Minnesota Whitecaps

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Minnesota Whitecaps
2022–23 Minnesota Whitecaps season
200px
City Richfield, Minnesota
League Western Women's Hockey League (2004–2011)
Premier Hockey Federation (2018–present)
Founded 2004 (2004)
Home arena Richfield Ice Arena[1]
Colors Black, white, blue and silver
                   
Owner(s) NLTT Ventures, LLC,
Top Tier Sports
(Neil Leibman – governor)
Head coach Ronda Engelhardt
Media Twitch
Affiliates Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Website whitecaps.premierhockeyfederation.com
Championships
Playoff championships 1 Clarkson Cup (2010)
1 Isobel Cup (2019)

The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional women's ice hockey team based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. Established in 2004, they are currently a member of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) (formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League, or NWHL). The Whitecaps play their home games at the Richfield Ice Arena[1] in Richfield.

The team was independent, following the dissolution of the Western Women's Hockey League after the 2010–11 season. While independent, the Whitecaps' schedule consisted mostly of games against women's college ice hockey squads. The team also played some exhibition games against teams in the new National Women's Hockey League during the league's inaugural 2015–16 season but was not an official member of that league.[2] On May 15, 2018, the NWHL announced they had acquired the Whitecaps and the team would officially join the league for the 2018–19 season.[3]

The Whitecaps are the only team to have won both a Clarkson Cup and an Isobel Cup championship, the two major championships in professional women's hockey in North America, winning the Clarkson Cup in 2010 as a member of the WWHL and the Isobel Cup in 2019 in their inaugural season in the NWHL.

The Whitecaps have also two junior teams: U19 and U17.[4]

History

WWHL era

File:CGYOXT vs MINWC DSC 0741 (3393016568).jpg
The Whitecaps playing the Calgary Oval X-Treme during their time in the WWHL.

The Whitecaps were formed by two Minneapolis–Saint Paul area hockey dads, Jack Brodt and Dwayne Schmidgall in 2004. They wanted to give their daughters – Winny Brodt-Brown, former Minnesota Golden Gophers player and U.S. national team member, and Jenny Schmidgall-Potter, a four-time U.S. Olympic medalist – a place to play after college.[5] The Whitecaps were part of the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from the fall of 2004 until the summer of 2006. In July 2006, it was announced that team, along with other WWHL teams, would be joining the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) for the 2006–07 season. However, this was short lived as the NWHL and WWHL could not reach an agreement upon a playoff schedule. As a result, the merger was not consummated. With the collapse of the NWHL in the summer of 2007, the Western Women's Hockey League was a completely independent league.[6]

The Whitecaps took three regular season championships in the WWHL, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11, qualifying to participate in the Clarkson Cup tournament for the Canadian women's ice hockey championships against teams from the Canadian Women's Hockey League.

During the qualifying WWHL rounds 2008–09, the Whitecaps won the semifinal match 4–0 over the Edmonton Chimos. The next day, the Whitecaps defeated the Calgary Oval X-Treme by the score of 2–0 in the championship match in Calgary. During the 2009 Clarkson Cup, the Whitecaps upset both the Brampton Thunder and the Calgary Oval X-Treme. The Whitecaps then played in the final match of the tournament but lost by a score of 3–1 to the Montreal Stars, who would take home the Clarkson Cup.[7]

The following season, 2009–10, the Whitecaps took the WWHL Championship. The first match of the WWHL qualifying round took place on February 5, 2010, at the Minnesota Pagel Ice Arena and the Whitecaps defeated the Strathmore Rockies by a score of 6–3.[8] During the second match on February 6 at Victory Memorial Ice Arena, the Whitecaps beat Strathmore by a score of 4–1.[8] The third match on February 7 at the Graham Arena, Strathmore won 4–3 over the Whitecaps.[8] The Whitecaps 2–1 record advanced the team to the 2010 Clarkson Cup tournament in Richmond Hill, Ontario.[8] Whitecaps beat the Brampton Thunder 4–0 in final game[9][10] and won their only Clarkson Cup.[11]

The Whitecaps were defeated in all three of their round-robin matches in the 2011 Clarkson Cup.[12][13][14]

Independent era

The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) announced on April 19, 2011, that it would merge with the Western Women's Hockey League for the 2011–12 season. The merger was to feature one team based in Edmonton and Calgary and would be combination of the former WWHL franchises, the Edmonton Chimos and Strathmore Rockies, called Team Alberta.[15]

However, the CWHL decided against adding the Whitecaps and Manitoba Maple Leafs. The business manager of the Whitecaps, Kristie Minkoff, accused the Canadian Women's Hockey League of collusion against the participation of Whitecaps in the 2012 Clarkson Cup and making the team pay $200,000 expansion fee to the CWHL in order to play.[16] The two teams attempted to continue operating the league, but lost several board members and were unable to put together a 2011–12 season. The two teams played a number of exhibition games while the league looked to expand with new teams.[16] The WWHL never reorganized and effectively ceased operations. While independent, the Whitecaps' schedule consisted mostly of games against women's college ice hockey squads.

While independent, the Whitecaps did not have a home rink and reached out to Minnesota youth hockey programs that could either afford to buy ice time at rinks suitable for Whitecaps home games or had ice time donated to them. In exchange, the Whitecaps used part of that ice time to put on clinics for the youth players, who received free tickets to the games and whose hockey associations received 100 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales. Some programs raised more than $1,500 in a single night from the arrangement.[17]

During the 2015–16 season, a new National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) began play in the Northeast United States, and was the first women's hockey league to pay its players. The Whitecaps played four exhibition games against the NWHL teams, but was not an official member of that league.[2] For the 2016–17 season, Whitecaps scheduled no games against CWHL or NWHL teams, but had several games scheduled against NCAA teams and Shattuck-St. Mary's School.[18]

In February 2018, Kate Schipper and Sadie Lundquist were invited to represent the Whitecaps at the NWHL All-Star Game and Skills Challenge, which were held at TRIA Rink in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[19]

NWHL/PHF era

File:The Minnesota Whitecaps team celebrates a win against the Buffalo Beauts.jpg
The Minnesota Whitecaps team holds up the Isobel Cup, celebrating the NWHL playoff championship in 2019.

On May 15, 2018, the NWHL announced that it had an agreement in principle to acquire ownership of the Whitecaps[20] and the team joined the NWHL as an expansion team for the 2018–19 season. They then made an agreement with the Minnesota Wild to use TRIA Rink, the Wild's practice facility, as the site for Whitecaps home games.[21] It was reported that the Whitecaps had hired 2018 Olympic gold medal-winning coach Robb Stauber and his wife Shivaun Stauber as coaches, sharing the head coaching responsibilities,[22] but the parties never signed a contract. Whitecaps' founder and general manager Jack Brodt then returned to the coaching position he held prior to joining the NWHL and hired former University of Minnesota player Ronda Curtin Engelhardt as co-coach.[23]

On August 21, the Whitecaps unveiled their new logo.[24] During their first NWHL season, league commissioner Dani Rylan stated that the Whitecaps were the first team in the league to turn a profit by having a league-leading 500 season tickets sold, significant merchandise sales, and all home games were sold out through eight games.[25] On March 3, 2019, the Whitecaps finished their inaugural NWHL season as the first seed and regular season champions.[26] On March 17, 2019, the Whitecaps beat the Buffalo Beauts 2–1 in overtime to win the Isobel Cup league playoff championship. The Whitecaps also ended the season with the highest average attendance by selling out all ten home games including the playoffs.[27]

After the season ended, Whitecaps founder Jack Brodt stated the NWHL had never signed the contract to purchase the team, and thus it had remained privately controlled.[28] By 2020, the Whitecaps were one of the four teams listed as being owned by W Hockey Partners, the group that operates the teams in the NWHL that are not independently owned.[29] On June 28, 2021, the league announced the sale of the Buffalo Beauts and the Whitecaps to a joint partnership of NLTT Ventures, LLC, led by Andy Scurto, and Top Tier Sports, led by Neil Leibman. Leibman was named the team's governor.[30]

In September 2021, the NWHL was restructured and rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).[31]

Season-by-season results

File:Kate Schipper (6) Minnesota Whitecaps & Lexi Slattery (15) Metropolitan Riveters.jpg
Whitecaps Kate Schipper (6) and Riveters Lexi Slattery (15) in the Whitecaps 2018–2019 season opening weekend at Tria Rink.
= Indicates first-place finish
= Indicates championship

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points

Season GP W L OTL GF GA Finish Playoffs
2004–05 12 8 3 1 34 23 2nd Lost in First Round
2005–06 24 11 8 5 79 65 3rd Lost Final
2006–07 24 13 9 1 74 64 3rd Lost Final
2007–08 24 15 6 1 70 50 2nd Lost Final
2008–09 22 18 3 1 181 44 2nd WWHL Champions
Lost Clarkson Cup[7]
2009–10 12 10 2 0 44 24 1st WWHL Champions
Won Clarkson Cup[9]
2010–11 18 17 1 0 120 43 1st WWHL Champions
Lost Clarkson Cup
WWHL Totals 136 92 32 9 602 313
Season GP W L OTL GF GA Finish Playoffs
2018–19 16 12 4 0 53 34 1st Won Isobel Cup championship game, 2–1 (OT) vs. Buffalo Beauts
2019–20 24 17 5 2 106 52 2nd Qualified for Isobel Cup championship game vs. Boston Pride
Championship game cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 4 3 1 0 12 10 2nd Lost Isobel Cup championship game, 3–4 vs. Boston Pride
2021–22 20 6 13 1 52 64 5th Lost Isobel Cup semifinal game, 2–4 vs. Connecticut Whale
NWHL/PHF Totals 64 38 23 3 223 160

Season events

2008–09

  • January 16: The Whitecaps participated in Hockey Day Minnesota. The team played the USA Selects Team.
  • March 8: The Whitecaps defeated the Calgary Oval X-Treme on March 8 in the WWHL Championship game shutting out Calgary by a score of 2–0. The Minnesota Whitecaps also won the semi-final game on March 7 against the Edmonton Chimos by a score of 4–0.
  • March 21: The Whitecaps participated in the inaugural Clarkson Cup. The final game pitted the Montreal Stars, the top team from the Canadian Women's Hockey League, against the Minnesota Whitecaps, the top team from the WWHL.[32] Montreal won the Cup by a score of 3–1. Sanya Sandahl was selected as Minnesota's player of the game.

2009–10

  • November 16: Chisago Lakes was host to the first scrimmage of the season between the Whitecaps and the USA National team.
  • December 21: Jenny Potter, Angela Ruggiero, Julie Chu, Natalie Darwitz, Caitlin Cahow, Molly Engstrom, Lisa Chesson, Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej and Karen Thatcher all former Minnesota Whitecaps will be playing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games on February 12–28.[33]
  • On February 8, 2010, the Whitecaps clinched the WWHL Championship. The first game of the series on February 5, was held at Minnetonka's Pagel Ice Arena hosted by Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association. The Whitecaps beat Strathmore by a score of 6–3. Game two of the series was hosted by the NOVAS Girls High School Hockey team on Saturday, February 6, at Victory Memorial Ice Arena.
  • March 28: The Whitecaps defeated the Brampton Thunder 4–0 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada to win the Clarkson Cup.[9][34]

2010–11

Exhibition
Date Opponent Location Score Goal scorers
October 1, 2010 Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN 3–4 (Shootout) Jenny Potter, Iya Gavrilova, Saara Tuominen[35]
October 8, 2010 Minnesota Golden Gophers Ridder Arena 2–3 Allie Thunstrom, Saara Tuominen[36]
October 22, 2010 Bemidji State Beavers Eveleth, MN 3–1 Allie Thunstrom, Iya Gavrilova, Jenny Potter[37]
October 23, 2010 Bemidji State Beavers Eveleth, MN 1–5 Jessica Koizumi[38]
2011 Clarkson Cup
Date Match Winner
March 24, 2011 Minnesota – Montreal Montreal Stars 5–1
March 25, 2011 Minnesota – Toronto Toronto Aeros 6–0
March 26, 2011 Minnesota – Brampton Brampton Thunder 7–2

Independent schedules

From the 2011–12 season through the 2017–18 season, the Whitecaps played only exhibition games against CWHL, NCAA, high school and NWHL teams.

Exhibition games

Date Opponent Location Score
September 25, 2015 University of Minnesota Ridder Arena 4–5
September 26, 2015 Saint-Cloud State University Ridder Arena 3–4
October 3, 2015 Connecticut Whale North Branford, CT 4–8
October 4, 2015 New York Riveters Newark, NJ 5–2
December 5, 2015 Shattuck-St. Mary's School Ridder Arena 2–3
December 6, 2015 Shattuck-St. Mary's School Faribault, MN 5–4
December 12, 2015 Boston Pride Ridder Arena 1–5
December 13, 2015 Shattuck-St. Mary's School Ridder Arena 5–4
January 6, 2016 University of Minnesota Ridder Arena 5–4
January 9, 2016 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND 6–1
January 10, 2016 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND 1–0
February 13, 2016 Shattuck-St. Mary's School Faribault, MN 2–3

Players and personnel

2022–23 roster

As of October 23, 2022[39][40]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
3 United States Jonna Albers F R 30 2018 Elk River, Minnesota
5 United States Sidney Morin D R 28 2022 Minnetonka, Minnesota
6 United States Brooke Madsen F R 26 2022 Eagan, Minnesota
7 United States Emma Stauber D L 31 2017 Duluth, Minnesota
8 United States Natalie Snodgrass F L 25 2022 Eagan, Minnesota
9 United States Sydney Baldwin D L 28 2019 Minnetonka, Minnesota
10 Sweden Ronja Mogren F R 23 2022 Sundsvall, Sweden
11 United States Brittyn Fleming F L 24 2022 Oregon, Wisconsin
13 Canada Ashleigh Brykaliuk F L 28 2021 Brandon, Manitoba
14 United States Sydney Brodt F R 25 2022 North Oaks, Minnesota
15 United States Meaghan Pezon F R 36 2017 Eden Prairie, Minnesota
18 United States Stephanie Anderson F L 31 2019 St. Paul, Minnesota
19 United States Anna Klein F R 25 2022 Edina, Minnesota
21 United States Liz Schepers F L 25 2022 Mound, Minnesota
24 Canada Olivia Knowles D R 25 2022 Campbell River, British Columbia
27 United States Patti Marshall D R 25 2020 Thief River Falls, Minnesota
28 United States Amanda Boulier D R 31 2022 Watertown, Connecticut
29 Canada Amanda Leveille G L 29 2018 Kingston, Ontario
33 United States Maddie Rowe D R 25 2020 River Falls, Wisconsin
35 United States Jenna Brenneman G L 25 2021 Eagan, Minnesota
41 Czech Republic Denisa Křížová F L 29 2022 Horní Cerekev, Czechia

Coaching staff and team personnel

  • Head coach: Ronda Curtin Engelhardt
  • Assistant coach: Amber Hegland
  • Goaltending coach: Brennan Poderzay
  • Athletic trainer: Christina Neville
  • Equipment manager: Clark Woldum

Notable former players

Player Position Hometown Years Notes
Caitlin Cahow Defense New Haven, Connecticut 2008–2009 Team USA for 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics; 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 IIHF Women's World Championship
Lisa Chesson Defense Plainfield, Illinois 2008–2009[41] Team USA for 2010 Olympics; 2009, 2012, and 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship
Julie Chu Forward Bridgeport, Connecticut 2007–2009 Team USA for 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014 Winter Olympics; IIHF team from 2001 to 2013.
Natalie Darwitz Forward Eagan, Minnesota 2006–2008 Team USA for 2002, 2006, and 2010 Winter Olympics; IIHF team from 1999 to 2009.
Molly Engstrom Defense Siren, Wisconsin 2008–2009 Team USA for 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics; IIHF team from 2004 to 2011
Manon Rhéaume Goaltender Beauport, Québec 2007–2009 Team Canada for 1998 Winter Olympics; IIHF team in 1992 and 1994. Played for several men's professional minor league teams.
Angela Ruggiero Defense Simi Valley, California 2006–2010 Team USA for 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010 Winter Olympics; IIHF team from 1997 to 2011. Played for a men's professional minor league team, the Tulsa Oilers in 2005.
Karen Thatcher Forward Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 2008–2009 Team USA for 2010 Winter Olympics; IIHF team for 2008 and 2009
Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej Forward Eagle River, Wisconsin 2008–2009 Team USA for 2010 Winter Olympics; IIHF team in 2007

Awards and honors

  • Natalie Darwitz, Western Women's Hockey League Most Valuable Player (2006–07)[42]
  • 2008 Breaking Barriers Award: Presented at National Girls and Women in Sports Day in St. Paul[43]
  • 2009 Clarkson Cup Top role model: Julie Chu
  • 2009 Clarkson Cup Top defense: Caitlin Cahow
  • In March 2010, the Whitecaps became the first American team to win the Clarkson Cup
  • 2010 Clarkson Cup Most Valuable Player:Julie Chu
  • 2010 Clarkson Cup Final Player of the Game: Brooke White-Lancette

PHF

References

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  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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