The NWHL season has drawn to a close, the playoffs are finished and the Isobel Cup has a new home. It’s time to briefly reflect on each team’s performance over 2018-19.
Team: Boston Pride
Regular Season Result: 11-5-0
MVP Nominee: Gigi Marvin
What Happened In The Regular Season:
While the Connecticut Whale and Metropolitan Riveters struggled in the lower reaches of the league, competition at the top was tight with the top three teams separated by just two points.
The Boston Pride, the inaugural winners of the Isobel Cup, had a strong start, winning two of the three games played in October, half the games in November and every game in December. January was forgettable but the team bounced back to win all three games in February. March brought the last game of the regular season, a 2-1 loss to Minnesota.
Boston had a strong year and never lost more than one game in a row all season. The team also put the puck in the net a lot, and their 3.75 goals per game was the highest in the league. Seven of the Pride’s games saw the team score at least five goals.
Jillian Dempsey and Gigi Marvin both found the net 10 times, only Buffalo’s Maddie Elia scored more. All in 14 skaters scored for Boston and that’s the sort of depth that most teams dream of. Captain Dempsey topped off a strong season by winning the Denna Laing award for exemplifying the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to their sport, for the second season in a row.
Regular Season Stats:
| PP | 22.9% (1st) |
| PK | 92.9% (1st) |
| GPG | 3.75 (1st) |
| GAA | 2.25 (3rd) |
| SV% | .919 (3rd) |
What Happened In The Playoffs:
By virtue of being third seed, the Pride jumped straight to the semi final, only to be shut out by the 2017 cup winners Buffalo. It took half an hour to break the deadlock when Buffalo’s Maddie Elia found twine. Emily Pfalzer, Emily Janiga and Dani Cameranesi followed suit and soon enough the Pride were of the competition.
The semi final wasn’t quite as one-sided as the box score suggested, but where discipline failed Boston, Buffalo triumphed. Two of the Beauts’ goals were scored while the Pride were short-handed.