PHF

MSG 150 features goal by Riveters captain Madison Packer

Packer’s speedy backhanded goal against the Connecticut Whale brought NWHL hockey to a large regional audience.

Monday evening’s MSG 150 featured a video clip of Metropolitan Riveters captain Madison Packer’s weekend goal against the Connecticut Whale at Danbury Ice Arena.

Increased media coverage through prominent sports networks such as MSG can help grow the NWHL’s current market to a much larger audience. This clip demonstrates that these networks are starting to take more interest in everything that women’s hockey has to offer for potential fans.

MSG is an American television network that covers sports in the Mid-Atlantic region, primarily focusing on New York and New Jersey. This isn’t Packer’s first appearance in their programming, as she and another Riveters teammate appeared on a New York Islanders broadcast in 2015 during an interview about the NWHL’s first season.

This time around, MSG featured fifth-year Riveters veteran Packer on the ice. The goal came just under four minutes into the first period. The clip from the NWHL Twitch stream that MSG played shows Packer receiving the puck from teammate Kate Leary during a full-speed race down the ice and shooting it backhand past Whale goaltender Sonjia Shelly.

ICYMI: @madison_packer_ made the @MSGNetworks 150.

Gonna leave that right here.⬇️ pic.twitter.com/qNmxlnY4Kp
— Metropolitan Riveters (@Riveters) December 3, 2019

This was Packer’s fourth goal of the season. She and Leary are currently tied for most points among the Riveters with eight each.

The Riveters won 2-1 on Sunday, giving them their first regulation win of the season. After Packer’s goal in the first period, rookie and RIT alum Brooke Baker scored a shorthanded goal in the third to bring the Riveters up to 2-0. Baker’s goal was also the first of her NWHL career and her second point of the season.

The Whale’s Emma Vlasic responded toward the end of that period, but it was too little, too late and the Whale remain winless in a well-matched league this season.

Weekend Update: Nov. 30 - Dec. 1

The Riveters play again on Saturday, Dec. 7 at home in New Jersey when they meet the Boston Pride. The game will stream live on the NWHL’s Twitch account.