2015–16 Connecticut Whale (NWHL) season

2015–16 Connecticut Whale (NWHL)
Division	2nd Founding Four
League	2nd NWHL
2015–16 record	13–5–0
Home record	6–3–0
Road record	7–2–0
Goals for	61
Goals against	51
Team information
General Manager	George Speirs (Interim)
Coach	Heather Linstad (Jan 29, 2016–Current) Jake Mastel (Start–Jan 29, 2016)
Assistant Coach	Lisa Giovanelli (Jan 29, 2016–Current)
Captain	Jessica Koizumi
Alternate captains	Kaleigh Fratkin
Arena	Chelsea Piers
Team leaders
Goals	Shiann Darkangelo (10)
Assists	Kelli Stack (14)
Points	Kelli Stack (22) Kelly Babstock
Penalties in minutes	Kaleigh Fratkin (40)
Wins	Jaimie Leonoff (7)
Goals against average	Shenae Lundberg (1.97)
< Incumbent

The 2015-16 Connecticut Whale (NWHL) season will be the first in franchise history. The club is scheduled to participate in the National Women's Hockey League (2015) inaugural season.

Offseason

• On July 1, the Whale signed former BU Terriers blueliner and 2015 Clarkson Cup champion Kaleigh Fratkin to a contract, making her the first Canadian to sign an NWHL contract.

Regular season

Standings

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	W%	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Boston Pride	18	14	3	1	0.806	75	39	+36	29
2	Connecticut Whale	18	13	5	0	0.722	61	51	+10	26
3	Buffalo Beauts	18	5	9	4	0.389	56	66	−10	14
4	New York Riveters	18	4	12	2	0.278	40	76	−36	10

Source: NWHL
y – Clinched division.

Game log

2015–16 Schedule[1] # Date Time Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 1 Oct 11 1:30 PM New York Riveters 1–4 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 1–0–0 2 2 Oct 18 3:30 PM Connecticut Whale 5–2 Buffalo Beauts HarborCenter 2–0–0 4 3 Oct 25 7:00 PM Connecticut Whale 3–1 New York Riveters Aviator Sports & Events Center 3–0–0 6 4 Nov 15 3:30 PM Connecticut Whale 3–2 Buffalo Beauts HarborCenter 4–0–0 8 5 Nov 22 3:30 PM Connecticut Whale 7–6 SO Buffalo Beauts HarborCenter 5–0–0 10 6 Nov 29 3:00 PM Connecticut Whale 4–3 Boston Pride Bright Hockey Center 6–0–0 12 7 Dec 6 4:30 PM Buffalo Beauts 2–3 SO Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 7–0–0 14 8 Dec 13 6:30 PM Connecticut Whale 4–3 SO New York Riveters Aviator Sports & Events Center 8–0–0 16 9 Dec 27 4:30 PM Boston Pride 2–1 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 8–1–0 16 10 Jan 3 7:00 PM Connecticut Whale 6–1 New York Riveters Aviator Sports & Events Center 9–1–0 18 11 Jan 9 7:30 PM New York Riveters 3–4 Connecticut Whale Ingalls Rink 10–1–0 20 12 Jan 10 6:00 PM Buffalo Beauts 3–5 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 11–1–0 22 13 Jan 17 3:00 PM Connecticut Whale 1–4 Boston Pride Bright Hockey Center 11–2–0 22 14 Jan 31 6:00 PM Boston Pride 5–2 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 11–3–0 22 15 Feb 7 12:00 PM Buffalo Beauts 2–3 OT Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 12–3–0 24 16 Feb 14 3:00 PM Connecticut Whale 2–4 Boston Pride Bright Hockey Center 12–4–0 24 17 Feb 21 1:30 PM Boston Pride 5-3 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 12–5–0 24 18 Feb 28 6:00 PM New York Riveters 2-4 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 13–5–0 26

Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = OT/SO Loss

Playoffs

Game log

2016 Isobel Cup Playoffs
Semifinals vs. Buffalo Beauts; Buffalo Beauts won series 2–0 # Date Time Visitor Score Home Location Record 1 Mar 4 7:10 PM Buffalo Beauts 0–3 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 1–0 2 Mar 5 7:30 PM Buffalo Beauts 4–1 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 1–1 3 Mar 6 6:00 PM Buffalo Beauts 4–3 Connecticut Whale Chelsea Piers 1–2
Legend:           = Win           = Loss

Statistics

Final

Skaters

Regular Season[2] Player GP G A Pts PIM Stack, KelliKelli Stack 17 8 14 22 24 Babstock, KellyKelly Babstock 18 9 13 22 24 Fratkin, KaleighKaleigh Fratkin 18 5 12 17 40 Darkangelo, ShiannShiann Darkangelo 13 10 3 13 0 Brickner, JordanJordan Brickner 18 0 12 12 2 Ward, DanielleDanielle Ward 18 5 5 10 24 Long, MicaelaMicaela Long 17 3 7 10 27 Smolentseva, YekaterinaYekaterina Smolentseva 14 3 5 8 2 Wohlfeiler, AlyssaAlyssa Wohlfeiler 18 3 4 7 20 Koizumi, JessicaJessica Koizumi 15 2 5 7 8 Faber, SamSam Faber 13 3 3 6 14 Dougherty, BrittanyBrittany Dougherty 17 1 4 5 14 Buesser, KateKate Buesser 12 3 2 5 2 Engstrom, MollyMolly Engstrom 15 3 2 5 21 Doyle, ShannonShannon Doyle 18 2 3 5 12 Berman, LindsayLindsay Berman 4 0 1 1 0 Tomimoto, TaraTara Tomimoto 13 1 0 1 6 Battaglino, AnyaAnya Battaglino 8 0 0 0 6 Pashkevitch, KatiaKatia Pashkevitch 1 0 0 0 0

Playoffs[3] Player GP G A Pts PIM Babstock, KellyKelly Babstock 3 4 0 4 2 Buesser, KateKate Buesser 3 0 2 2 2 Stack, KelliKelli Stack 3 2 0 2 2 Long, MicaelaMicaela Long 3 0 2 2 2 Faber, SamSam Faber 3 1 1 2 2 Darkangelo, ShiannShiann Darkangelo 3 0 2 2 0 Ward, DanielleDanielle Ward 3 0 1 1 4 Koizumi, JessicaJessica Koizumi 3 0 1 1 0 Engstrom, MollyMolly Engstrom 3 0 1 1 2 Doyle, ShannonShannon Doyle 3 0 1 1 2 Wohlfeiler, AlyssaAlyssa Wohlfeiler 1 0 0 0 2 Battaglino, AnyaAnya Battaglino 1 0 0 0 2 Dougherty, BrittanyBrittany Dougherty 3 0 0 0 0 Brickner, JordanJordan Brickner 3 0 0 0 0 Fratkin, KaleighKaleigh Fratkin 3 0 0 0 6 Tomimoto, TaraTara Tomimoto 1 0 0 0 0 Smolentseva, YekaterinaYekaterina Smolentseva 3 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[2]

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	PIM
Leonoff, JaimieJaimie Leonoff	10	567:15	7	3	0	28	2.96	438	0.936	0	0
Stock, NicoleNicole Stock	6	343:07	4	2	0	15	2.62	211	0.923	0	0
Laden, ChelseaChelsea Laden^‡	1	60:00	1	0	0	2	2.00	32	0.938	0	0
Lundberg, ShenaeShenae Lundberg^†	2	122:08	1	0	0	0	1.97	50	0.920	0	0

Playoffs^[3]

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	PIM
Leonoff, JaimieJaimie Leonoff	2	118:56	1	1	0	3	1.51	57	0.947	1	0
Stock, NicoleNicole Stock	1	60:00	0	1	0	4	4.00	28	0.846	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Whale. Stats reflect time with the Whale only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Whale only.

Roster

Updated January 27, 2016^[4][5]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
8		Babstock, KellyKelly Babstock	F	L	23	2015	Mississauga, Ontario
10		Berman, LindsayLindsay Berman	D	L	27	2015	Odenton, Maryland
26		Brickner, JordanJordan Brickner	D	L	25	2015	Lake Forest, Illinois
27		Darkangelo, ShiannShiann Darkangelo	F	L	22	2015	Brighton, Michigan
19		Dougherty, BrittanyBrittany Dougherty	F	L	24	2015	Chesterfield, Michigan
6		Doyle, ShannonShannon Doyle	D	R	24	2015	Baldwin, Ontario
9		Engstrom, MollyMolly Engstrom	D	R	33	2015	Siren, Wisconsin
28		Faber, SamSam Faber	F	R	28	2015	Mount Sinai, New York
13		Fratkin, KaleighKaleigh Fratkin (A)	D	R	23	2015	Burnaby, British Columbia
56		Koizumi, JessicaJessica Koizumi (C)	F	L	30	2015	Honolulu, Hawaii
32		Leonoff, JaimieJaimie Leonoff	G	L	23	2015	Montreal, Quebec
16		Long, MicaelaMicaela Long	F	L		2015	South Boston, Massachusetts
1		Lundberg, ShanaeShanae Lundberg	G	L	22	2016	Peterborough, New Hampshire
17		Smolentseva, YekaterinaYekaterina Smolentseva	F	L	34	2015	Yekaterinburg, Russia
61		Stack, KelliKelli Stack	F	R	28	2015	Brooklyn Heights, Ohio
24		Stock, NicoleNicole Stock	G	R		2015	Buffalo Grove, Illinois
22		Ward, DanielleDanielle Ward	F	R	26	2015	Lansing, Michigan
88		Wohlfeiler, AlyssaAlyssa Wohlfeiler	F	R	26	2015	Saugus, California

Awards and honors

NWHL Player of the Week

• Kelli Stack – October 11, 2015
• Shiann Darkangelo – December 15, 2015
• Danielle Ward - Jan 10, 2016
• Molly Engstrom - Feb 7, 2016
• Shenae Lundberg - Feb 28, 2016

NWHL 1st All-Star Game selection

• Jordan Brickner (Team Knight)
• Shiann Darkangelo (Team Pfalzer)
• Kaleigh Fratkin (Team Knight)
• Jaimie Leonoff (Team Knight)
• Kelli Stack (Team Knight)

Transactions

Trades

January 27, 2016[6]

To New York Riveters Chelsea Laden

To Connecticut Whale Shenae Lundberg

Signings

Player	Date	Contract terms
Shiann Darkangelo[7]	June 25, 2015	$17,000
Sam Faber[7]	June 25, 2015	$13,500
Chelsea Laden[7]	June 25, 2015	$14,000
Kaleigh Fratkin[8]	July 1, 2015	$20,000
Jessica Koizumi[9]	July 9, 2015	$20,500
Danielle Ward[9]	July 9, 2015	$10,000
Micaela Long[10]	July 17, 2015	$10,000
Nicole Stock[10]	July 17, 2015	$10,000
Jaimie Leonoff[11]	July 26, 2015	$10,000
Kelly Babstock[12]	August 4, 2015	$18,000
Brittney Dougherty[13]	August 13, 2015	$10,000
Shannon Doyle[13]	August 13, 2015	$15,000
Yekaterina Smolentseva[14]	August 15, 2015	$22,000
Molly Engstrom[15]	August 18, 2015	$12,000
Lindsay Berman[16]	September 24, 2015	$15,000
Jordan Brickner[16]	September 24, 2015	$10,000
Alyssa Wohlfeiler[16]	September 24, 2015	$10,000
Kelli Stack[17]	September 24, 2015	$25,000

Other

Name	Date	Details
Harry Rosenholtz[18]	December 24, 2015	Resigned as General Manager
George Speirs[18]	December 24, 2015	Named as interim General Manager
Jake Mastel[19]	January 29, 2016	Resigned as Head Coach
Heather Linstad[19]	January 29, 2016	Named as Head Coach
Lisa Giovanelli[19]	January 29, 2016	Named as Assistant Coach

Draft

The following were the Whale’s selections in the 2015 NWHL Draft on June 20, 2015.^[20]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	2	Hannah Brandt	F	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
2	6	Michelle Picard	D	United States	Harvard University (ECAC)
3	10	Milica McMillen	D	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
4	14	Maryanne Menefee	F	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
5	18	Cassandra Poudrier	D	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)

References

1. "National Womens Hockey League - 2015-16 Schedule - Connecticut Whale". NWHL.
2. "National Womens Hockey League - 2015-16 - Connecticut Whale". NWHL.
3. "National Womens Hockey League - 2015-16 - Connecticut Whale". NWHL.
4. "Whale Roster | NWHL". NWHL.
5. "Eliteprospects.com - Connecticut Whale". Elite Prospects.
6. "NWHL Announces First League Trade". NWHL. January 27, 2016.
7. "Whale Signs Darkangelo, Faber, & Laden". NWHL. June 25, 2015.
8. "Whale Signs Fratkin, First Canadian in the NWHL". NWHL. July 1, 2015.
9. "Whale Add Koizumi And Ward Ahead Of Inaugural Season". NWHL. July 9, 2015.
10. "NCAA Veterans Stock and Long Sign with Connecticut". NWHL. July 17, 2015.
11. "Yale Alumnae Tomimoto and Leonoff Join Whale". NWHL. July 26, 2015.
12. "Prolific Forward Babstock Signs With Connecticut". NWHL. August 4, 2015.
13. "Doyle and Dougherty Sign With Connecticut". NWHL. August 13, 2015.
14. "Legendary Olympian Smolentseva Joins the Whale". NWHL. August 15, 2015.
15. "Two-Time Olympian Engstrom Agrees to Play in Connecticut". NWHL. August 18, 2015.
16. "Berman, Brickner, Kidd, Wohlfeiler Join NWHL". NWHL. September 24, 2015.
17. "Team USA’s Stack Heads to Connecticut". NWHL. September 24, 2015.
18. "Whale GM Resigns" (PDF). NWHL. December 24, 2015.
19. "Whale Coach Resigns" (PDF). NWHL. January 29, 2016.
20. "Draft Live | NWHL". NWHL.