The first game of the Professional Women’s Hockey League was played on Monday, with New York defeating Toronto 4-0 at the Mattamy Athletic Center in Toronto, Ontario. There have previously been numerous women’s hockey leagues, including the National Women’s Hockey League, the Western Women’s Hockey League, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and the Premier Hockey Federation.
Why is this league different? Well, the bottom line is that it has strong ownership. The league is financially supported by the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball franchise, specifically Dodgers owners Mark and Kimbra Walker. Dodgers owner and tennis legend Billie Jean King is now on the PWHL board.
In Monday’s game, Corrine Schroeder of Elm Creek, Manitoba, recorded the league’s first shutout. The 24-year-old, who played for the PHF Boston Pride a year ago, made 29 saves for New York in the four-goal win. She made eight saves in the first period, 16 times in the second period and five times in the third period.
Ella Shelton of Ingersoll, Ontario, scored the first goal in league history. She scored the winning goal for New York at 10:43 in the first period through Alex Carpenter. Two more Canadians scored in the win in New York. Jill Saulnier of Halifax, Nova Scotia scored 4:57 into the third period to give New York a 3-0 lead, and Kayla Vespa of Hamilton, Ontario tied the game 7:42 into the third period. Shelton and Saulnier won a gold medal for Canada 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Meanwhile, Montreal and Ottawa will play their first game in league history on Tuesday. They will play each other at Toronto Dominion Place in Ottawa, Ontario.
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