Historically PWHL

January 1 is always a fresh start. Whether it be a new calendar for some, a fresh slate for others, or simply the beginning of a new year on the Julian timescale, January 1 represents a new chapter. Certainly, that applied to professional women's hockey today as we got a heaping serving of PWHL action with New York visiting Toronto at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, and it would appear, considering all the bumps and missteps off the ice leading up to today, that the product on the ice will be as strong as it was billed to be!

I expected a fast, up-tempo game from two former U SPORTS coaches as Troy Ryan, formerly of Dalhousie, and Howie Draper, formerly of Alberta, had helped to assemble two very good squads. Toronto had a number of Canadian Olympians skating for them while New York went for a mix of experience and youth. Scanning the rosters, one would have expected a fairly close game based on who each roster boasted.

It only took ten minutes for the first major historical moment to arrive, and here's the video evidence of said history courtesy of CBC.

Shelton's historic tally came on a face-off win by Alex Carpenter, and the PWHL New York team was up 1-0 at 10:43 in the first period!

Among other firsts in the opening period of PWHL hockey was Rebecca Leslie being assessed the first penalty as she was sent off for slashing at 13:23, and New York had more pucks on net in the opening frame as they held a 13-8 edge on the shot counter. For a lot of nervous-but-excited players, the 1-0 score seemed like it should have been higher with the chances at both ends, but the one-goal difference is where the game stood.

A very entertaining second period drew to a close with that 1-0 score still intact as the scorekeepers had very little to do in that frame with no goals and no penalties, but I do want to throw a major shout-out to Daniella Ponticelli who is part of the PWHL broadcast team. Having met her a few short years ago while she was calling Saskatchewan Huskies women's hockey games and moving to today, she has worked her tail off at her delivery of the game and she is certainly among the best in the business in calling sports. I'm proud to call her a friend after watching her journey to broadcast stardom!

New York came out in the third and dominated for most of the period, adding three more goals off the sticks of Alex Carpenter, Jill Saulnier, and Kayla Vespa as they salted this game away. Of note, the first former U SPORTS player to record a PWHL point came on Jill Saulnier's goal as Jade Downie-Landry earned the primary assist on the goal! The former McGill Martlet forward first PHF alumni to sign a deal in the PWHL, and she becomes the first former U SPORTS player to record a point as well!

As a side note, former Montreal Carabins forward Alexandra Labelle added a primary assist on Kayla Vespa's goal, so keep your eyes on this site for U SPORTS scoring in the PWHL in the future. I'll keep a tally of all the former U SPORTS players who earn points this season, and we'll see who ends up as the leading scorer after Year One!

In the end, New York wins the very first PWHL game by a 4-0 score over Toronto with former Quinnipiac goaltender and Elm Creek, Manitoba native Corinne Schroeder picking up the 29-save shutout. Howie Draper adds another historic win to his resumé as he, Mike Sommer, and Colton Orr were behind the bench for the first three-point victory in PWHL history.

Folks who didn't tune in likely missed out on a number of big hits as the PWHL has opened up the rules somewhat to allow for more contact, and the players certainly tested those new rules. There was one penalty for interference, none for bodychecking, and none for roughing. We saw a couple of big hits - Bourbonnais on Willoughby, for example - and no one seemingly threw any cheap hits. While this will be something to keep an eye on as the league moves forward, this is the one complaint North American women's hockey players had for many years: more hitting. Again, something to watch as the league steadies.

After a successful debut at the Mattamy Athletic Centre for the PWHL by all accounts, the spotlight shifts to TD Place in Ottawa where PWHL Montreal and PWHL Ottawa will play in what sounds like will be the largest professional women's hockey crowd in history. That rink should be rocking tonight, and I'm looking forward to another game where the PWHL can showcase the talents of the women who are skating in and coaching in this game while establishing another laundry list of firsts for women's hockey.

While the road may have been bumpy to get to today and beyond, the product on the ice looked pretty darn good. That goes a long way in guaranteeing that the PWHL will be successful on all fronts. History may have been made today, but the ladies of the PWHL aren't close to being done writing new chapters into what appears to be a long and prosperous future!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!