Physical Play in the PWHL Is Here to Stay: ‘I Hope It Even Goes up a Notch’

PWHL New York’s Jade Downie-Landry was skating through the neutral zone at UBS Arena on Wednesday night, looking to reset the play after her team had lost possession in the offensive zone. 

Montreal’s Sarah Lefort was having none of it. 

Lefort followed Downie-Landry, checked her opponent into the boards and won the puck cleanly. The play created an odd-man rush that resulted in a goal for Kennedy Marchment that put Montreal ahead, 3-2, in what was ultimately a 5-2 win.

Eight games into the PWHL’s existence, the high level of physical play has been one of the main talking points, and Lefort’s play stands out as one of the best and most productive examples so far.

“It’s really physical,” PWHL Montreal coach Kori Cheverie said. “A new brand of hockey that really we have not seen before with the amount of body contact (and) body checking that’s being allowed.”

Ahead of the league's launch, players and coaches asked for the games to be called looser, according to senior vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford and PWHL advisory board member Stan Kasten.

There are still no open-ice hits permitted, and checking along the boards requires a clear effort to play the puck, but the physicality is here. And everyone seems to enjoy it.

“Love it,” PWHL New York forward Emma Woods said. “It fits my game.”

“It’s been great,” echoed PWHL Montreal forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who recorded a hat trick in the win against New York. “There are some things we’re still trying to figure out with the refs and where the line is, but for us it’s what we’ve been wanting … pushing the pace, being physical. It’s been great for the game.”

“To be honest I hope it even goes up a notch,” PWHL Toronto coach Troy Ryan said last week. “I think it’s what the fans want. I know it’s how the players want to play, and I think they deserve to play that style of hockey. The officials so far have done a pretty good job of just letting them play. As a coach, I think it’s the way the game should be played.”

It’s not that the PWHL rules — at least on this topic — are different from the women’s hockey rules used by previous leagues or the IIHF. The difference is just in how the rules are interpreted — and enforced — by the officials. 

Still, PWHL officials — who are primarily AHL refs — are still determining what is allowed and what isn't.

During a game last week between New York and Toronto, most people thought Renata Fast’s open-ice hit on Jill Saulnier was a sure penalty. But after some discussion on the ice, no call was made.

“I thought our first game, the refs were awesome but today we had to battle through a lot of inconsistency and that’s what’s unfortunate,” New York forward Abby Roque said after that game. “Because we want to play that game where we’re let to hit, and where reffing is consistent, and it sucks that game-by-game things change.” 

Players and coaches first got a glimpse of the speed and physicality of the games when they gathered in Utica, New York, for a series of preseason games in early December. From there, coaches have been trying to get their players ready for the physical play without making practices too demanding.

“I think our practices have been pretty high-tempo physical. So we’re prepared for that,” said PWHL New York’s Jessie Eldridge.

Cheverie said her coaching staff has focused on teaching players the right way to use their bodies as they approach contact, rather than practicing hitting and being hit.

“We talk a lot about how to position ourselves to still maintain puck control but also to absorb hits. So we talk a lot about footwork and body positioning. But our players are ready for it now."

Cheverie added: "Some of the hits are pretty hard ... The bigger players in the league, it will be really useful for them. The smaller players in the league really have to learn how to absorb those hits and really play kind of a new style of game.”

Not everyone agrees.

“Although I’m a shorter stature, I pride myself on being difficult to play against so I’m happy with that rule,” PWHL Toronto forward Emma Maltais said.

For PWHL players who compete — or are hoping to compete — for their national team, the physicality in the league offers good preparation.

Both Ryan, who also serves as head coach of the Canadian national team, and PWHL Minnesota coach Ken Klee, who previously led the U.S. team, compared the level of physical play to that of the Rivalry Series games between Canada and the United States.

“Right now, I think the physicality of the games would be very, very similar because of how they’re being officiated,” Ryan said. “So I hope that continues.”