The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today announced the PWHL Starting Six for April, recognizing the top three forwards, two defenders and one goaltender based on their performance in regular season games over the previous month. Forwards are selected regardless of position. The PWHL Starting Six is voted on each month by the Women’s Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) and PWHL broadcast personnel.
The PWHL Starting Six have been recognized as: Jessie Eldridge (F – Boston Fleet), Jenn Gardiner (F – Vancouver Goldeneyes), Kelly Pannek (F – Minnesota Frost), Nicole Gosling (D – Montréal Victoire), Sophie Jaques (D – Vancouver Goldeneyes), Ann-Renée Desbiens (G – Montréal Victoire).
Courtney Kennedy (Woburn, Mass./Merrimack College), who led the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team to the gold medal at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, will return to guide the 2027 squad it was announced today by USA Hockey.
Kennedy, who currently serves as the head women’s ice hockey coach at Merrimack College, will be joined by assistant coaches Chris Bailey (Marietta, N.Y.) and Greg ‘Boom’ May (Burnsville, Minn./University of Minnesota), Makenna Newkirk (Scottsdale, Ariz./Penn State University), goaltending coach Mackenzie Bruch (Powder Springs, Ga./Minnesota State University) and video coach Bryce Aldrich (Berwick, Maine).
The 2027 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship will take place January 3-11, 2027, in Czechia.
ABOUT KENNEDY
Kennedy returns to the bench after serving in the same role for the 2026 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team that posted a 6-0 record on the way to gold at the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship. It marked the first time in the history of the tournament that a team captured a ‘perfect gold,’ posting an undefeated effort, never trailing or tied beyond the opening faceoff.
The Woburn, Mass., native has served as an assistant coach for five different U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Teams (2025-silver, 2018-gold, 2017-gold, 2014-silver, 2013-silver) and for the silver medal-winning 2022 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team.
Kennedy is entering her first season as head coach of the Merrimack women’s ice hockey team after being hired in March. Prior to that she was the skills coach of the PWHL’s Boston Fleet and spent 17 seasons as part of Boston College women’s ice hockey coaching staff, including as associate head coach from 2012 until her departure in 2024.
As a player, Kennedy helped Team USA to a silver medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and bronze at the 2006 Games. She also was a member of the 2005 U.S. Women’s National Team that took home the country’s first-ever gold medal at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. She was a two-time All-American at the University of Minnesota, leading the Gophers to the national title in 2000.
ABOUT BAILEY
Bailey returns to the bench as an assistant coach for the 2027 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team after serving in the same role for the gold medal-winning 2026 squad.
She is a two-time Olympian, have helped the U.S. to its first-ever Olympic gold medal in 1998, along with a silver medal in 2002. In addition, Bailey is a five-time women’s worlds medalist, with silver medals in 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001.
She has experience in the coaching ranks with Providence College, where she skated for four seasons (1990-94). While at Providence, she helped lead the team to three consecutive ECAC championships (1992, 1993, 1994) and was named ECAC Rookie of the Year in 1991, and an All-ECAC honoree in 1992 and 1994.
ABOUT MAY
May reprises his role as assistant coach for the 2027 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team after coaching in the same capacity in 2026.
He is entering his first season as head coach of the University of Minnesota women’s ice hockey team, after spending the previous three campaigns as associate head coach for the Gophers. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as the head coach of the Augsburg University men’s ice hockey team and two years as the director of operations for the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team.
May played collegiately at Augsburg and was a MIAC all-conference honoree.
ABOUT NEWKIRK
Newkirk will be making her debut on the international stage as an assistant coach for the 2027 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team.
She has completed four seasons on the Penn State women’s ice hockey team staff and first season as associate head coach. Prior to joining the Nittany Lions, Newkirk spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach for Brown.
Newkirk played for Boston College from 2015-19 and was a two-time captain for the Eagles. She was a member of the 2016 U.S. Under-22 Women’s Select Team, representing the red, white and blue at the 2016 Under-22 Series vs. Canada.
ABOUT BRUCH
Bruch returns as goaltending coach for the 2027 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team after serving in the same capacity in both 2026 and 2025. She also held the role for the U.S. Collegiate Women’s Select Team in both 2023 and 2022.
Bruch is entering her third season as an assistant coach for the Minnesota State University women’s ice hockey program. Before the Mavericks, she served as a volunteer goaltending coach for Yale University.
A former Bemidji State University goalie, Bruch graduated from BSU in 2017 and returned for the 2017-18 season as the director of hockey and video operations for the women’s ice hockey program.
ABOUT ALDRICH
Aldrich returns in his role as video coach for the 2027 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team after holding the same role for the 2026 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team. Aldrich has also supported video efforts at USA Hockey Player Development Camps the past two seasons.
Aldrich spent three years as the director of hockey operations for the Merrimack women’s ice hockey team and also worked as an off ice official with the PWHL’s Boston Fleet and ECHL’s Maine Mariners.
The annual event will feature 52 squads from around the country competing for the top honors in American sled hockey across 11 different tiers, including six adult tournaments and five youth tournaments, with teams grouped by skill level.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced that Kelly Pannek of the Minnesota Frost has secured the Points Leader Award and Top Goal Scorer Award for the 2025-26 regular season. The honors were officially declared upon completion of the regular-season schedule, which included Saturday’s four games.
Pannek set a PWHL single-season record with 33 points in 30 games, including her league-leading 16th goal of the season scored tonight against Vancouver, and her 17 assists tied for second-most in the PWHL. The Frost alternate captain led all skaters with 10 power-play points, including seven goals and three assists with the player advantage. Her eight multi-point games and three multi-goal games both tied for the league lead, and her four-point game with two goals and two assists on Apr. 4 was one of four single-game record-tying performances leaguewide. Most impressively, the 30-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist from Plymouth, MN, had a 22-point increase from last season’s production and became just the ninth player in PWHL history to reach 60 career points. The new single-season benchmark of 33 points in 30 games surpasses the 29 points recorded by last season’s co-points leaders Hilary Knight (15G, 14A) and Sarah Fillier (13G, 16A). Pannek’s 16 goals are third-most in PWHL history behind Natalie Spooner (20) and Marie-Philip Poulin (19), the league’s first two goal scoring award recipients. Spooner was the last dual award recipient with her 27 points in 24 games in the inaugural season. Frost forward Taylor Heise (13G, 17A) finished second in the points race with 30, with Boston’s Jessie Eldridge and Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie tying for second in goals with 14 apiece.
The remainder of the 2026 PWHL Awards will be presented at an in-person ceremony in June. Date and location to be announced at a later date. The 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, will commence on Thursday, April 30 in Boston and Saturday, May 2 in Montréal. Matchups for the best-of-five semifinals will be determined when first-place Montréal officially selects their opponent between third-place Minnesota and fourth-place Ottawa on Sunday.
The stage is set for the 2026 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Walter Cup Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, featuring best-of-five semifinals between the Montréal Victoire and the Minnesota Frost, and the Boston Fleet against the Ottawa Charge. Montréal finished as the league’s first-place team in the regular-season standings, earning the opportunity to select their opponent between third-place Minnesota and fourth-place Ottawa. The Victoire announced their selection, the Frost, Sunday evening on team social media platforms, which made both semifinal matchups official.
Montréal (16-6-2-6) will face Minnesota (13-3-5-9), the two-time Walter Cup champions, for the first time in playoff history, beginning Saturday, May 2 at 2 p.m. ET at Place Bell. This season, the Victoire won all four games of the head-to-head season series against the Frost, including two overtime victories. This is the third straight season the Victoire have qualified for the playoffs and second straight season they finished in first and selected the third-place team as their opponent.
Boston (16-5-4-5) earned home ice advantage by finishing in second place in the standings and will take on Ottawa (9-8-1-12) for the first time in playoff history, beginning Thursday, April 30 at 7 p.m. ET at the Tsongas Center. This is the second playoff appearance for both teams after each advanced to the finals in their playoff debuts (Boston in 2024, Ottawa in 2025). All four games of this season’s head-to-head series required extra time, including three shootouts, with the Charge winning three of the four matchups against the Fleet.
The lower seed has won all four playoff semifinals in PWHL history. The winners of each series will advance to the PWHL Walter Cup Finals to compete in a best-of-five championship series.
USA Hockey’s Warrior discipline is for disabled U.S. military veterans.
A total of 47 teams, comprising nearly 800 players from around the country, took part in the event.
NOTES: USA Hockey national championships continue this week, with the USA Hockey-Honda Sled National Championships set to begin Thursday (April 30) in McKinney and Farmers Branch, Texas. Every game from the event will stream live on USAHockeyTV.com.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced schedule information for three more games of the 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja,
Game 3 of the semifinal series between the first-place Montréal Victoire and the third-place Minnesota Frost will be hosted by Minnesota and played at Grand Casino Arena on Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m. ET.
Game 3 of the semifinal series between the second-place Boston Fleet and fourth-place Ottawa Charge will be hosted by Ottawa and played at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. ET.
Game 4 between Boston and Ottawa, if necessary, would be played at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday, May 10 at 3 p.m. ET.
The first two games in each series were announced upon confirmation of playoff matchups on Sunday and will begin Thursday night in Boston and Saturday afternoon in Montréal. The winners of each best-of-five series will advance to the PWHL Walter Cup Finals to compete in a best-of-five championship series.
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE (FIRST SEVEN GAMES)
Thursday, April 30, 2026 Game 1: Ottawa at Boston (Tsongas Center) at 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 2, 2026 Game 1: Minnesota at Montréal (Place Bell) at 2 p.m. ET Game 2: Ottawa at Boston (Tsongas Center) at 7 p.m. ET
Tuesday, May 5, 2026 Game 2: Minnesota at Montréal (Place Bell) at 7 p.m. ET
Thursday, May 7, 2026 Game 3: Montréal at Minnesota (Grand Casino Arena) at 7 p.m. ET*
Friday, May 8, 2026 Game 3: Boston at Ottawa (Canadian Tire Centre) at 7 p.m. ET
Sunday, May 10, 2026 Game 4: Boston at Ottawa (Canadian Tire Centre) at 3 p.m. ET**
*subject to change pending NHL playoff scheduling
**if necessary
In the series between Montréal and Minnesota, Game 4 (if necessary) would be hosted by Minnesota and played at Grand Casino Arena, and Game 5 (if necessary) would be hosted by Montréal and played at Place Bell. Dates and times for the final two games are to be determined.
In the series between Boston and Ottawa, Game 5 (if necessary) would be hosted by Boston, with a date/time and venue to be determined.
Canadian coverage of the series between Montréal and Minnesota will be available exclusively on Prime Video in both English and French, and the series between Boston and Ottawa will be available exclusively on TSN. Live coverage of both semifinals is available to fans in the United States through local and regional broadcast partners including NESN/NESN+ for Boston games and FOX 9+ for Minnesota games, the Scripps Sports Network, select over-the-air networks, and on thepwhl.com and the league’s YouTube channel.
The Buffalo Sabres once again fell behind in the Stanley Cup playoff game with the Boston Bruins. Unlike their come-from-behind victory over the Bruins in game one, the Sabres fell short in game two, losing to the Bruins, 4-2, Tuesday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Their series is now tied 1-1 with games three and four being played in Boston.Following a scoreless first period, the Bruins took a 3-0 lead into the second intermission on goals by Viktor Arvidsson, Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha.
While many thought Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff might pull goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at the start of the third period, he chose not to.But just :16 into the third, Luukkonen gave up a fourth goal and quickly found himself sitting on the Sabres bench in favor of Alex Lyon.
The Sabres finally got on the board at the 13:54 mark of the third on a goal by Bowen Byram. Less than a minute later Buffalo struck again with a goal by Peyton Krebs. But there would be no second scoring miracle for the Sabres as the Bruins held Buffalo scoreless for the final five minutes of the third period.
It took almost 50 minutes of the hockey game to do it, but the Buffalo Sabres finally got a puck past Boston Bruins goalie, Jeremy Swayman. Then it a period of a little over four minutes the Sabres scored two more times.
By the time it was all over the Sabres had come from behind by two-goals to defeat the Bruins, 4-3 and win the opening Stanley Cup playoff game before another sold-out crowd at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.
Boston had a first period 1-0 lead on a goal by Morgan Geekie. Following a scoreless second stanza, the Bruins scored again early in the third period on a goal by Elias Lindholm.
With less than eight minutes remaining in the third, Tage Thompson scored back-to-back goals to tie the game for the Sabres. Then Mattias Samuelsson scored to give Buffalo it’s first lead.
Alex Tuch scored into an empty net with just a little over a minute left in the period to give the Sabres a 4-2 lead. And with just :08 remaining Boston’s David Pastrnak scored a power play goal to make the final, 4-3.
“I think we’ve been in situations like this all season that prepared us for games like this,” said Thompson following the game.
“When we scored the first one, the place just erupted and you could feel the energy building,” added Samuelsson. “I think we felt that once we cracked him we could go from there.”
Ruff added to that.
“You could feel the building shake,” commented Ruff. “I’m glad we could give those fans that third period.
“The fact that we were wearing them (the Bruins) down, paid off.”
With the main Buffalo Sabres hockey team preparing for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Boston Bruins on the ice inside KeyBank Center, the is another team of the Sabres organization preparing for that first game both inside and outside the Arena.
For all playoff home game’s the Sabres will host a block party that begins three hours before the puck drops. There will be the pregame Party in the Plaza. There will also be a watch party at Canalside that opens two hours before the game. It is free and open to the public.
“These events will be held, rain or shine,” said Cara Murphy, vice-president of Sabres Marketing. “Fans will have to go through a check point at Canalside.
“There will be two huge screens set up for the fans to watch the game with.
She also pointed out that fans should wear rain gear if there is bad weather. But no umbrellas as they are not allowed.
“We will be also having watch parties for select away games as well that will be held at our partner, Seneca Resorts and Casinos,” continued Murphy. “Times will be announced at a later date.”
With all of that going on outside, there are items available inside the arena.
“We will be giving away rally towels at each home game,” stated Murphy. “There will be a different towel for each game and each towel will feature a unique slogan. They will be placed on each seat in the arena before each game starts.
“There will also be other items that can be purchased in our Sabres store or on-line.”
There will be a variety of shirts, pucks and pins that fans can purchase that are all designed for the playoffs.
“We just want the fans to have a memorable time at the playoffs and to enjoy themselves,” concluded Murphy.
The Buffalo Sabres are headed to the Playoffs for the first time in 14 years. A total celebration is planned for the fans, including some new food items created by Executive Team Chef Michael “Mike” Haefner. Chef Mike and his team debuted these items to the media Thursday afternoon, and to our delight!
Playoff only Items will be available to the fans at the 100 and 300 levels include with some speciality items available only at the 200 level and in the Suites.
Lets Do Buffalo Wings and Pizza Logs served in a souvenir Sabres Ice Rink Tray, includes 10 Buffalo-style chicken wings, 8 pizza logs, blue cheese, marinara and celery sticks. Will be served at the 100 and 300 level Blue Line Fryer.
Return of the Dominator is four burger patties, brisket, bacon house-made boom-boom sauce, jalapeno peppers, American cheese, achi BBQ sauce served between two pepperjack grilled cheese sandwiches. Get it at the 100 level Grill Stand.
Buffalo Sabres are a Wagon features chicken tenders and french fries served in a Sabres wagon at the Coca Cola stands on the 100 and 300 level.
Sabres Steakhouse Stack is a 6 oz beef filet, shoestring fries, raclette cheese (which will be melted right there) caramalized onion aioli on a Sabres-branded brioche bun. Available at the 100 level Coca Cola Stand.
Pretzel Bites. While they will serve the salted soft bites there is a new addition. The Cinnamon-Sugar with cream cheese served in a Sabres Helmet. Available at Power Play Pretzel.
La Nova Stinger Pizza: chicken fingers, top round steak, hot sauce and blue cheese dressing. Available at all La Nova locations.
Hot Dog of the Game: Poutine Dog. Hot dog, brisket, bacon, French fries and cheddar cheese curds available at the 100 and 300 level Top Dog.
The Tommer Bomber is a house-made meatball, melted mozzarella feast on garlic bread with potato chips served in a Sabres Wagon box. Available at LaNova stand near Section 116.
2-Foot Steak and Cheese Nachos. Tortilla chips covered in sliced beef, white queso, lettuce, tomato, onion and zesty aioli. Available at Party Nacho.
Timmy Shake is a tribute to former Sabre Tim Horton featuring Perry’s vanilla ice cream with birthday cake Tim Bits crushed in it and a few served as a garnish. This will be available at the Let’s Dough Buffalo stands.
Sponge Candy Crunch Fried Dough gives fried dough kick up with hot fudge and caramel topped with crushed sponge candy. Available at Let’s Dough Buffalo stands.
Chicken Wing Loaded Tots feature shredded Buffalo chicken, blue cheese crumble, celery, carrots on top of Tater Tots. Available at the Fryers Club Stand.
Elote Nachos are tortillas covered in queso, roasted corn, cotija cheese, lime crema, tajin cilantro and served at the Southtowns BBQ on the 200 level.
Juicy Lucy Burger is a 6 oz burger stuffed with American cheese, bread and butter pickles in a fancy sauce. Served at the Corner Market Stand.
Swedish Meatball Bomber is a hoagie roll filled with Swedish Meatballs, lingonberry compote and gravey. Served at Corner Market Stand. The meatball recipe is Chef Mike’s mothers.
Beef Au Poive On Weck is top round on a weck roll with peppercorn jus. This will be an Aud Club Carvery item on the 200 level.
Go for the Goal is an Egg Roll made with Carolina BBQ pulled pork and pickles.
Blue Gold Parfaits are lemon curd, blueberry compote with yellow cake served at all Grab and Go Markets.
Dubai Chocolate Pretzel Braid is a pretzel with chocolate fudge and pistachio cream.
Two items that will be served in the Suites only are the Chicken Wings with caviar and blue cheese creme fresh; and a Brazilian style steak house chicken served with sausage bean compote, rice, vegetables and cheese bread.
All these items are available only through the first round of the playoffs.
NYHOL’s review.
Many of the sandwiches looked so good but for me were too large so I stuck to smaller items and dessert. There were no overwhelming spices or heat on the items I had. To be all dishes were spiced just right. Many of the items are a meal in themselves and several items are really made for at least two people such as the Let’s Go Buffalo Wings and Pizza Logs and the large nacho servings.
My sampling of the Sponge Candy Crunch Fried Dough was very good but I could have used more spongecandy, not a criticism I just love my sponge candy.
The Dubai covered Pretzel was also delicious and I enjoyed it.
The Timmy Shake was amazing, but also rich so it will fill you up.
Go for the Goal Egg Roll was very tasty and for me it was a meal in itself.
It was exciting to see the Brazilian dish come right off of the spear and served with a very good sausage and bean compote, which I actually liked above the meat itself.
A new take on eating Buffalo Wings with the caviar was very good.
The Chicken Wing Loaded Tots were very large tots covered with a good amount of blue cheese crumble. I felt the heat level is about a medium.
At their beverage concessions there will be some brand new “collectibles” including wine glasses, a mason jar that will be used for frozen drinks, a new popcorn container, the Wagon and the Ice Rink Tray.
No, I don’t have the pricing on any of the food items.
Having three sisters playing on the same hockey team is not unusual in the Western New York Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Federation (WNYGVIHF) these days. But when two of the sisters are twins that makes the situation just that much more interesting.
That is the situation that the Clarence/Amherst/Sweet Home, aka CASH, found themselves in this season with the three Bizub sisters. Cece is the oldest, a ninth grader. Her two younger sisters, twins, Penny and Addie, are in seventh grade.
And what a season it was for CASH. First they won the WNYGVIHF championship, finishing first in the Fed. Then they won the Section VI title, defeated Webster to win the Far West Regional before going on to the NYS Regional semi-finals.
So what are the sister’s thoughts about playing on the same team?
“It’s exciting and special to be playing with both of them,” answered Penny, a forward, who attends Amherst Middle School. “It’s nice being on the same line with Addie some times.
“It’s been a great experience.”
“I like it because they’re not afraid to tell me what I might be doing wrong,” added Addie, a forward, who also attends Amherst Middle School. “It’s great to have someone, especially your sisters, helping you out and cheering you on.”
Cece, being the eldest of the trio, sees things a bit differently.
“It’s really special because we’ve never played on the same team together until this year,” said Cece, who plays defense, attends Amherst Central High School. “Addie and I had played together before, but the three of us playing together hadn’t happened.
“I just think it’s pretty cool to have all three of us on the same team.”
Being the oldest, does Cece feel any special responsibility to the twins?
“I feel that I have to be more encouraging to the twins,” responded Cece. “We help each other out, especially with what we might be doing wrong or what we need to work on.
“It’s good, constructive criticism. I think the feedback I get from my sisters is feedback I can trust because it’s coming from family.”
How do the twins like having their older sister on the same team?
“I like it because I think I always have somebody always looking out for me,” commented Penny. “I know she’s already been through some of the things I’m just going through right now.”
“So I know I can always go to her,” added Addie. “She’s very helpful.
A former WNYGVIH player needs some help. Maddie Norton Sports Performance & Hockey Development is looking for groups that support our youth populations for a project. This is her ask:
“Facebook friends, I need help! I have been doing quite a bit of research but haven’t found exactly what I am looking for yet.. I am in search of local charities/organizations (Buffalo area) that support our youth populations. Specifically charities/organizations that deal with sports/recreation, education or food! If you know of some that are smaller in size that don’t receive a ton of support from big players, drop them in the comments. Looking for a few for some upcoming projects”
On May 17 Maddie will be running the Cleveland Marathon in support of Hasek’s Heros. She has chosen to turn her marathon into something bigger than just the finish line–to help create opportunities for kids in WNY to experience the game of hockey.
Kelsey Barrett, who played defense for the HEWS (Hamburg/Eden/West Seneca) girls high school hockey team, was named Girls High School Hockey Player of the Month by the Buffalo Sabres for the month of January.
To say she was surprised by the honor was an understatement.
“It was really cool and it means a lot to me,” said Barrett, a senior at Eden High School, who has been playing hockey since she was four years old. “It came as a shock to me, I never expected it.”
Barrett was one of four seniors this season playing for HEWS and the lone senior on defense.
HEWS finished the regular season with a record of 11-5-0-0 in the Western New York Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Federation (WNYGVIHF).
In the playoffs HEWS defeated Williamsville, 8-3 in the quarterfinals before losing to LIDA (Lancaster/Iroquois/Depew/Alden), 2-1, in the semifinals.
Barrett finished the season with one goal and seven assists for eight points.
No exactly the way Barrett or her team wanted to end their season or her high school career. But she is already looking to the future.
“I’m going on to St. John Fisher University, and I will be playing lacrosse there,” commented Barrett, the daughter of Mike and Molly Barrett. Kelsey also has two sisters. “I’ll be majoring in Biology.
“I’m pretty excited about that and I’m looking forward to it.
