2019–20 NWHL season

The 2019–20 NWHL season was the fifth season of the National Women's Hockey League. All five teams from the previous season returned: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, and the Minnesota Whitecaps.

2019–20 NWHL season
League	National Women's Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Regular season
Season champions	Boston Pride
Season MVP	Jillian Dempsey (Boston) Allie Thunstrom (Minnesota)
Top scorer	Jillian Dempsey (Boston)
Isobel Cup
Champions	Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic
NWHL seasons
← 2018–19 2020–21 →

The NWHL completed the semifinal round of the 2020 Isobel Cup playoffs, but had to postpone the championship game between Boston and Minnesota originally scheduled for March 13, 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 15, the final was cancelled and the Isobel Cup was not awarded.^[1]

League changes

2019 offseason events

Following the 2018–19 season, the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) ceased operations citing the fragmentation of corporate sponsors between the CWHL and NWHL caused their league to be financially infeasible.^[2] The NWHL then announced it was pursuing adding two CWHL markets to the league, Montreal and Toronto, if the NWHL found financial backers for the teams.^[3]

On May 2, 2019, over 200 players from both the CWHL and NWHL released a joint statement announcing their intent to not participate in any North American professional league for the 2019–20 season citing their dissatisfaction in the operations of both leagues in that neither provided health insurance or a livable salary.^[4] The NWHL responded with that they were pursuing many more sponsors than in previous years and hoped to increase player salaries.^[5] and agreed to give players a 50 percent split of revenue on league sponsorship and media deals. On May 20, 2019, the players formed a worker's union called the Professional Women's Hockey Player Association (PWHPA) to further push for their stated goals of a league that provides financial and infrastructure resources to players, health insurance, and support to training programs for young female players.^[6][7] With a large number of North American players boycotting the league, more than half of the signed players on opening rosters were new to the league.^[8]

On May 8, 2019, Pegula Sports and Entertainment (PSE), the owners of the Buffalo Beauts, relinquished ownership and operations of the team back to the NWHL,^[9][10] but continued to claim rights to the Beauts name as part of the turnover.^[11] The Beauts then changed their home venue from the PSE-owned Harborcenter to the Northtown Center in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst.^[12]

On May 17, 2019, the New Jersey Devils ended their partnership with the Metropolitan Riveters.^[13][14] The Riveters then changed their home venue from the Devils' practice rink to ProSkate Ice Arena in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey,^[12] and returned to their original jersey colors.^[15]

With the player strike, loss of support from the NHL teams, and lack of additional investors, the NWHL announced they would not be able to increase to full-time salaries or provide players with health insurance outside of the typical worker's compensation for injuries, but had come to an agreement to a 50 percent revenue split on all league-wide sponsorship and media deals. In addition, the league also stated they would not add Montreal and Toronto for the 2019–20 season.^[16] The league announced a longer 2019–20 season for the teams, going from 16 to 24 games.^[12]

Also during the offseason, the Connecticut Whale relocated to Danbury, Connecticut,^[17] and the Boston Pride were purchased by a group of investors led by Miles Arnone.^[18]

Head coach changes

Team	2018–19 head coach	2019–20 replacement	Notes
Connecticut Whale	Ryan Equale	Colton Orr	Orr was named head coach of the Whale on September 17, 2019.^[19] The Whale had relocated to Danbury Ice Arena during the offseason and Orr operates hockey clinics and a junior team out of the arena.
Buffalo Beauts	Cody McCormick	Pete Perram	McCormick, a former player for the Buffalo Sabres, was named the head coach for in December the previous season.^[20] After the Beauts' split from the association with the Sabres and were returned to a league-operated team, Pete Perram was hired as the next head coach.^[21]
Metropolitan Riveters	Randy Velischek	Ivo Mocek	After the split with the New Jersey Devils, the Riveters hired former Czech junior national team player Ivo Mocek on August 12, 2019.^[22]

Regular season

Standings

Final standings.^[23]

	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA
Boston Pride	24	23	1	0	46	120	43
Minnesota Whitecaps	24	17	5	2	36	106	52
Metropolitan Riveters	24	10	11	3	23	70	91
Buffalo Beauts	24	8	15	1	17	71	116
Connecticut Whale	24	2	20	2	6	39	100

Schedule

Regular season schedule
Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Notes
October 5	Buffalo	3–1	Connecticut		Mariah Fujimagari
October 5	Boston	4–2	Metropolitan		Lovisa Selander
October 12	Metropolitan	2–9	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
October 12	Buffalo	2–4	Boston		Lovisa Selander
October 13	Buffalo	1–8	Boston		Lovisa Selander
October 13	Metropolitan	4–3	Minnesota	OT	Sam Walther
October 19	Connecticut	4–5	Buffalo	OT	Mariah Fujimagari
October 19	Minnesota	1–3	Boston		Lovisa Selander
October 20	Connecticut	4–6	Buffalo		Mariah Fujimagari
October 20	Minnesota	2–5	Boston		Lovisa Selander
October 26	Minnesota	7–2	Connecticut		Amanda Leveille
October 26	Metropolitan	2–7	Boston		Lovisa Selander
October 27	Minnesota	3–2	Connecticut		Amanda Leveille
October 27	Metropolitan	3–5	Boston		Lovisa Selander
November 16	Buffalo	1–6	Boston		Lovisa Selander
November 17	Buffalo	3–1	Connecticut		Kelsey Neumann
November 23	Connecticut	0–8	Boston		Victoria Hanson
November 23	Minnesota	5–3	Buffalo		Amanda Leveille
November 24	Minnesota	3–4	Buffalo		Mariah Fujimagari
November 30	Buffalo	6–2	Connecticut		Kelsey Neumann
November 30	Metropolitan	2–5	Boston		Lovisa Selander
December 1	Metropolitan	2–1	Connecticut		Sam Walther
December 7	Boston	8–3	Metropolitan		Victoria Hanson
December 8	Metropolitan	3–2	Connecticut		Sam Walther
December 14	Metropolitan	3–2	Minnesota	SO	Sam Walther
December 15	Metropolitan	2–5	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
December 21	Minnesota	3–0	Connecticut		Amanda Leveille
December 21	Boston	4–3	Buffalo	OT	Lovisa Selander
December 22	Boston	4–2	Buffalo		Victoria Hanson
December 22	Minnesota	2–1	Connecticut		Amanda Leveille
December 28	Boston	2–1	Connecticut	SO	Lovisa Selander
December 28	Metropolitan	7–4	Buffalo		Sam Walther	Outdoor game at Buffalo RiverWorks.^[24]
December 29	Metropolitan	6–3	Buffalo		Sam Walther
December 29	Boston	7–2	Connecticut		Victoria Hanson
January 4	Minnesota	2–0	Metropolitan		Amanda Leveille
January 4	Boston	5–2	Buffalo		Victoria Hanson
January 5	Boston	7–2	Buffalo		Lovisa Selander
January 5	Minnesota	1–3	Metropolitan		Sam Walther
January 11	Connecticut	4–3	Metropolitan	OT	Brooke Wolejko
January 11	Buffalo	2–8	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
January 12	Buffalo	1–7	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
January 12	Connecticut	2–4	Boston		Lovisa Selander
January 18	Connecticut	1–6	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
January 19	Connecticut	0–7	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
January 20	Metropolitan	3–5	Boston		Victoria Hanson
January 25	Connecticut	2–1	Metropolitan	SO	Brooke Wolejko
January 25	Boston	3–4	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
January 26	Boston	4–2	Minnesota		Lovisa Selander
January 26	Connecticut	2–4	Metropolitan		Sam Walther Dana DeMartino
February 15	Connecticut	1–4	Boston		Lovisa Selander
February 15	Buffalo	6–5	Metropolitan	SO	Tiffany Hsu
February 16	Buffalo	3–4	Metropolitan		Dana DeMartino
February 22	Minnesota	6–1	Buffalo		Amanda Leveille
February 22	Boston	3–0	Connecticut		Lovisa Selander	At Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut, as a double-header with the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers^[25]
February 23	Minnesota	9–3	Buffalo		Allie Morse
February 23	Boston	5–0	Metropolitan		Lovisa Selander
February 29	Buffalo	2–5	Metropolitan		Sam Walther
February 29	Connecticut	3–6	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
March 1	Connecticut	1–3	Minnesota		Amanda Leveille
March 1	Buffalo	3–1	Metropolitan		Lea-Kristine Demers

Playoffs

	Play-in game March 6					Semifinal game March 8					Isobel Cup Championship Cancelled^[a]
						1	Boston	5
						5	Connecticut	1
	4	Buffalo	3
	5	Connecticut	5
											1	Boston	—
											2	Minnesota	—
						2	Minnesota	1
						3	Metropolitan	0

1. Cancelled due the COVID-19 pandemic.^[26]

All-Star Game

The 2020 NWHL All-Star Game and its weekend festivities took place on February 8–9, 2020, at Warrior Ice Arena, the Boston Pride's home arena.^[27] The teams were captained by Jillian Dempsey of the Boston Pride and Madison Packer of the Metropolitan Riveters, who drafted their rosters from the selected all-star players in a draft.^[28]

The skills challenge took place on February 8. Team Packer won the fastest skater (Grace Kleinbach of Connecticut) and hardest shot (Kaleigh Fratkin of Boston), while Team Dempsey won fastest goalie (Mariah Fujimagari of Buffalo), shooting accuracy (Jillian Dempsey), and the team relay. Team Packer ultimately won the skills competition via the team shootout competition.^[29] On February 11, the league awarded fastest skater to Team Dempsey's Allie Thunstrom of the Minnesota Whitecaps following a review and a timing error.^[30]

The All-Star Game took place the following day on February 9. The game was a four-on-four format with Team Dempsey winning 5–2. The game was sold out in the 800-seat arena and had about 10,000 viewers watching the game live on Twitch.^[31]

Awards and honors

• Jillian Dempsey (Boston Pride) and Allie Thunstrom (Minnesota Whitecaps), 2020 Most Valuable Players^[32]
• Lovisa Selander, Boston Pride, 2020 Goaltender of the Year^[33]
• Kaleigh Fratkin, Boston Pride, 2020 Defender of the Year^[34]
• Jillian Dempsey, Boston Pride, 2020 Scoring Champion
• Kate Leary, Metropolitan Riveters, 2020 Newcomer of the Year^[35]

References

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2. (PDF). CWHL. July 2, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
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10. "AP Source: Pegula relinquishes control of NWHL Buffalo team". WKBW. May 8, 2019. from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
11. "Women's hockey league seeks court ruling over Beauts name, logo". The Buffalo News. July 2, 2019. from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
12. . NWHL. July 29, 2019. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
13. "New Jersey Devils dissolving partnership with Metropolitan Riveters". theicegarden.com. May 17, 2019. from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
14. "NJ Devils dissolve partnership with Metropolitan Riveters ahead of schedule". northjersey.com. May 17, 2019. from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
15. . NWHL. September 27, 2019. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
16. ""We'll Always Do What's Best for the Game" - A Message from the NWHL". OurSports Central. May 30, 2019. from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
17. "Danbury Arena the New Home of the Connecticut Whale". OurSports Central. July 8, 2019. from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
18. "NWHL Announces Sale of the Boston Pride". OurSports Central. September 17, 2019. from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
19. "NHL Veteran Colton Orr, NWHL Veteran Laura Brennan to Coach Connecticut Whale". OurSports Central. September 17, 2019. from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
20. Wollschlager, Erik (January 9, 2019). "Beauts GM Nik Fattey Resigns". Die by the Blade. from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
21. "Pete Perram Named Head Coach of Buffalo Beauts". OurSports Central. June 14, 2019. from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
22. "Riveters name Ivo Mocek head coach". The Ice Garden. August 12, 2019. from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
23. . NWHL. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
24. "NWHL goes outdoors with Beauts to host Riveters in Buffalo". The Oakland Press. August 27, 2019. from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
25. "BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS TO HOST AHL-NWHL DOUBLEHEADER WITH CONNECTICUT WHALE ON FEB. 22". NWHL. October 8, 2019. from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
26. "NWHL POSTPONES 2020 ISOBEL CUP FINAL". NWHL. March 12, 2020. from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
27. "NWHL 2020 All-Star Weekend Comes to Boston". OurSports Central. December 20, 2019. from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
28. . NWHL. January 9, 2020. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
29. "TEAM PACKER WINS 2020 NWHL ALL-STAR SKILLS CHALLENGE". NWHL. February 8, 2020. from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
30. "After Review, Allie Thunstrom Named Winner of Fastest Skater Event at Skills Challenge". OurSports Central. February 11, 2020.
31. "Team Dempsey Victorious in NWHL All-Star Game in Front of Sold-Out Crowd". OurSports Central. February 9, 2020.
32. "JILLIAN DEMPSEY AND ALLIE THUNSTROM SHARE NWHL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD FOR 2019-20". NWHL.zone. March 5, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
33. . NWHL.zone. March 5, 2020. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
34. "KALEIGH FRATKIN OF THE BOSTON PRIDE NAMED NWHL'S DEFENDER OF THE YEAR". NWHL.zone. March 5, 2020.
35. "KATE LEARY OF THE RIVETERS IS NAMED NWHL NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR". NWHL.zone. March 5, 2020.

External links

• NWHL website