2015–16 NWHL season

The 2015–16 NWHL season was the first season of operation of the National Women's Hockey League. Four teams competed for the inaugural Isobel Cup: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, New York Riveters, and Connecticut Whale.

2015–16 NWHL season
League	National Women's Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 11, 2015 – February 28, 2016
Inaugural draft
Top draft pick	Alex Carpenter
Picked by	New York Riveters
Regular season
Season champions	Boston Pride
Season MVP	Brianna Decker
Top scorer	Hilary Knight
Isobel Cup
Champions	Boston Pride
Runners-up	Buffalo Beauts

League business

• July 2015: The NWHL Foundation hosted a Canadian Training Camp Series in four different Canadian cities (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Windsor).^[1]
• Late July 2015: A training camp for European players took place at Ristuccia Memorial Arena outside Boston on July 23, hosted by Boston Pride head coach Bobby Jay. Players from Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Japan attended.^[2]

All-star game

Main article: 1st NWHL All-Star Game

The 1st NWHL All-Star Game was held January 24, 2016, at HarborCenter in Buffalo, the home of the Beauts.^[3]

Regular season

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	W%	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Boston Pride	18	14	3	1	0.806	75	39	+36	29
2	Connecticut Whale	18	13	5	0	0.722	61	51	+10	26
3	Buffalo Beauts	18	5	9	4	0.389	56	66	−10	14
4	New York Riveters	18	4	12	2	0.278	40	76	−36	10

Source: PHF
y – Clinched division

Schedule

All times in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00).^[4]

Regular season
Date	Time	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Notes	Gamesheet
October 11	1:30	New York	1–4	Connecticut			[Game 1]
	3:30	Boston	4–1	Buffalo			[Game 2]
October 18	3:30	Connecticut	5–2	Buffalo			[Game 3]
	8:00	Boston	7–1	New York			[Game 4]
October 25	3:30	Boston	5–3	Buffalo			[Game 5]
	7:00	Connecticut	3–1	New York			[Game 6]
November 15	3:30	Connecticut	3–2	Buffalo			[Game 7]
	7:00	Boston	2–3	New York			[Game 8]
November 22	3:00	New York	3–2	Boston			[Game 9]
	3:30	Connecticut	7–6	Buffalo	SO		[Game 10]
November 29	3:00	Connecticut	4–3	Boston			[Game 11]
	7:00	Buffalo	3–1	New York			[Game 12]
December 5	7:00	Buffalo	6–7	Boston			[Game 13]
December 6	3:30	New York	1–4	Boston			[Game 14]
	4:30	Buffalo	2–3	Connecticut	SO		[Game 15]
December 13	6:30	Connecticut	4–3	New York	SO		[Game 16]
December 20	3:00	Buffalo	0–1	Boston			[Game 17]
December 27	3:30	New York	7–3	Buffalo			[Game 18]
	4:30	Boston	2–1	Connecticut			[Game 19]
January 3	3:00	Buffalo	4–3	Boston	OT		[Game 20]
	7:00	Connecticut	6–1	New York			[Game 21]
January 9	7:30	New York	3–4	Connecticut			[Game 22]
January 10	3:00	New York	1–8	Boston			[Game 23]
	6:00	Buffalo	3–5	Connecticut			[Game 24]
January 17	3:00	Connecticut	1–4	Boston			[Game 25]
	7:00	Buffalo	6–5	New York	SO		[Game 26]
January 31	3:30	New York	2–4	Buffalo			[Game 27]
	6:00	Boston	5–2	Connecticut			[Game 28]
February 6	6:00	Boston	6–1	New York			[Game 29]
February 7	12:00	Buffalo	2–3	Connecticut	OT		[Game 30]
February 14	2:00	Buffalo	3–4	New York	SO		[Game 31]
	3:00	Connecticut	2–4	Boston			[Game 32]
February 21	1:30	Boston	5–3	Connecticut			[Game 33]
	3:30	New York	1–5	Buffalo			[Game 34]
February 28	3:30	Boston	3–2	Buffalo			[Game 35]
	6:00	New York	2–4	Connecticut			[Game 36]
March 4	7:00	New York	0–6	Boston			[Game 37]
	7:10	Buffalo	0–3	Connecticut			[Game 38]
March 5	7:30	Buffalo	4–1	Connecticut			[Game 39]
	8:00	New York	4–7	Boston			[Game 40]
March 6	6:00	Buffalo	4–3	Connecticut			[Game 41]
March 11	7:30	Buffalo	3–4	Boston	OT		[Game 42]
March 12	7:30	Boston	3–1	Buffalo			[Game 43]

Playoffs

	Semifinals					Finals
	1	Boston Pride	2
	4	New York Riveters	0
						1	Boston Pride	2
						3	Buffalo Beauts	0
	2	Connecticut Whale	1
	3	Buffalo Beauts	2

Statistics

Scoring leaders

• The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of season.

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Hilary Knight	Boston Pride	17	15	18	33	8
Brianna Decker	Boston Pride	17	14	15	29	20
Kelli Stack	Connecticut Whale	17	8	14	22	24
Kelly Babstock	Connecticut Whale	18	9	13	22	24
Kelley Steadman	Buffalo Beauts	13	13	7	20	16

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Team	Date
First goal	Jessica Koizumi	Connecticut Whale	October 11, 2015
First Canadian to score a goal	Kelly Babstock	Connecticut Whale	October 11, 2015
First European to log an assist	Lyudmila Belyakova	New York Riveters	October 11, 2015
First multi-goal game	Hilary Knight (2 goals)	Boston Pride	October 11, 2015
First multi-point game	Kelli Stack (3 points)	Connecticut Whale	October 11, 2015
First multi-point game by a defenseman	Kacey Bellamy (2 points)	Boston Pride	October 11, 2015
First goaltending win	Jaimie Leonoff	Connecticut Whale	October 11, 2015
First American-born goaltender to win a regular season game	Brittany Ott	Boston Pride	October 11, 2015
First African-American player to compete in the NWHL	Blake Bolden	Boston Pride	October 11, 2015
First hat trick	Brianna Decker	Boston Pride	October 25, 2015
First international goaltender to win a regular season game	Nana Fujimoto	New York Riveters	November 15, 2015
First shootout goal	Kelly Babstock	Connecticut Whale	November 22, 2015
First European to score a goal	Yekaterina Smolentseva	Connecticut Whale	December 13, 2015
First shutout game	Brittany Ott	Boston Pride	December 20, 2015

Awards and honors

• Brianna Decker, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Most Valuable Player
• Hilary Knight, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Scoring Champion
• Denna Laing, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Perseverance Award
• Denna Laing, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Foundation Award
• Gigi Marvin, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Defensive Player of the Year Award
• Brittany Ott, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Goaltender of the Year

Transactions

NWHL draft

The 2015 NWHL draft took place in Boston on June 22, 2015. The draft was not binding on the players, who did not enter their names and did not have to give their consent.^[5] It was not clear that the players felt themselves bound by the decisions made in the draft.^[6] However, during the season the NWHL was frequently active on social media about draft picks' success in the NCAA, and on April 1, 2016, the NWHL announced ^[7] that the draft would be enforced insofar as there would be salary cap penalties for teams that signed other teams' draftees.

A draft lottery was held by NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan, with the New York Riveters earning the first pick overall.^[8]

Notable first round picks included University of Minnesota forward Hannah Brandt by Connecticut, Northeastern University forward Kendall Coyne by Boston, and University of Wisconsin defenseman Courtney Burke by Buffalo.^[9][10]

= Indicates player with a prior Olympic appearance

= Indicates player with prior IIHF experience without appearing in the Olympics

#	Player	Pos	Nationality	Team	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	Alex Carpenter	F		New York Riveters	Boston College (HEA)
2	Hannah Brandt	F		Connecticut Whale	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
3	Kendall Coyne	F		Boston Pride	Northeastern (HEA)
4	Courtney Burke	D		Buffalo Beauts	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
5	Haley Skarupa	F		New York Riveters	Boston College (HEA)
6	Michelle Picard	D		Connecticut Whale	Harvard University (ECAC)
7	Emerance Maschmeyer	G		Boston Pride	Harvard University (ECAC)
8	Sarah Lefort	F		Buffalo Beauts	Boston University (HEA)
9	Erin Ambrose	D		New York Riveters	Clarkson University (ECAC)
10	Milica McMillen	D		Connecticut Whale	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
11	Lexi Bender	D		Boston Pride	Boston College (HEA)
12	Amanda Leveille	G		Buffalo Beauts	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
13	Dana Trivigno	F		New York Riveters	Boston College (HEA)
14	Maryanne Menefee	F		Connecticut Whale	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
15	Miye D'Oench	F		Boston Pride	Harvard University (ECAC)
16	Emily Janiga	F		Buffalo Beauts	Mercyhurst College (CHA)
17	Kimberly Newell	G		New York Riveters	Princeton University (ECAC)
18	Cassandra Poudrier	D		Connecticut Whale	Cornell University (ECAC)
19	Shannon MacAulay	F		Boston Pride	Clarkson University (ECAC)
20	Jenna Dingeldein	F		Buffalo Beauts	Mercyhurst College (CHA)

Free agency

Date	Player	Team
June 11, 2015	Janine Weber[11]	New York Riveters
June 23, 2015	Amanda Pelkey[12]	Boston Pride
June 25, 2015	Shiann Darkangelo[13]	Connecticut Whale
June 25, 2015	Sam Faber[13]	Connecticut Whale
June 25, 2015	Chelsea Laden[13]	Connecticut Whale
June 26, 2015	Celeste Brown[14]	New York Riveters
June 30, 2015	Kiira Dosdall[15]	New York Riveters
June 30, 2015	Morgan Fritz-Ward[15]	New York Riveters
July 1, 2015	Kaleigh Fratkin[16]	Connecticut Whale
July 1, 2015	Brianne McLaughlin[17]	Buffalo Beauts
July 2, 2015	Blake Bolden[18]	Boston Pride
July 2, 2015	Jillian Dempsey[18]	Boston Pride
July 2, 2015	Alyssa Gagliardi[18]	Boston Pride
July 6, 2015	Emily Field[19]	Boston Pride
July 6, 2015	Jordan Smelker[19]	Boston Pride
July 9, 2015	Jessica Koizumi[20]	Connecticut Whale
July 9, 2015	Devon Skeats[21]	Buffalo Beauts
July 9, 2015	Danielle Ward[20]	Connecticut Whale
July 9, 2015	Erin Zach[21]	Buffalo Beauts
July 10, 2015	Beth Hanrahan[22]	New York Riveters
July 10, 2015	Brittany Ott[22]	Boston Pride
July 13, 2015	Lindsay Grigg[23]	Buffalo Beauts
July 13, 2015	Kelly McDonald[23]	Buffalo Beauts
July 14, 2015	Madison Packer[24]	New York Riveters
July 17, 2015	Micaela Long[25]	Connecticut Whale
July 17, 2015	Nicole Stock[25]	Connecticut Whale
July 24, 2015	Kelly Cooke[26]	Boston Pride
July 24, 2015	Marissa Gedman[26]	Boston Pride
July 25, 2015	Lyudmila Belyakova[27]	New York Riveters
July 26, 2015	Ashley Johnston[28]	New York Riveters
July 26, 2015	Tara Tomimoto	Connecticut Whale
July 26, 2015	Jaimie Leonoff[29]	Connecticut Whale
July 26, 2015	Shenae Lundberg[28]	New York Riveters
July 27, 2015	Nana Fujimoto[30]	New York Riveters
July 31, 2015	Corinne Buie[31]	Boston Pride
July 31, 2015	Elena Orlando[31]	New York Riveters
August 3, 2015	Meghan Fardelmann[32]	New York Riveters
August 3, 2015	Lauren Slebodnick[32]	Boston Pride
August 4, 2015	Kelly Babstock[33]	Connecticut Whale
August 6, 2015	Hailey Browne[34]	Buffalo Beauts
August 6, 2015	Kimberly Sass[34]	Buffalo Beauts
August 7, 2015	Shelby Bram[35]	Buffalo Beauts
August 7, 2015	Tatiana Rafter[35]	Buffalo Beauts
August 11, 2015	Paige Harrington[36]	Buffalo Beauts
August 11, 2015	Rachel Llanes[36]	Boston Pride
August 11, 2015	Amanda Makela[37]	Buffalo Beauts
August 11, 2015	Jenny Scrivens[37]	New York Riveters
August 11, 2015	Hayley Williams[36]	Buffalo Beauts
August 13, 2015	Brittney Dougherty[38]	Connecticut Whale
August 13, 2015	Shannon Doyle[38]	Connecticut Whale
August 15, 2015	Gabie Figueroa[39]	New York Riveters
August 15, 2015	Kourtney Kunichika[39]	Buffalo Beauts
August 15, 2015	Yekaterina Smolentseva[40]	Connecticut Whale
August 16, 2015	Brooke Ammerman[41]	New York Riveters
August 17, 2015	Jessica Fickel[42]	Buffalo Beauts
August 17, 2015	Kelsie Fralick[42]	Boston Pride
August 17, 2015	Bray Ketchum[42]	New York Riveters
August 18, 2015	Erin Barley-Maloney[43]	New York Riveters
August 18, 2015	Molly Engstrom[44]	Connecticut Whale
August 18, 2015	Zoe Hickel[45]	Boston Pride
August 18, 2015	Hannah McGowan[43]	Buffalo Beauts
September 22, 2015	Kacey Bellamy[46]	Boston Pride
September 23, 2015	Brianna Decker[47]	Boston Pride
September 23, 2015	Gigi Marvin[48]	Boston Pride
September 24, 2015	Lindsay Berman[49]	Connecticut Whale
September 24, 2015	Jordan Brickner[49]	Connecticut Whale
September 24, 2015	Sydney Kidd[49]	New York Riveters
September 24, 2015	Emily Pfalzer[50]	Buffalo Beauts
September 24, 2015	Kelli Stack[51]	Connecticut Whale
September 24, 2015	Alyssa Wohlfeiler[49]	Connecticut Whale
September 25, 2015	Megan Bozek[52]	Buffalo Beauts
September 25, 2015	Meghan Duggan[53]	Buffalo Beauts
September 25, 2015	Hilary Knight[54]	Boston Pride

Trades

January 27, 2016 (2016-01-27)[55]

To New York Riveters Chelsea Laden

To Connecticut Whale Shenae Lundberg