1st NWHL All-Star Game

The 1st NWHL All-Star Game took place on January 24, 2016 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York. The event featured two 20-minute periods in a 4-on-4 format and a Skills Competition. Team Pfalzer entered the game with a 4-0 lead having won all events in the Skills Competition.

This edition of the All-Star Game featured a "fantasy draft" format in order to determine the rosters. The team captains were Hilary Knight from the Boston Pride, and forward Emily Pfalzer, also a team captain with the Buffalo Beauts. Team Knight had the first pick overall and selected Kacey Bellamy. The captains each chose 11 players for their team.

Draft

Each captain had to select at least one player from all four teams in the NWHL. In addition, each captain had to select two goalies among their 11 selections.^[1] Two available spots on each team would be determined by fan balloting, which would take place from December 11–14, 2015, with winning players announced on December 15.

Team Knight Num. Nat. Player Team Pos. 1 Kacey Bellamy Boston Pride Defense 3 Kelli Stack Connecticut Whale Forward 5 Kaleigh Fratkin Connecticut Whale Forward 7 Janine Weber New York Riveters Forward 9 Jaimie Leonoff Connecticut Whale Goaltender 11 Alyssa Gagliardi Boston Pride Defense 13 Jordan Smelker Boston Pride Forward 15 Brianne McLaughlin Buffalo Beauts Goaltender 17 Shelby Bram Buffalo Beauts Forward 19 Amanda Pelkey Boston Pride Forward 21 Jordan Brickner Connecticut Whale Defense

Team Pfalzer Round Nat. Player Team Pos. 2 Brianna Decker Boston Pride Forward 4 Meghan Duggan Buffalo Beauts Forward 6 Kelley Steadman Buffalo Beauts Forward 8 Nana Fujimoto New York Riveters Goaltender 10 Megan Bozek Buffalo Beauts Defense 12 Gisele Marvin Boston Pride Defence 14 Blake Bolden Boston Pride Defense 16 Brittany Ott Boston Pride Goaltender 18 Shiann Darkangelo Connecticut Whale Defense 20 Emily Field Boston Pride Defense 22 Zoe Hickel Boston Pride Defense

^[2]

Fan voting

Over 62,000 votes were cast in order to select four more players to add to the All-Star Game rosters. Madison Packer and Hayley Williams were assigned to Team Knight, while Morgan Fritz-Ward and Devon Skeat shall suit up with Team Pfalzer.

Player	Nationality	Team	# of votes
Madison Packer	United States	New York Riveters	13,397
Morgan Fritz-Ward	United States	New York Riveters	6,948
Hayley Williams	United States	Buffalo Beauts	6,384
Devon Skeats	Canada	Buffalo Beauts	4,726

^[3]

Game summary

The starting goaltenders in the contest were Nana Fujimoto for Team Pfalzer and Jaimie Leonoff for Team Knight.

Kelley Steadman would score the first goal in All-Star Game history, providing Team Pfalzer with the lead, as Leonoff allowed said goal. Earning the assists on Steadman's historic goal was Meghan Duggan. Adding to Team Pfalzer's lead was Emily Field, who would also score on Leonoff in the first.

In the second period, Brianne McLaughlin would replace Leonoff for Team Knight, while Brittany Ott stood between the pipes for Team Pfalzer. Along with Blake Bolden, Field and Kaleigh Fratkin, Ott would become one of four women to have competed in the 2015 Women's Winter Classic and the inaugural NWHL All-Star Game.

Steadman would score on McLaughlin, generating the first multi-goal performance in All-Star Game history. Other Team Pfalzer skaters that would score included Shiann Darkangelo and Devon Skeats, who became the first Canadian to score a goal in the NWHL All-Star Game. During the second, Hayley Williams would score the only goal of the game for Team Knight.

Skills competition

Held prior to the game itself, there were four different skills events. Whichever team would prevail in each event would gain one point that would count towards the All-Star Game's final score. Of note, Team Pfalzer captured the win in all four events at the Skills Competition, gaining four points. In the hardest shot competition, Megan Bozek was the winner, with a shot of 88 mph.

References