Marie-Philip Poulin, Ella Shelton, Taylor Heise receive 3 Stars of the Week honors for the week of January 8-14
TORONTO, ON (JANUARY 15, 2024) — Montréal center Marie-Philip Poulin, New York defender Ella Shelton, and Minnesota center Taylor Heise have been named the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) ‘3 Stars of the Week’ for the week ending January 14.
FIRST STAR – MARIE-PHILIP POULIN, C, MONTRÉAL
Poulin registered three goals, 10 shots and a plus-three rating in two games played last week, highlighted by a hat trick against New York at UBS Arena on January 10 to lead her team to a 5-2 win. Montréal’s captain became the second player in PWHL history—and first in team history— to record a hat trick, and the first to do so on the road. The 32-year-old followed up her hat trick performance in her team’s home opener on January 13 by winning 74% of her draws and putting five shots on net. Poulin’s strong week propelled her to a tie for third in league scoring with four points, and a tie for second in goals with three. For the week, Poulin helped her team secure four out of a possible six points, good for second place in the PWHL.
SECOND STAR – ELLA SHELTON, D, NEW YORK
Shelton followed up an historic first week—in which the defender scored the PWHL’s first-ever goal— by recording multiple points in each of her games last week, with one goal, four assists, and six shots in two games played. In fact, Shelton was in on every goal New York scored last week—two vs. Montréal, and three vs. Minnesota. The 25-year-old recorded her first multi-point effort of the season in a 5-2 loss against Montréal on January 10 when she recorded the primary assist on Jessie Eldridge’s first period goal and added a game-tying powerplay goal in the third. Shelton also played nearly half the game with a game-high 29:15 time-on-ice. In her second game of the week, on January 14, Shelton recorded three assists – the most for any player in a single game so far this season—including the primary assist on both Alex Carpenter’s second period goal, and Emma Woods’ overtime-winning-goal. Shelton’s stellar play led New York to the overtime win on the road, which marked Minnesota’s first loss of the season. The defender now leads the PWHL scoring race with 6 points, and she also sits first in assists with five.
THIRD STAR – TAYLOR HEISE, C, MINNESOTA
Heise recorded two goals, one assist, and eight shots last week, to help Minnesota claim four of a possible six points in two games played. The first-ever first overall pick had an especially strong game on January 10 against a visiting Toronto, as the center scored two highlight-reel goals— including the game winner— and recorded the primary assist on Kendall Coyne Schofield’s third period insurance goal. Heise’s three points were the driving force behind Minnesota’s victory, as the team won the game by a score of 3-1. The forward also had a strong week at the face-off dot—she was 64.7% on January 10, and 60% on January 14, good for an average of 62.35% in two games, more than double her previous week’s percentage. She now sits tied for third in league scoring with four points, tied for second in goals with three, and is tied for first in rookie scoring with teammate Grace Zumwinkle.