New York makes second and final trip to Canada’s capital
OTTAWA, ON (February 28, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) schedule continues this week with a Wednesday night matchup between Ottawa and New York, at 7:00 p.m. ET at The Arena at TD Place. Today’s game will be a Black History Month celebration.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in Canada can watch the game live on TSN1/5 channels, TSN.ca, and the TSN app. In the United States, the game is available on MSGSNHD/Z1-Z2. The game will also be streamed on the Women’s Sports Network and on the league’s YouTube channel. Kenzie Lalonde will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Cheryl Pounder. Claire Hanna will join the team reporting rinkside. Tonight’s game will feature the league’s debut of a ‘Ref Cam’.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION
Tonight will be a celebration of Black History Month at the Arena at TD Place with a number of different activations throughout the game. Ottawa players will be sporting t-shirts designed by Black artist Dana Mclean. During the game, on the videoboard, videos featuring Jada Burke and Bob Dawson will be shown. Ms. Burke, an elite hockey player from Ottawa, played four NCAA seasons and one season with the University of Calgary Dinos. Mr. Dawson, a hockey historian, was the first Black player to skate in the Atlantic Intercollegiate Hockey League in 1967. Another video will feature R.I.S.E. Academy. Students from that alternative high school in Ottawa spearheaded the ‘Blow the Whistle on Racism’ campaign. R.I.S.E. Academy will also have a booth on the concourse, as will Black History Ottawa, the African Hockey Association, and Victorious Caps. At the second intermission, spectators can try their luck at a Kahoot! paying tribute to the greatest Black players in hockey history. Baccanalle, an Ottawa-based food caterer, will offer a Caribbean meal to PWHL Ottawa players after the game.
SETTING THE STAGE
Today’s confirmation of a top-four playoff format makes points in this game even more significant given both teams are currently on the outside looking in. New York (2-4-2-4) ranks in fifth place with 16 points, two back of Boston, at the midway mark of their season, and Ottawa (3-0-4-5) sits in sixth place with 13 points through 12 games. This is the second meeting between the teams and first since a thrilling overtime battle that ended 4-3 in favour of New York on Feb. 4 in Ottawa. That contest was the start of a three-game winning streak for New York and an active five-game point streak where all five games have required extra time. New York has played a bonus 17:36 in that stretch and compiled eight of a possible 15 points, counting a trio of overtime finishes and two most recently by shootout. They picked up their first home win of the season last Wednesday at UBS Arena in a 3-2 triumph over Montréal, then lost 2-1 on Friday in Toronto. Ottawa returns to action following a busy week of three road games in six days. They snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over Boston last Monday, but have suffered two defeats since then, including a 3-1 loss to Boston last Wednesday, and a 6-3 loss to Montréal on Saturday. Ottawa has just one win and six points in six games at The Arena at TD Place. New York leads the league with five wins and 13 points in eight road games. Keep an eye on shot totals as Ottawa continues to lead the league in how many they produce and how few they allow. Conversely, New York allows the most shots on goal and produces the fifth-least on average. The teams will meet two more times this season in New York on Mar. 20 and Apr. 30.
RECAP BEFORE THE REMATCH
Back on Feb. 4 at The Arena at TD Place, New York completed the biggest comeback of the PWHL season by erasing a 3-0 Ottawa lead and emerging victorious by a 4-3 overtime score. New York tallied three times in a third period span of 1:39 with goals by Abby Roque, Jade Downie-Landry, and an Alex Carpenter equalizer with under four minutes to play in regulation. Carpenter would add the overtime winner to complete her first two-goal performance of the season. Roque recorded a season-high three points, and Jessie Eldridge had her first multi-point game with two assists. Ottawa’s Aneta Tejralová scored her first PWHL goal in the first period, with Lexie Adzija and Savannah Harmon adding third period markers. Emily Clark picked up her first two-assist game of the season. In goal, Corinne Schroeder turned aside 39 of 42 shots in the win, with Emerance Maschmeyer stopping 27 of 31 in defeat.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York’s Alex Carpenter leads the league with 15 points, including eight goals and seven assists in 12 games. She’s produced five goals and two assists during her current five-game point streak. The only other two players with five-game streaks this season are also in this game including Ottawa’s Lexie Adzija and New York’s Jessie Eldridge. Adzija (4G 3A) is tied with Emily Clark (2G 5A) for the team’s scoring lead with seven points. Daryl Watts (3G 3A) has surged into a five-way tie for third in Ottawa scoring with six points. She was recognized as PWHL Second Star of the Week with four points in a three-game streak, highlighted by her first multi-point game of the season on Saturday against Montréal. Kateřina Mrázová (4G 2A) has goals in two straight games, and captain Brianne Jenner picked up three points on the road trip including her first multi-point game in the win over Boston. Defender Aneta Tejralová has a three-game point streak and five points in her last six games. New York’s Ella Shelton scored her fourth goal of the season on Friday in Toronto, forcing overtime in the final minute, and taking over the category lead among defenders. She has 10 total points. Eldridge (4G 4A) and Abby Roque (2G 6A) have eight points each. Jaime Bourbonnais has four of her season’s six points in the team’s last four games.
POTENT POWERPLAYS
Ottawa and New York have the most lethal powerplays in the PWHL and have combined to score 16 goals with the advantage, a number that exceeds the sum of all four other teams. Ottawa has scored nine powerplay goals and operate at a 24.3% success rate, compared to New York’s seven powerplay goals and 19.4% efficiency. As a result, powerplay points are dominated by players on both sides with Ottawa counting nine players with multiple PP points to New York’s four. Alex Carpenter (NY) leads the league with six PP points which includes three goals. Her teammate Ella Shelton has five PP points including two goals. Four Ottawa players have two PP goals including Lexie Adzija, Gabbie Hughes, Kateřina Mrázová, and Hayley Scamurra. Abby Roque (NY) leads the league with four PP assists.
MOTHERHOOD COMING FOR MASCHMEYER
Ottawa goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer and partner Geneviève Lacasse are expecting their first child in August 2024. The couple, who tied the knot this past summer, shared the exciting news together on their social media feeds on Tuesday night. Lacasse, who currently serves as PWHL Manager, Corporate Sponsorships & Sales, is also a retired goaltender. The Olympian won a gold medal with Canada in Sochi 2014, a silver in PyeongChang 2018, and has accumulated five IIHF Women’s World Championship medals over the course of her career in the crease representing her country – including three tournaments playing alongside Maschmeyer. Their child will be the fourth in the PWHL Ottawa family, joining captain Brianne Jenner who has three kids with wife Hayleigh Cudmore.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I think we just need to continue to attack the game with a winner’s mentality. I think we’re playing really great. I mean, we’re fine tuning a couple of things here and there, but it hasn’t been big things that need to drastically change. It’s just little things in everybody’s games that we can work on individually after practice or before practice. Hopefully, we can continue to knock away at it and hopefully get a couple of wins at home this week.” – Gabbie Hughes, Ottawa
“You can’t be a goldfish when you’re learning and growing. You have to retain and grow. We haven’t played so poorly that we need to forget. We played well and we need to keep pushing. Whatever the opposite of goldfish is, that is what we need to be.” – Carla MacLeod, Ottawa
“Our team knows what we need to do today to be successful against Ottawa. Our group is going to commit to all the little things that make a difference in our game which is what to expect from New York. Ottawa plays a full pressure game, and our team is going to be ready to play right from the drop of the puck and to the last buzzer sounds.” – Ella Shelton, New York
“I think the team has a sense of what is possible through the second half of the season. Literally any team in our league has a chance of making it into the first round of playoffs if not finishing first in the league. I think our group is looking forward to the challenge.” – Howie Draper, New York
QUICK HITS
New York (+2) is second in goal differential and Ottawa (-4) ranks sixth…New York (2.33) and Ottawa (2.33) are tied for third in goals-per-game average…New York (2.17) allows the second fewest goals-per-game on average and Ottawa (2.67) allows the most…Ottawa has scored the first goal in seven of 12 games and New York in six of their 12 games…Ottawa leads the league with 12 goals in the first period…New York’s best offensive period is the third with 12 goals…Ottawa (+58) is first in shot differential and New York (-75) ranks sixth…Ottawa (31.0) is first in shots-per-game average and New York (27.42) ranks fifth…Ottawa (26.17) allows the fewest shots-per-game and New York (33.58) allow the most on average…New York (7.0) averages the second most penalty minutes per game and Ottawa (4.67) averages the least…Ottawa (9/37) is first in powerplay efficiency at 24.3%…New York (7/36) is second on the PP at 19.4%…New York (33/37) is third in penalty kill efficiency at 89.2%…Ottawa (21/26) is fifth on the PK at 80.8%…Alex Carpenter (NY) leads the league with 15 points…Carpenter also leads the league with six powerplay points and is tied for first with three powerplay goals…Abby Roque (NY) leads the league with four powerplay assists…Ella Shelton (NY) is tied for the scoring lead among defenders with 10 points…Roque is tied for the league-lead with 14 penalty minutes…Hayley Scamurra leads Ottawa with 45 shots on goal…Carpenter leads New York with 46 shots…Brianne Jenner (75/139) leads Ottawa with a 54.0% face-off efficiency…Gabbie Hughes (42.2%) leads the team with 192 draws…Carpenter (128/212) leads New York with the most face-offs and a 60.4% win rate…Emerance Maschmeyer (OTT) leads the league with 12 appearances including 11 starts and carries a 2.47 goals-against-average and a .904 save percentage…Abigail Levy (NY) has one win in four starts with a 2.46 GAA and .921 SV%…Alexandra Labelle (NY) celebrated her 28th birthday on Tuesday…Ottawa is utilizing the same lineup as it did on Saturday against Montréal.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
OTTAWA:
Clark | Hughes | Scamurra
Watts | Mrázová | Jenner
Adzija | Snodgrass | Shiga
Gasparics | Gilmore | Demers
Tejralová | Harmon
Boyd | Bell
Roese | Boulier
Buckles
Maschmeyer | Abstreiter
Scratches: Della Rovere, McQuigge
NEW YORK:
Roque | Carpenter | Eldridge
Saulnier | Downie-Landry | Levis
Aurard | Woods | Giguère
Vespa | Labelle | Packer
Fällman | Shelton
Hobson | Bourbonnais
Zandee-Hart | Baker
Levy | Schroeder
Scratches: Norcross, Post, Zafuto
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Marie-Ève Couture (Longueuil, QC) and David Elford (Kitchener, ON).
Linespersons: Joanie Duchesneau (Montreal, QC) and Laura Gutauskas (Woolwich, ON).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_newyork and @pwhl_ottawa.