MONTREAL — Since its inception, the Professional Women's Hockey League has sought to break new ground with innovative rules.
During its inaugural season, the league made waves by introducing the “Jail Break Rule,” where a team can end a penalty kill by scoring a short-handed goal.
This season, the league has introduced another new initiative on the penalty kill. Four of six teams in the league got their first taste of it during pre-season games on Wednesday in Montreal and Toronto.
A new "No Escape Rule" requires players on a penalized team, with penalty time on the clock, to remain on the ice until after the faceoff resumes action. That could lead to a situation in which teams start a penalty kill with three forwards and a defender until a chance for substitution in-game.
That exact scenario occurred for Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie against the Boston Fleet on Wednesday at the Verdun Auditorium.
When asked about using different players during the penalty kill, Cheverie said it was due to the new rule.
"That's why (forward Mikyla) Grant-Mentis was playing D. I would never want Grant-Mentis to play D. She needs to score goals, she doesn't need to stop them,” Cheverie said as laughs went around the news conference room.
Cheverie acknowledged that the rule is in place and that all teams will need to adapt. She wasn’t ready to decide whether she liked it or not, saying "for now, yes, but we’ll see.”
Cheverie said penalty killing is an area of the game she takes pride in coaching.
"The purpose behind it is to create more scoring, and that's OK, but I do really value the PK players on our team. And with the jailbreak goal and now this rule about the PK, what role do our PK players have?” she said. “We're taking more jobs away from players, we're taking roles away from players. And tonight, I'm telling you, like with three forwards on the ice that were half exhausted now changing? I don't know if I like that."
Montreal goaltender Elaine Chuli and forward Maureen Murphy suggested the rule might lead to more power-play goals.
"It's Game 1, so I think we're trying to make this league stand out, and we've already stood out,” Murphy said. “Any way we can increase goal scoring, the goalies in this league are so good, I think that's primarily probably why they added it. But this is just the first time I've heard about it today, so I think just adapting and seeing where it takes us.”
If the purpose was to boost power-play scoring, that wasn’t the case in Montreal or Toronto on Wednesday.
The Victoire (0-for-3) and the Fleet (0-for-4) were shut out in seven combined power-play opportunities. In Toronto, the Minnesota Frost went 0-for-3 and the Toronto Spectres 0-for-1.
Victoire general manager Danièle Sauvageau said the rule goes beyond merely increasing offensive play.
She believes it will impact strategy, particularly in managing line changes — a fundamental aspect of hockey, in her view.
Sauvageau also thinks the rule will affect player alertness and discipline, particularly toward the end of their shifts, to avoid penalties that could put their team in a tough spot.
What seems clear is that this rule will require adjustments, which could become apparent once the regular season begins.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.
Michel Lamarche, The Canadian Press