Stories of the Year

There’s very little happening this week that we haven’t covered in some form already and since this is the last WHW of the year (we’re taking next week off), we thought we’d have a look at the most popular women’s hockey stories at PPP over 2017.

10. Furies and Thunder welcome new GMs
Nafio: On scale, the new GMs for Toronto and Markham were some of the smaller changes that happened in the CWHL during the offseason. Still, this past offseason was when we really started covering the league consistently, and people started reading.

9. Recap: Furies edged out by Thunder in home opener 1-0
N: It’s deeply awesome that we’ve managed to drum up enough excitement for CWHL hockey (or waved enough flags that CWHL fans are finding us, it’s hard to tell which) that this was one of the top 10 articles of the year.

8. Toronto Furies trade Erin Ambrose to Montréal
Annie: I am proud of myself for writing this, a coherent trade analysis, through my tears. I’ll miss Ambrose a lot.

N: sob I mean, this was (still is) a big deal, so I guess it’s good that people recognized that? If we don’t get some stellar draft picks out of this I might personally end the career of the Furies GM.

7. Jeff Flanagan announced as head coach of the Toronto Furies
N: Ok I sat on this one for I almost a week. The Furies GM said they’d announce the new coach on the Monday following the draft. I looked at pictures, managed to get someone to give me a name of the new guy in the pictures with the Furies draft pics and hit google. I wrote up a skeleton article on the bus home from the  folk festival.. and then no one officially confirmed Sommer West’s replacement until the Friday.

6. Women’s World Championship Recaps: Quarterfinals

A: It’s almost blasphemous to say, but my favorite game from the 2017 Worlds was Russia vs Germany in the quarterfinals. Part of that was the lack of emotional investment—I spent much of the gold medal game experiencing that special nauseous anxiety that comes with high-pressure hockey games—but I also love a good Cinderella story. Jennifer Harss and a well-coached, scrappy German team that came into the tournament ranked eighth took down 2016’s bronze medal winners. It was a remarkable game, and I’m glad I got to write about it.

5. 2017 CWHL Draft recap: Who did Toronto and Markham select?
A: This is the best thing I will ever write locked in a bedroom at my mom’s house. Her cats helped.

N: Poor Annie. I wandered off to a folk festival for the weekend and left her to write this up alone. She did a great job on short notice!

4. History in the making: Kunlun Red Star vs Markham Thunder
A: So when I say I spent three hours in traffic to go to this game, I’m not joking. I left work at 3pm, and came running through the doors of Brown’s arena just after the 6pm puck drop. As a reference, Boston is about an hour from Providence without traffic. It’s a good thing this piece was well-received, is all I’m gonna say. (I’m also excited to see Kunlun in person when they come to Toronto in January—and we’ll probably be holding a PPP meetup for one of those games, so stay tuned!).

3. Plymouth 2017: How to watch the IIHF Women’s World Championships
N: Blogger life: I took a week off work to watch the 2017 Worlds.  This one’s just the summary post, with links to team posts mostly by Annie, with one each from Gunnar, Katya and me.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Sasky Stewart from the CWHL
N: This was a throw-away piece to be quite honest. I knew Sasky was leaving the league, I thought it would be nice to write it up... but between work and stuff I almost ran out of time.

1. Auston Matthews vs. Makenna Newkirk: The case against USA Hockey
A: The biggest surprise of my year was that a cleaned-up version of one of my angry feminist rants became the most-read article on PPP in 2017. I’m not going to pretend that I was expecting the reaction this got—I think both Nafio and I were a bit floored by it—but I’m very, very glad that so many people appreciated it. It’s also why things like the Arizona Coyotes running a Women’s Hockey Appreciation Night deeply please me, a person who has never been to Arizona.

N: Initially we weren’t planning on covering the USWNT strike before the 2017 World Championships - neither of us had a lot of spare time to write up commentary and The Ice Garden was around for that. But then we realized everyone was focused on what the national team themselves would get and not the developmental things they were fighting for. Annie had told me about Makenna Newkirk, the college player from Arizona and some of what she’d had to do to play hockey. The headline was all me, the rest of my contribution was mostly poking Annie to write me things.

International Hockey

Women’s Hockey Update: December 12th, 2017 | CONWAY'S RUSSIAN HOCKEY BLOG
An update this time around with really only one story: the Oswald Commission's decision on the Russian women's national team came down today.

Women’s Hockey Update: December 18th, 2017 | CONWAY'S RUSSIAN HOCKEY BLOG
Amidst all of the Olympics-related furor that has been swirling around the last little while (more on that in a little while), the Russian women’s national team got out and played some games last week.

Russians impress in Finland - Olympic - International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF
Host comes second in Olympic warm-up

The Swiss win the tournament in Příbram - swisshockeynews.ch
The Women's national team won the four-nation tournament in Příbram thanks to victories over Norway, France, and Czechia.

Steve Huard has selected 23 players for the U18 Women's World Championship - swisshockeynews.ch
U18 women’s national team head coach Steve Huard has selected three goaltenders, eight defenders and twelve forwards for the U18 World Championship in Dmitrov (RUS).

Team USA and Team Canada play in San Jose - Fear The Fin
USWNT plays Team Canada in San Jose in their second-to-last meeting until the Olympics.

Jones: Team Canada defeats USA in overtime to take six-game series 5-1 | Ottawa Citizen
Big gathering Sunday in Edmonton was a great way to send both teams home for Christmas

Canada and USA begin final push towards the Olympics - The Ice Garden
With the last Canada-USA game in the books, the focus turns to naming the rosters and making final preparations towards PyeongChang.

Marie-Philip Poulin focused on Olympic gold — not Hall of Fame - Mike Brophy on hockey - NHL on CBC Sports - Analysis
When it was suggested to her that she is already a lock to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame — having scored the gold medal-winning goal in each of the past two Winter Olympic Games — Marie-Philip Poulin simply smiles.

Cayla Barnes Is The Youngest, The Shortest And Could Be One Of The Brightest Stars For U.S. Women’s Hockey
For Cayla Barnes, withdrawing from Boston College two months into her freshman year was a no-brainer.

CWHL

Les Canadiennes start, finish strong in 5-4 OT win vs. Markham - Eyes On The Prize
Montreal had leads of 3-0 and 4-3 before eventually needing overtime

Les Canadiennes complete season sweep of Markham - Eyes On The Prize
Montreal wins 2-1 in a shootout to keep pace for top spot in the CWHL

Calgary Inferno Sweep Toronto Furies To End 2017 - Matchsticks and Gasoline
In a weekend sweep vs. the Toronto Furies, the Calgary Inferno end 2017 on a high note.

CWHL: Toronto Furies trade Erin Ambrose to les Canadiennes de Montréal - Pension Plan Puppets
Toronto will receive first round picks in 2018 and 2019, third round picks in 2018 and 2020

NWHL

NWHL Weekend Wrap
With a win over the Connecticut Whale, the Buffalo Beauts regained 2nd place in the NWHL. The Metropolitan Riveters maintained their perfect season, with a win over the Boston Pride.

Breaking: USWNT to play “Team NWHL” twice in January - The Ice Garden
Team NWHL will feature players from all four NWHL franchises.

Hayley Moore talks Team NWHL and their games against the USWNT - The Ice Garden
The NWHL’s Deputy Commissioner revealed some details for the league’s historic collaboration with USA Hockey.

Buffalo Beauts' Kaylyn Schroka Is Always a Step Ahead
Buffalo Beauts rookie forward Kaylyn Schroka – one-third of the "Adrian Line" – is always a step ahead with her robust play on the ice.

NCAA

BC Women’s Hockey Midseason Report Card - BC Interruption
Things are mostly okay!

UMaine women’s hockey team surpasses 2016-2017 win total — University of Maine Black Bear Sports — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine
UMaine, which has players from eight countries, is on the cusp of cracking the U.S. College Hockey Online poll’s top 10..

WOMEN’S HOCKEY: BSU hopes to put a ribbon on first half

A Conversation With Peter Elander - The Ice Garden
From Sweden’s Mirakel on Ice to Peter’s Ice Palace in North Dakota, Peter Elander has made his mark on women’s hockey all over the world.

U Sports

Midseason RSEQ Report: Who’s up and who’s down - The Ice Garden
Midway through the season, it's still anyone's game.

Naisten Liiga (Finland)

Mira Jalosuo Moves To Oulun Kärpät - The Ice Garden
Finnish defender Mira Jalosuo returns to her first pro team.

And one last one for fun...

2017 Women's Hockey Uniform Rankings - The Ice Garden
Do you want to be on top?

Women's HockeyCanadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL)