ReportWire

Tag: PWHL

  • Gold-medal US women’s hockey team declines President Trump’s invitation to attend State of Union address

    [ad_1]

    WASHINGTON — The gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team has politely declined an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend his State of the Union address Tuesday.

    “We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold-medal-winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,” the team said in a statement released Monday. “Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”

    Trump also invited the gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s team.

    Scheduling will be a challenge as the NHL regular season resumes with five games Wednesday and the PWHL resumes Thursday.

    Logistics played a role in the decision, as many of the women’s players were not scheduled to arrive in North America until Monday evening. The men’s team flew by charter to Miami earlier Monday. The women took a commercial flight and were scheduled to land in Atlanta.

    A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that the women’s players didn’t learn of the invitation until late Sunday, making it difficult to change their travel plans. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the team’s travel plans.

    The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of both teams.

    When extending the invitation to the men’s team Sunday night, Trump said, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” Trump joked that if he did not also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

    The Olympic tournament featured two thrilling finals, both ending in overtime, with the American women beating Canada 2-1 in the gold-medal game Thursday and the U.S. men beating Canada 2-1 on Sunday.

    “It’s been a whirlwind. It’s been amazing. It’s a dream of ours. It was such an amazing way to unite the country,” Matthew Tkachuk of the U.S. men’s team said after arriving in Miami.

    “We felt the support being across the Atlantic, and now being back on home soil we could feel it the second the wheels hit the ground. So excited to be back in the greatest country in the world and so excited to celebrate.”

    Tkachuk said it was an honor to hear from Trump after the win, “and so we are definitely honored to represent him and the millions and millions across the country.”

    Vice President JD Vance attended two of the U.S. women’s preliminary-round wins with his family during the first week of the Games.

    AP’s Stephen Whyno, Charles Odum in Atlanta and Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed.

    [ad_2]

    John Wawrow, Melissa Goldin

    Source link

  • First-place Boston Fleet capture shootout victory at Seattle

    [ad_1]

    SEATTLE (AP) — Hannah Brandt had the only goal in a shootout and Aerin Frankel finished with 36 saves to help the Boston Fleet pull out a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Torrent at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday night.

    Brandt beat Seattle goaltender Corinne Schroeder to deal the Torrent the loss in their first overtime match at home in their first season in the league. Schroeder totaled 20 saves.

    Megan Keller scored on a 5-on-3 power play at 12:28 in the first period to give Boston (8-1-2-2) a 1-0 lead. Four of Keller’s five goals this season have come with an extra skater. Susanna Tapani collected her fifth assist and Abby Newhook notched her first.

    Seattle (3-1-2-5) outshot the Fleet 11-4 in the first 20 minutes but couldn’t take advantage of its two power-play opportunities.

    The Torrent tied it 1-1 at 14:12 in the second period on a one-timer by Julia Gosling, who leads the club with 10 points on five goals and five assists. Brooke Bryant and Cayla Barnes picked up their first assists.

    Boston killed a third power play late in the second to extend the Torrent’s scoreless streak with an extra skater to 17. The Fleet haved surrendered just one goal in 30 power-play opportunities by their opponents, tops in the league.

    Schroeder saved a point-blank shot by Jill Sauinier in the final minute of regulation to keep it tied and also had a save on a one-on-one shot by Haley Winn in the first minute of overtime.

    Boston leads the league with 28 points, six clear of the second-place New York Sirens. Seattle earns a point and is tied for last place with the first-year Vancouver Goldeneyes, although the Torrent have two matches in hand.

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Capital One Arena hosts highest-attended game in US women’s hockey history – WTOP News

    [ad_1]

    D.C.’s Capital One Arena marked a milestone Sunday when it recorded the largest in-arena attendance for a professional women’s hockey match.

    D.C.’s Capital One Arena marked a milestone Sunday when it recorded the largest in-arena attendance for a professional U.S. women’s hockey match.

    The record-setting crowd of 17,228 attendees came as the arena hosted the Professional Women’s Hockey League Takeover Tour game. The anticipated game saw the New York Sirens defeat the Montreal Victoire 2-1.

    Game attendance surpassed the previous record of 16,014 fans set during a PWHL game between the Seattle Torrent and Minnesota Frost at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on Nov. 28, 2025, according to a release issued by Monumental Sports and Entertainment.

    The game was broadcast locally on Monumental Sports Network and marked the first PWHL match-up played in the District.

    This achievement also comes after the Washington Mystics hosted the Indiana Fever at Capital One in September 2024 for a game that drew a record 20,711 fans. The event itself set the Women’s National Basketball Association single-game attendance mark for a regular season game.

    “We’re incredibly proud to see Capital One Arena serve as the stage for another historic moment with today’s record-setting PWHL game,” said Ted Leonsis, founder, chairman, managing partner, and CEO of MSE.

    “Whether it’s on the ice or the court, these record-setting crowds are the result of deliberate investment, long-term partnership and a belief that women’s sports deserve to be celebrated at the highest level.”

    As part of the weekend’s events, the Capitals hosted a series of events at MedStar Capitals Iceplex and hosted girls’ youth hockey clinics led by ALL CAPS ALL HER instructors and ambassadors with appearances by PWHL players.

    The Montreal Victoire and New York Sirens earlier held open practices for the public with autograph sessions and other fan experiences.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    [ad_2]

    Zsana Hoskins

    Source link

  • Boston Fleet stay perfect by skating past the New York Sirens

    [ad_1]

    NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Ella Huber and Liz Schepers scored second-period goals and the Boston Fleet remained unbeaten with a 2-0 victory over the New York Sirens in PWHL action on Wednesday night.

    Boston (5-0-0-0) took the lead 5:27 into the second period when Huber used a pass from Haley Winn to score her first career goal. Winn’s assist was her third.

    The Fleet grabbed a two-goal lead 4:19 later on Schepers’ first netter for Boston. Jamie Lee Rattray collected her fourth assist on the score and Megan Keller notched her third.

    Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel did the rest, turning away 33 shots for her third shutout in five outings this season.

    Kayle Osborne had 19 saves for New York (2-0-0-4), including eight in a scoreless first period.

    Boston won all six matchups last season — two in overtime — and leads the all-time series 8-2-1-0.

    The Fleet began the day with a four-point lead over the second-place Vancouver Goldeneyes — an expansion team. The Sirens entered in a four-way tie for third.

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Women’s pro sports is a ‘global phenomenon’ — and Canada is finally joining in – National | Globalnews.ca

    Women’s pro sports is a ‘global phenomenon’ — and Canada is finally joining in – National | Globalnews.ca

    [ad_1]

    Women’s professional sports is a growing phenomenon worldwide, and Canada is increasingly joining in the action.

    After the launch of the Professional Women’s Hockey League this year with three of the six teams from Canadian cities, another six Canadian women’s teams have applied to join a new national Division 1 women’s soccer league in the country.

    Called Project 8, it will be the first domestic professional women’s soccer league Canada has ever seen and is a “big deal,” women’s sports advocates told Global News.

    So far, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary have announced they have applied to the league, and three other teams will be revealed in the coming weeks, according to Project 8. The league is set to launch in 2025 and has Canadian Tire, CIBC, DoorDash and Air Canada as founding partners.

    “The timing (for its launch) couldn’t be better with the growth of viewership and popularity of women’s sports in general,” Kim Brassor, the founder and executive director of Oakville, Ont.-based Future Girls Soccer, told Global News.

    Story continues below advertisement

    “If the right business partners come along and players come along, I think it’s going to be a terrific venture for Canada Soccer.”


    Click to play video: 'Shooting star: Caitlin Clark becoming all-time college basketball great'


    Shooting star: Caitlin Clark becoming all-time college basketball great


    Brassor helps coach girls ages eight to 12 in soccer, and said having a professional league in Canada will be a huge inspiration for players. Before Project 8, the only hope for playing the sport professionally would be to go to other countries to play in their leagues, she said.


    The email you need for the day’s
    top news stories from Canada and around the world.

    Now the goal of playing professionally will be much more tangible and provide young players with role models, according to Brassor.

    The new league is being created by retired Olympic player Diana Matheson and her business partner, Thomas Gilbert. It comes as women’s sports is rapidly gaining popularity around the world, according to Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, the CEO of non-profit Canadian Women and Sport.

    Story continues below advertisement

    “It’s a global phenomenon,” she said. “The fandom is growing in terms of the viewership online, on TV, engagement on social media, attendance at events.”

    Nielsen reported in July 2023 that interest in women’s sports is growing at a “meteoric pace,” with the final game of the NCAA Women’s Division between Iowa and LSU drawing in a record-breaking 9.9 million views, up 103 per cent from the year before. Deloitte has predicted that women’s elite sports will surpase US$1 billion in revenue in 2024 for the first time.

    Sandmeyer-Graves said Canada is actually behind in terms of women’s sports offerings compared to other places such as the U.S. and Europe, and says there is a massive opportunity for investment and partnerships. She said women athletes are now building their own profiles and fanbases similar to how male athletes have done for decades — and brands are taking notice.

    Trending Now

    The new league will only help with growth by creating more visibility and air time, she said.

    “Investors seeing the business opportunity that (women’s sports) represents and starting to put their money toward it is making a profound difference,” she said. “There’s a tremendous business opportunity here that has not been tapped into yet.”


    Click to play video: 'Growing interest in women’s sports'


    Growing interest in women’s sports


    Similar to how local sports, such as the Raptors G-League in Mississauga, are making inroads of their own, women’s sports provides its own twist that fans seem to be eating up.

    Story continues below advertisement

    Brassor said stands are constantly filled at games, and often it is families who hope to provide some inspiration for their children. But it isn’t only inspiration on show but actual talent, she noted.

    “It’s a great game,” she said. “When you watch it, you’re entertained.”

    There are still obstacles to women’s sports, though. Sandmeyer-Graves mentioned that sports has been dominated by men for so long that there is “gender bias” baked into the decision making and policies, also given leadership in sports is still very much male.

    Women’s sports — along with sports more broadly — also have faced high-profile sexual abuse and misconduct issues that have been unearthed in recent years, including in water polo, gymnastics and hockey.

    Both Sandmeyer-Graves and Brassor say there is still a long way to go to eradicate the problem completely.

    “We have to stand up for victims and give them a neutral spot where they can tell their truth without being victimized again,” Brassor said. “We’re still not there.”

    Curator Recommendations

    &copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

    [ad_2]

    Eric Stober

    Source link