Kelly Babstock, who played three seasons with the Connecticut Whale in the franchise’s early years, is trying secure a spot on the New York franchise.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League didn’t choose Connecticut as a location in August for one of their six charter franchises, deciding to place a team in New York.
But as the league’s first season approaches, it appears the league’s New York franchise will be spending more time in Connecticut than in Gotham.
The team selected Chelsea Piers rink in Stamford as their on-ice and off-ice training facility for this year. It’s the same facility that the now defunct Connecticut Whale played in during their first season in the National Women’s Hockey League in 2015-16.
On Thursday, the league announced that New York will be play at least five home games at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, home of the American Hockey League’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, an affiliate of the New York islanders. Four games will be at the Islanders’ arena on Long Island and three games remain unscheduled.
Each team will play 24 games this season, including 12 games at their home rinks. But league officials stressed in August that there would be games in other neutral ice facilities.
PWHL officials acknowledged the challenges of securing facilities for practice and game dates for this season when they announced the formation of the six-team league in August with teams in New York, Boston, Minnesota, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.
New York will be part of the league’s first-ever game on January 1 with a game in Toronto at 12:30 p.m. at Mattamy Athletic Center, one of the smaller arenas in the league with 2,600 seats but a historic venue.
The Mattamy Athletic Center is located in the upper level of the transformed Maple Leaf Gardens and has served as Toronto Metropolitan University’s athletic facility since 2012. The NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs won 11 Stanley Cups in the building that still features the exterior walls, original roof and rafters of the building.
It was home of the Toronto Six, who won the final Premier Hockey League championship last March and beat the Whale twice in the best-of-3 league semifinal.
The PWHL’s Boston franchise will play their home games at the Tsongas Center at UMass-Lowell, about 30 miles north of Boston. The facility holds 6,500 fans. Minnesota will play their home games at the Xcel Energy Center, home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild with a capacity of more than 18,000 fans.
In Montreal, the team will play at the 4,100-seat Verdun Auditorium while the Ottawa franchise will play at the TD Place, a 10,000 seat facility that also is home to the Ontario Hockey League’s 67s.
Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport seats 10,000 fans for hockey and the New York squad will host their first home game on Friday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. against Toronto. Built in 2001, the arena was formerly called The Arena at Harbor Yards and Webster Bank Arena. The building has hosted the UConn and NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament eight times, including three times with the regional champion advancing to the Final Four.
The other four PWHL opening games announced by the league include Montreal at Ottawa on Jan. 2, at 7 p.m.; Minnesota at Boston on Jan. 3, at 7 p.m.; Montreal at Minnesota on Jan. 6, at 3:30 p.m. at Boston at Montreal on Jan. 13, at 3:30 p.m.
The league said a complete schedule for the upcoming 2024 season is coming.
Eight former Connecticut Whale players, including four who last played in Simsbury last winter, are in training camps around the PWHL.
Kennedy Marchant, the PHF’s MVP in 2022, is camp with Montreal. She signed a two-year deal with the team in early November. Forward Taylor Girard signed a two-year deal with Boston and defenseman Allie Munroe signed a two-year deal with Toronto.
Katerina Mrazova from the Czech Republic is in training camp with Ottawa and signed a one-year deal. Former Whale forward Caitlin Lonergan was also a free agent in Ottawa. All five played with Connecticut last season.
Shiann Darkangelo and Kaleigh Fratkin, who played with the Whale in 2015-16, are both in Boston and have signed one-year deals with the franchise.
Kelly Babstock, who played three years with the Whale from 2015-16 through 2017-18, is in camp with New York. Babstock (23 goals, 27 assists and 50 points) was the franchise’s leading scorer until Marchment came to town.
New York’s roster includes U.S. Olympians Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque and Canadian Olympic players Micah Zandee-Hart and Ella Shelton, the team’s top draft pick in the recent PWHL draft.
The team also signed Madison Packer, the long-time leader of the PHF’s Metropolitan Riveters, who scored 129 points in 131 PHF games, the second most points in the league’s eight-year run.
Fans who placed ticket deposits will receive a link for priority access to purchase PWHL season ticket plans. Early access to ticket information will also be sent directly to PWHL e-newsletter subscribers who are registered for updates at this link.
The league has yet to announce nicknames for the six charter franchises.
Connecticut, which played 10 games in Simsbury a year ago, finished 14-8-2 in the final season of the PHF, earning the No. 3 seed in the Isobel Cup playoffs. The Whale dropped a best-of-3 semifinal series to the eventual champion Toronto Six, 2-1.
The Whale signed a three-year deal to continue playing in Simsbury at the International Skating Center last April and had re-signed several players including Marchment, Girard and eight-time world champion skater Kacey Bellamy.
But those contracts were voided when a group of investors purchased the assets of the PHF in July and dissolved the league to create one, new women’s hockey league, the PWHL.
Games in Bridgeport
Friday, Jan.5: Toronto at New York (Bridgeport), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28: Minnesota at New York (Bridgeport), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Match 6: Montreal at New York (Bridgeport), 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 20: Ottawa at New York (Bridgeport), 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 24: Toronto at New York (Bridgeport), 7 p.m.
Undetermined location
Sunday, April 21: Boston at New York (venue TBA)
Tuesday, April 30: Ottawa at New York (venue TBA)
Saturday, May 4: Minnesota at New York (venue TBA)
This report was updated information with the release of the PWHL’s 2024 schedule.
