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Behind the Glass: Ann-Sophie Bettez passes Hefford

Bettez changes the record books, the Pride hunt down the Whitecaps, and the Inferno’s hot streak ends

It’s time for another installment of Behind the Glass — our weekly column collecting stories, stats, trends, and thoughts from the world of professional women’s hockey.

  • Last Sunday, Rebecca Russo’s incredible 44-game streak of regular season and playoff games without taking a penalty came to an end. Russo took a slashing minor with 58 seconds left in the second period of Sunday’s 4-0 loss against the Connecticut Whale./
  • Prior to being swept by the Boston Pride over the weekend, the Minnesota Whitecaps were undefeated. The Pride are now just two points behind Minnesota in the NWHL standings and have one game in hand. It’s also worth noting that thanks to outscoring the Whitecaps 12-3 over the weekend, the Pride now have the greatest goal differential in the league (+14).
  • Kendall Coyne Schofield’s 7.17 SOG/GP is the highest in the NWHL. However, she only has one goal this season for the Whitecaps — an empty netter scored against the Riveters on Oct. 6. Yep, Coyne Schofield is definitely due for a goal.
  • Meeri Räisänen made some Connecticut Whale franchise history with her 31-save shutout victory over the Metropolitan Riveters in Pittsburgh. She blanked four Riveters’ power plays and stopped 24 shots in the last two periods alone./
  • The Ice Garden’s own Erica Ayala got the scoop on the potential return of defender Colleen Murphy to the NWHL. Murphy, who played last season with the Buffalo Beauts, might soon be joining the Whale. If she signs with Connecticut, the Whale will have a full 25-player roster. However, the Whale might have more flexibility with their roster if there has been any development regarding Randi Griffin’s status./
  • In just seven games this season Gigi Marvin of the Boston Pride has already set a new personal best for goals in an NWHL season. She is one of four skaters in the league with six goals on the year.
  • The Buffalo Beauts went 1-3-0 against Team Russia in Ontario, Canada in a four-game exhibition series. The Beauts won the second game 7-1, but were out-scored by Russia 12-6 in the other three matches. [Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4]
  • Yesterday, Shannon Miller and the Calgary Inferno decided to part ways. The news surprised much of the women’s hockey world, but it sounds like it was an amicable split despite a difference of opinion between Miller and general manager Kristen Hagg./

Miller said she and general manager Kristen Hagg had “a difference of opinion on how things should run, and so I decided to step away and she will run the team the way she wants to run the team. It was a fairly amicable parting and, obviously, I wish them well.”

Added Miller, “I was hired to recruit a strong professional team and win. I did that and very much enjoyed coaching the team.”  [Excerpt from the Duluth News Tribune]

  • Caroline Ouellette and Danièle Sauvageau will be Les Canadiennes de Montréal’s associate coaches moving forward. Ouellette will be leading the team and Sauvageau will act in a mentor role. According to eliteprospects.com, she was the first female coach in the history of the QMJHL./

“Serving the game has been my life ... In many ways, this role with Les Canadiennes is like coming home. I hope to share my experience in the game, and to mentor the coaches and players, as well as continue to shape the professional development of our sport.” - Sauvageau in Les Canadiennes’ press release

  • Thanks to a classic four-point performance against the Worcester Blades on Sunday, Ann-Sophie Bettez has moved ahead of Jayna Hefford on the CWHL’s all-time points leaders. Bettez now has 236 career points, all scored with Montréal, in 156 regular season games. She’s just 19 points behind Noémie Marin for second place in all-time scoring in the CWHL record books.
  • That’s not the only history we saw the Les Canadiennes make last weekend. Marie-Philip Poulin is now tied with Jennifer Botterill for fifth place in all-time CWHL scoring. She also moved into fourth all-time in CWHL goals. Poulin has 20 points — seven goals and 13 assists — in 12 games for Montréal this season./
  • The Markham Thunder’s 3-2 (SO) victory over the Calgary Inferno on Saturday, Dec. 1 put an end to Calgary’s nine-game winning streak. However, the Inferno bested Markham on Sunday by a score of 5-3, giving them points in 11-straight games. Calgary hasn’t lost a game in regulation since their first game of the season against Les Canadiennes on Oct. 13.
  • Two rookies — Sarah Nurse of the Toronto Furies and Victoria Bach of the Thunder — lead the CWHL in power play goals (4) early in December. According to the CWHL’s stat page, Nurse also leads the league with seven power play points.
  • Paul Kennedy, the head coach of the Blades, has now changed goalies mid-game five times in their last six games. Jetta Rackleff was the last Worcester goaltender to play a full 60 minutes for the Blades. She stopped 44 of the 49 shots she faced on Nov. 17 against Montréal.
  • No SDHL goaltender has played more minutes than HV71’s Alba Gonzalo. Through 1204:36 of hockey, Gonzalo has posted a .927 save percentage. She’s also earned four shutouts and 12 wins for HV71 this season.
  • Göteborg HC (SDHL) is still searching for its second win of the 2018-19 season. They haven’t won a game since their 4-1 victory over Leksands IF on Oct. 29. Göteborg has a -117 goal differential through 24 games this season. Anna Borgfeldt, the team’s captain and leading scorer, has three goals and seven assists this year.
  • Valeria Pavlova now has 21 goals and 10 assists in 23 games for Biryusa (ZhHL), which is good for fifth place in scoring in the Russian Women’s League. Pavlova has scored at least 21 goals in three consecutive seasons for Biryusa. She is one of only two players in the top-five in ZhHL scoring who don’t play for HK Tornado./

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