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Women's Hockey Top 6: Poulin continues dominance; Fujimoto injury, Scrivens plays

 CWHL

Saturday

 

 

 

 

 

1

2

3

TOTALS

Toronto Furies

0

0

1

1

Les Canadiennes de Montreal

0

1

2

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

2

3

TOTALS

Brampton Thunder @

0

1

2

3

Calgary Inferno

2

2

0

4

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

1

2

3

TOTALS

Toronto Furies (1-8-1) @

1

1

1

3

Les Canadiennes de Montreal (7-1-0)

1

1

4

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

2

3

TOTALS

Brampton Thunder (6-4-0) @

0

0

2

2

Calgary Inferno (9-1-0)

3

1

1

5

1) Beware of Bettez.

Lost in the greatness of Caroline Ouellette and Marie-Philip Poulin is Ann-Sophie Bettez.

In addition Poulin and Ouellette's combined 11 points over two games, Bettez was kicking in 5 points of her own. Game 2 against Toronto saw Bettez score her first hat trick of the season. Here's the first goal of three, via Habs Eyes on the Prize:

2) Brampton's dual threat in net.

Prior to dropping this past weekend's series against the Calgary Inferno, the Brampton Thunder had been on a six game win streak. Much of their success can be attributed to the goaltending tandem of Erica Howe and Liz Knox. They're both 3-2-0 with Howe recording a 2.20 goals against and Knox with a .926 save percentage. Being able to split the series keeps these net minders fresher as they make the stretch drive; whereas, most teams are riding one goaltender for both games each weekend.

3) Save the date!

Mark the date January 30 on your calendars. That's the time the Inferno and Les Canadiennes meet next. The two teams are the best two franchises in the league. The two teams boast the top four scorers in the CWHL.

RK

PLAYER

TEAM

Pos.

GP

G

A

PTS

+/-

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

1

Poulin, Marie-Philip

MON

F

6

9

9

18

9

8

2

3

0

0

2

2

Lovell, Elana

CAL

F

10

7

8

15

9

4

0

2

0

0

2

3

Ouellette, Caroline

MON

F

8

6

8

14

12

10

2

1

0

0

2

4

Bettez, Ann-Sophie

MON

F

8

7

6

13

13

2

3

1

0

0

1

Marie-Philip Poulin with 18 points in 6 games?! Seriously.

NWHL

 

1

2

3

TOTALS

Connecticut Whale (6-0-0) @

2

2

0

4

Boston Pride (3-3-0)

0

1

2

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

2

3

TOTALS

Buffalo Beauts (1-4-1) @

0

0

3

3

New York Riveters (2-4-0)

0

1

0

1

4) [Seinfeld voice] What is the deal with the Boston Pride?

On paper, the Boston Pride are the strongest team in the NWHL. But, as the old saying goes, the game is not played on paper. The Pride received their third straight loss of the season, this time at the hands of the equally competitive Connecticut Whale.

Before the losing streak, the Pride had no problem scoring goals. In the first three games of the season, the Pride outscored opponents 16-5. In the three games that followed, all losses, Boston was outscored 7-10.

The best un-fancy stat indicator of who isn't scoring is to look at stats before and after the 4 Nations break. (Note: The NWHL stats are a work in progress.) Brianna Decker put up 5 goals and 2 assists in the first three games and only 3 assists in two games after the break. Blake Bolden, Jordan Smelker, and Zoe Hickel combined for 9 points pre-4 Nations and have zero points since returning.

5) Devon Skeats leads Beauts to first franchise win.

The Buffalo Beauts earned their first franchise win in a 3-1 defeat of the New York Riveters. Two of the three Beauts goals came from Devon Skeats. Visa issues kept Skeats out of the lineup for the first three games; however, she has 4 points, and the Beauts have been competitive in all three games she's played in. Skeats also a wrecking ball on the ice with 8 penalty minutes, which include a checking from behind and a roughing penalty.

The NWHL has recognized Skeats as the Player of the Week. She comes to the NWHL after playing for the Neuberg Highlanders of the Elite Women's Hockey League (EWHL) in Austria. With the Highlanders she had 17 goals and 5 assists in 19 games, plus 74 penalty minutes.

6) Nana says uh oh

A major concern for the New York Riveters is the status of starting netminder Nana Fujimoto. After playing a majority of the game against the Beauts, the goaltender left following a collision in her crease. Jenny Scrivens made her pro hockey debut playing a little less than five minutes. Over the past three games, Fujimoto has begun to find her stride, as have the Riveters in front of her.

The league has no update on her status right now. But Nana took to Twitter to let everyone know she's ok:

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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