NWHL 2015/16
National Women's Hockey League | |||
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2015/16 season | next ► | ||
Master: | Boston Pride | ||
• NWHL | CWHL • |
The 2015/16 season was the first season of the newly formed National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), the top division in US women's ice hockey . The season began on October 11, 2015 with the first game of the regular season and ended on March 12, 2016 with the second final game for the Isobel Cup . This was secured by the Boston Pride in the final series against the Buffalo Beauts . A total of four teams took part in the game.
Mode and participants
The four teams - namely the Boston Pride , Buffalo Beauts , Connecticut Whale and New York Riveters - first played a six-fold round in the regular season , so that each team played 18 games. A total of 36 games were played during the season.
The ranking of the regular season resulted in the seeding list for the subsequent play-offs , in which the first placed met the fourth placed in the table. The next series contested the second and third place. In the play-offs, the teams wore their series in the "best-of-three" mode.
NWHL Draft
The first NWHL Entry Draft took place on June 22, 2015 in Boston . The order of the draft was determined on June 8th in a lottery. The New York Riveters won the lottery and chose the American Alex Carpenter from Boston College in the first overall place . A total of 20 players were drafted in five rounds.
Top 5 picks
# | Player | nationality | Item | NWHL team | College team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Alex Carpenter | United States | F. | New York Riveters | Boston College ( Hockey East ) |
2. | Hannah Brandt | United States | F. | Connecticut Whale | University of Minnesota Duluth ( WCHA ) |
3. | Kendall Coyne | United States | F. | Boston Pride | Northeastern University (Hockey East) |
4th | Courtney Burke | United States | D. | Buffalo Beauts | University of Wisconsin – Madison (WCHA) |
5. | Haley Skarupa | United States | F. | New York Riveters | Boston College (Hockey East) |
Regular season
In the regular season, which was played between October 11, 2015 and February 28, 2016, the Boston Pride secured first place with three points ahead of the Connecticut Whale . The Buffalo Beauts and New York Riveters followed at a greater distance in the other places.
Pl. | Sp | S. | N | OTN | Gates | Points | |
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1. | Boston Pride | 18th | 14th | 3 | 1 | 75:39 | 29 |
2. | Connecticut Whale | 18th | 13 | 5 | 0 | 64:51 | 26th |
3. | Buffalo Beauts | 18th | 5 | 9 | 4th | 57:69 | 14th |
4th | New York Riveters | 18th | 4th | 12 | 2 | 41:78 | 10 |
Abbreviations: Sp = games, S = victories, N = defeats, OTN = defeat after overtime or shootout
Explanations: = division winner
Best scorers
Abbreviations: Sp = games, T = goals, V = assists , pts = points, SM = penalty minutes; Bold: Season best
Player | team | Sp | T | V | Pt | SM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hilary Knight | Boston Pride | 17th | 15th | 18th | 33 | 8th |
Brianna Decker | Boston Pride | 17th | 14th | 15th | 29 | 20th |
Kelli Stack | Connecticut Whale | 17th | 8th | 14th | 22nd | 24 |
Kelly Babstock | Connecticut Whale | 18th | 9 | 13 | 22nd | 24 |
Kelley Steadman | Buffalo Beauts | 13 | 13 | 7th | 20th | 16 |
Isobel Cup Playoffs
The playoffs for the Isobel Cup , which was played for the first time , began on March 4, 2016 with the two semi-final series. This was followed by the finals series starting on March 11th, which ended a day later with the Boston Pride winning the Isobel Cup .
Semifinals | final | |||||||
1 | Boston Pride | 2 | ||||||
4th | New York Riveters | 0 | ||||||
1 | Boston Pride | 2 | ||||||
3 | Buffalo Beauts | 0 | ||||||
2 | Connecticut Whale | 1 | ||||||
3 | Buffalo Beauts | 2 |
Semifinals
- Boston Pride - New York Riveters
March 4, 2016 7:30 p.m. (local time) |
Boston Pride B. Decker (13:57) Z. Hickel (17:37) A. Pelkey (27:00) B. Decker (28:32) H. Knight (32:59) J. Dempsey (58:38) |
6: 0 (2: 0, 3: 0, 1: 0) Match report score: 1: 0 |
New York Riveters |
Raymond Bourque Arena, Beverly Spectators: k. A. |
March 5, 2016 7:30 p.m. |
Boston Pride G. Marvin (7:38) H. Knight (11:51) J. Dempsey (19:50) B. Bolden (20:51) H. Knight (25:58) B. Decker (31:36) H. Knight (58:44) |
7: 4 (3: 1, 3: 2, 1: 1) Match report as of: 2: 0 |
New York Riveters M. Packer (14:56) K. Dosdall (31:23) L. Belyakova (31:47) C. Brown (54:41) |
Raymond Bourque Arena, Beverly Spectators: k. A. |
- Connecticut Whale - Buffalo Beauts
March 4, 2016 7:00 p.m. (local time) |
Connecticut Whale K. Stack (29:12) S. Faber (34:50) K. Babstock (58:04) |
3: 0 (0: 0, 2: 0, 1: 0) Match report as of: 1: 0 |
Buffalo Beauts |
Chelsea Piers Connecticut, Stamford Spectators: k. A. |
March 5, 2016 7:00 p.m. |
Connecticut Whale K. Babstock (25:50) |
1: 4 (0: 2, 1: 1, 0: 1) Match report as of: 1: 1 |
Buffalo Beauts K. Steadman (10:15) D. Skeats (19:28) M. Bozek (20:30) H. Browne (58:02) |
Chelsea Piers Connecticut, Stamford Spectators: k. A. |
March 6, 2016 7:30 p.m. |
Connecticut Whale K. Stack (13:29) K. Babstock (45:51) K. Babstock (59:17) |
3: 4 (1: 1, 0: 1, 2: 2) Match report as of: 1: 2 |
Buffalo Beauts M. Bozek (11:27) H. Browne (39:58) D. Skeats (54:33) M. Bozek (58:46) |
Chelsea Piers Connecticut, Stamford Spectators: k. A. |
final
March 11, 2016 7:00 p.m. (local time) |
Boston Pride B. Bolden (21:11) G. Marvin (31:48) H. Knight (55:19) H. Knight (62:24) |
4: 3 n.V. (0: 0, 2: 1, 1: 2, 1: 0) Match report as of 1: 0 |
Buffalo Beauts S. Bram (36:56) E. Pfalzer (46:18) K. Steadman (52:33) |
Barnabas Health Hockey House , Newark Spectators: k. A. |
March 12, 2016 7:00 p.m. |
Buffalo Beauts E. Zach (59:23) |
1: 3 (0: 1, 0: 0, 1: 2) Match report as of: 0: 2 |
Boston Pride B. Decker (11:52) B. Decker (49:17) H. Knight (51:44) |
Barnabas Health Hockey House, Newark Spectators: k. A. |
Best scorers
Abbreviations: Sp = games, T = goals, V = assists , pts = points, SM = penalty minutes; Fat: best playoff value
Player | team | Sp | T | V | Pt | SM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hilary Knight | Boston Pride | 4th | 7th | 2 | 9 | 0 |
Brianna Decker | Boston Pride | 4th | 5 | 4th | 9 | 6th |
Gigi Marvin | Boston Pride | 4th | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Jillian Dempsey | Boston Pride | 4th | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4th |
Kelly Babstock | Connecticut Whale | 3 | 4th | 0 | 4th | 2 |
Isobel Cup winner
Isobel Cup Winner: Boston Pride |
Goalkeepers: Brittany Ott , Lauren Slebodnick Defenders: Kacey Bellamy , Blake Bolden , Alyssa Gagliardi , Marissa Gedman , Meagan Mangene , Gigi Marvin Attackers: Corinne Buie , Kelly Cooke , Brianna Decker , Jillian Dempsey , Emily Field , Zoe Hickel , Hilary Knight , Denna Laing , Rachel Llanes , Amanda Pelkey , Casey Pickett , Jordan Smelker Head Coach: Bobby Jay |
NWHL All Star Game
The first All-Star Game of the NWHL took place January 24, 2016 in the HarborCenter , the home ground of the Buffalo Beauts , in Buffalo . The match was played over two halves of 20 minutes each with four field players plus a goalkeeper. There was also a skills competition .
The teams were put together based on a fantasy draft by the players Hilary Knight and Emily Pfalzer .
The following players were selected for the respective teams in this order:
- Team Knight : Kacey Bellamy , Kelli Stack , Kaleigh Fratkin , Janine Weber , Jaimie Leonoff , Alyssa Gagliardi , Jordan Smelker , Brianne McLaughlin , Shelby Bram , Amanda Pelkey , Jordan Brickner
- Team Pfalzer : Brianna Decker , Meghan Duggan , Kelley Steadman , Nana Fujimoto , Megan Bozek , Gigi Marvin , Blake Bolden , Brittany Ott , Shiann Darkangelo , Emily Field , Zoe Hickel
There were also Madison Packer , Morgan Fritz-Ward , Hayley Williams and Devon Skeats , who received an invitation through the vote of the fans. While Packer and Williams played in Team Knight , Fritz-Ward and Skeats were assigned to Team Pfalzer . Including the captains, each team consisted of 14 players.
The team Pfalzer defeated the team Knight after 40 minutes of play with 9: 1. As most valuable player was Kelley Steadman excellent.
Awards
Award | Player | team |
---|---|---|
Most valuable player | Brianna Decker | Boston Pride |
Perseverance Award | Denna Laing | Boston Pride |
Foundation Award | Denna Laing | Boston Pride |
Defensive Player of the Year | Gigi Marvin | Boston Pride |
Goaltender of the Year | Brittany Ott | Boston Pride |
Leading Scorer Award | Hilary Knight | Boston Pride |
Most valuable player in the playoffs | Brianna Decker | Boston Pride |