck drop is one of the sport’s trailblazers, Manon Rhéaume, who became the first woman to play in an NHL game with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 1992 preseason. She currently resides in Michigan and continues to make her mark on the game by coaching in the Little Caesars Girls Hockey Program. Future stars of the game to be spotlighted tonight include the 10U Livonia Girls Knights and the U13 Windsor Wildcats participating in intermission scrimmages. The 2024 Division I and Division II Michigan Girls High School Hockey League (MGHSHL) Champions, Grosse Point South and Washtenaw United, will also be recognized.
WELCOME BACK TO DETROIT
Today’s game features three of the league’s five Michigan natives who play for PWHL Boston including Shiann Darkangelo (Brighton), Taylor Girard (Macomb), and Megan Keller (Farmington). Darkangelo played for the Little Caesars 16U and 19U programs, while both Girard and Keller are products of the Detroit Honeybaked program. Kaleigh Fratkin, a Burnaby, BC, native, moved to Detroit at age 16 to play the 2008-09 season with Little Caesars 19U. Back on February 17, 2019, Little Caesars Arena hosted the third game of the inaugural Rivalry Series between the Canadian National Women’s Team and the U.S. National Women’s Team. Ten players from that game return as members of the PWHL, including Boston’s Hannah Brandt, Hilary Knight, Gigi Marvin, Sidney Morin, and Amanda Pelkey, who all competed as members of Team USA. Ottawa’s Savannah Harmon and Hayley Scamurra were also on Team USA, while Brianne Jenner, Emerance Maschmeyer, and Jamie Lee Rattray suited up for Canada. Jenner scored the winning goal in the 2-0 victory before a crowd of 9,048 in attendance.
SETTING THE STAGE
Tonight’s outcome will push one of these two teams into sole possession of the fourth and final playoff position with just seven games remaining. Boston (4-3-2-7) and Ottawa (5-0-5-6) enter the action tied with 20 points through 16 games. Ottawa holds the current tiebreaker with their five regulation wins. As of Saturday morning, both teams are three points ahead of sixth place New York, and 10 points behind Minnesota, Montréal, and Toronto. This will be the fourth meeting in the season series following back-to-back games in Boston with split results near the end of February. Since then, Ottawa holds the slight advantage, having earned seven points in their last five games, compared to Boston’s five points in their last five. Boston dropped its most recent decision in Minnesota on Wednesday by a 4-0 score, after defeating New York 3-2 in overtime last Sunday at home. Ottawa most recently skated to a 4-2 victory over Montréal last Sunday at Place Bell which counted as their first win in four games against their Canadian rivals. While Boston is considered the home team in Detroit, they have enjoyed more success playing on the road where they’ve won four times and collected 11 points in seven games. Ottawa has had the least success playing outside Canada’s capital city with just three wins and 11 points in eight games as the visitor. Of note, Boston has won all five games in which they have scored the opening goal, and Ottawa’s top ranked powerplay has converted twice in each of the team’s last two games. The teams will meet once more in Ottawa on April 24.
THE SEASON SERIES SO FAR
Boston leads the season series against Ottawa 6-3 in points, with all three games decided in regulation time. Boston won the most recent encounter, 3-1 on Feb. 21 at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, with one goal in all three periods, scored by Loren Gabel, Susanna Tapani, and Hilary Knight. Kateřina Mrázová scored Ottawa’s lone goal, which started her current six-game point streak. Aerin Frankel stopped 29 of 30 shots in the victory, with Emerance Maschmeyer turning aside 20 of 23 in defeat. Boston also won 3-2 at The Arena at TD Place on Jan. 24 when they erased a 2-0 deficit and got a last-minute goal from Theresa Schafzahl to secure the win. Frankel earned the win with 37 saves and Maschmeyer stopped 18 of 19 in relief of Sandra Abstreiter. Gabbie Hughes is the only player to score multiple goals in the season series and was instrumental in Ottawa’s 4-2 victory in Boston on Feb. 19 with a powerplay tally and the shorthanded winner. Maschmeyer earned the win in that contest with 30 saves, and Frankel took the loss with 29 stops. Boston’s Megan Keller leads the season series with four assists and is the only player to produce offensively in all three games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ottawa’s Kateřina Mrázová has surged up the scoring race with a six-game point streak that includes four goals and six assists. She ranks fifth overall in scoring with 13 points, counting six goals and seven assists in 16 games. Boston’s Alina Müller leads the team and is tied for sixth in overall league scoring with 12 points, with two goals and 10 assists in 16 games. Her 10 helpers share a three-way tie for most in the PWHL. Megan Keller (3G, 7A) is tied for second in scoring among defenders with 10 points. Jamie Lee Rattray (2G, 7A) is third in team scoring with nine points, Susanna Tapani (3G, 5A) has eight points, and Loren Gabel (4G, 3A) has seven points. Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner (3G, 7A) is second in team scoring with 10 points and has produced back-to-back multi-point games. Three players are tied for third in Ottawa scoring with nine points each— Gabbie Hughes (7G, 2A), Daryl Watts (4G, 5A), and Emily Clark (2G, 7A). Watts has three points in her last two games and seven in her last seven. Sammy Davis returns to the lineup for her second PWHL game against her former team, and Samantha Isbell makes her Ottawa debut against her former team in her fourth PWHL game.
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 in today’s game include Ottawa’s Jincy Roese, while former Bulldogs include Boston’s Sidney Morin, Jess Healey, Emma Söderberg, and Ottawa’s Ashton Bell, Gabbie Hughes, and Kateřina Mrázová. Former Badgers include Boston’s Hilary Knight, Cami Kronish, Sophie Shirley, and Ottawa’s Emily Clark and Daryl Watts, cheering opposite former Saint Amanda Boulier. Ottawa’s Rosalie Demers is a former Raider cheering opposite Brianne Jenner, who is a former Big Red. Former Golden Knights include Boston’s Loren Gabel, Jamie Lee Rattray, and Ottawa’s Savannah Harmon, while former Gophers include Boston’s Hannah Brandt, Emily Brown, and Gigi Marvin.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I think every game going forward is basically a playoff game, especially against Ottawa and where we both are in the standings. I think for us, it’s a big game and we have to win. That’s the bottom line. We’ve beat them before, so we just have to focus on what makes us successful and put a few more pucks in the net.” – Jamie Lee Rattray, Boston
“I’m super excited to have friends and family that have helped me get to where I am today be able to be there and watch me play.” – Shiann Darkangelo, Boston
“This is a great opportunity and experience (to play in an NHL venue), but it’s also where we belong. Every game is big points, doesn’t matter who you are, where you sit in the standings right now. There’s not a ton of games left, and anyone can go on a streak here.” – Courtney Kessel, Boston
“We’re so excited to be here in Detroit to play in an NHL arena and to reach a new fan base. I’m curious to see how many Canadian fans we’re going to see come over the border to help support us. Regardless, it’s just going to be incredible.” – Hayley Scamurra, Ottawa
“Even in the Minnesota game, we lost in a shootout, but we can’t forget that we were down by two goals at one point. We scored three unanswered to get back in this game. This is a new piece to us that we didn’t possess earlier in the season. It’s the women in the room that are sorting it out. From the onset, this group has really tried to cultivate the right environment. You can see that pay off.” – Carla MacLeod, Ottawa
QUICK HITS
Ottawa (-4) is tied for fourth in goal differential and Boston (-9) ranks sixth…Ottawa (2.56) is second in goals-per-game average and Boston (2.06) ranks sixth…Boston (2.63) allows the second most goals-per-game and Ottawa (2.81) allows the most on average…Boston has scored first in five of its 16 games and have won them all, while Ottawa has scored first in nine games and won five of them…Ottawa’s best offensive period is the first where they’ve scored 16 times, and Boston’s best is the third period where they’ve scored 13 goals…Boston has won five of its eight one-goal games and Ottawa has lost all eight of their one-goal decisions…Ottawa (+37) is third in shot differential and Boston (+5) ranks fourth…Ottawa (30.31) is first in shots-per-game average and Boston (28.25) ranks fourth…Boston (27.94) allows the third fewest shots-per-game and Ottawa (28.00) allows the third most on average…Ottawa has outshot its opponents 11 times and Boston five times…Boston (6.00) averages the fourth most penalty minutes per game and Ottawa (5.13) averages the least…Ottawa (13/47) is first in powerplay efficiency at 27.7%…Boston (2/37) ranks sixth on the PP at 5.4%…Boston (38/42) is second in penalty kill efficiency at 90.5%…Ottawa (31/39) ranks fifth on the PK at 79.5%…Alina Müller (BOS) is tied for the league-lead with 10 assists…Gabbie Hughes (OTT) is tied for the league-lead with three game winning goals…Kateřina Mrázová (OTT) and Hayley Scamurra (OTT) share a tie for second in the league with three powerplay goals…Taylor Girard (BOS) is tied for the league-lead with two shorthanded points…Susanna Tapani (BOS) leads the league with a plus-11 rating…Hilary Knight leads Boston with 49 shots on goal…Scamurra leads Ottawa with 59 shots…Hannah Brandt (130/238) leads Boston in face-offs taken and with a win-rate of 54.6%…Brianne Jenner (86/158) leads Ottawa with a face-off percentage of 54.4%…Hughes (46.2%) leads the team with 279 draws…Aerin Frankel (BOS) has won four of her 11 starts with a goals-against-average of 2.11 and save percentage of .926…Emerance Maschmeyer (OTT) has won five of her 14 starts with a 2.55 GAA and .904 SV%…
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BOSTON:
Müller | Tapani | Shirley
Rattray | Brandt | Knight
Schafzahl | Darkangelo | Gabel
Girard | Marvin | Pelkey
Keller | Fratkin
Brown | Morin
DiGirolamo | Healey
Cook
Frankel | Söderberg
Scratches: Kronish, Wenczkowski
OTTAWA:
Clark | Hughes | Scamurra
Watts | Mrázová | Jenner
Adzija | Snodgrass | Shiga
Davis | Gilmore | Demers
Isbell
Tejralová | Harmon
Buckles | Bell
Roese | Boulier
Maschmeyer | Abstreiter
Scratches: Boyd, Della Rovere, Gasparics, McQuigge
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Jack Hennigan (Halton Hills, ON) and Elizabeth Mantha (Longueuil, QC) .
Linespersons: Jarrett Burton (Kingston, ON) and Kirsten Welsh (Conway, PA).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_boston and @pwhl_ottawa.