NWHL Suspends Engstrom

New York, NY (December 10, 2015) — The National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) held two Player Safety Hearings on Wednesday, resulting in a one-game suspension for Molly Engstrom (Connecticut Whale) and a rule change regarding bench doors during play.

These hearings were held on Wednesday afternoon in New York City and included NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan, NWHLPA Director Erika Lawler, Patrick Burke from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety and representatives from the NWHLPA who did not partake in the game where each incident was in question.

The first meeting involved Zoe Hickel, who was involved in this (VIDEO) play with Taylor Holze (New York Riveters). The original call was a two-minute minor for boarding and after further review, no further discipline was assessed.

As a result of this play, the NWHL has decided to enact a rule that all bench doors must remain closed during game action. The exceptions to this rule include the following and violations will result in a bench minor penalty.

1) If an injured player is in the process of leaving the ice
2) If a goaltender is in the process of being pulled
3) Between whistles and in-between periods

The second hearing involved Molly Engstrom, who was involved in this (VIDEO) play with Buffalo Beauts forward Meghan Duggan. The Whale blue-liner was originally given a five minute major for an illegal check to the head and a game misconduct.

Engstrom was suspended one additional game following the hearing. She will miss Sunday’s game at the New York Riveters.