Sports season
The 2015–16 NWHL season is the first season of operation of the National Women's Hockey League . Four teams competed for the inaugural Isobel Cup: the Buffalo Beauts , Boston Pride , New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale .
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]
NWHL Draft [ ]
The 2015 NWHL Draft took place on June 22, 2015. A draft lottery was held and the New York Riveters earned the first pick overall, selecting Alexandra Carpenter of the Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey program.
Regular season [ ]
Standings [ ]
Scoring leaders [ ]
The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of season.
All-star game [ ]
The 1st NWHL All-Star Game was held January 24, 2016 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, the home of the Beauts.[3]
Playoffs [ ]
Semifinals
Boston - New York 6:0, 7:4
Buffalo - Connecticut 0:3, 4:1, 4:3
Final
Boston - Buffalo 4:3 OT, 3:1
Milestones [ ]
Milestone
Player
Team
Date
First goal
Jessica Koizumi
Connecticut Whale
Oct 11, 2015
First Canadian to score a goal
Kelly Babstock
Connecticut Whale
Oct 11, 2015
First European to log an assist
Lyudmila Belyakova
New York Riveters
Oct 11, 2015
First European to score a goal
Yekaterina Smolentseva
Connecticut Whale
Dec 13, 2015
First shootout goal
Kelly Babstock
Connecticut Whale
Nov 22, 2015
First multi-goal game
Hilary Knight (2 goals)
Boston Pride
Oct 11, 2015
First hat trick
Brianna Decker
Boston Pride
Oct 25, 2015
First multi-point game
Kelli Stack (3 points)
Connecticut Whale
Oct 11, 2015
First multi-point game by a defenseman
Kacey Bellamy (2 points)
Boston Pride
Oct 11, 2015
First goaltending win
Jaimie Leonoff Canada
Connecticut Whale
Oct 11, 2015
First American-born goaltender to win a regular season game
Brittany Ott
Boston Pride
Oct 11, 2015
First international goaltender to win a regular season game
Nana Fujimoto
New York Riveters
Nov 15, 2015
First African-American player to compete in the NWHL
Blake Bolden
Boston Pride
Oct 11, 2015
First shootout game
Brittany Ott
Boston Pride
Dec 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
References [ ]