Hockey

The Boston Pride defeated the Connecticut Whale 4-2 to become back-to-back Isobel Cup Champions on Monday night.  The Premier Hockey Federation’s (PHF) Isobel Cup Final took place at the Adventhealth Center Ice Arena in Wesley Chapel, Fl. which was filled with fans from both Boston and Connecticut that made the drive south.  Pride captain, JillianContinue reading “The Boston Pride are Back-to-Back Isobel Cup Champions”

The IIHF announced on Wednesday that the remainder of the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championships would be cancelled. This comes after Russia, Czechia and the USA all forfeited games due to COVID-19 cases within their teams. After just three days of preliminary action, three of the ten participating teams had reported positive tests. Per IIHFContinue reading “IIHF Cancels 2022 World Junior Hockey Championships”

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The best under-20 male hockey players from across the world have gathered in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta for everyone’s favourite tournament, the World Junior Hockey Championships. After a silver medal finish last year, Canada comes into this tournament with questions, specifically regarding roster decisions. Most notably,Continue reading “Team Canada Recap: Game 1 – Czechia”

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on Friday that they have cancelled all events set to begin in January due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in Omicron variant cases. This announcement means the under-18 women’s world championships tournament will be cancelled for the second year in a row. The tournament wasContinue reading “IIHF Cancels Under-18 Women’s World Championships For Second Straight Year”

When it was announced that the findings of the Jenner & Block investigation into the Chicago Blackhawks would be made public it was clear that a storm was brewing.  Some took cover, like the team placing both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on the COVID-19 list keeping them out of media availability. Some braced forContinue reading “The Bottom Line: What Quenneville Coaching Wednesday Night Says About the NHL”

The long awaited Toronto Maple Leafs Amazon Prime series has been released. The series gave fans an inside look on the team’s latest season but more importantly, their latest first round playoff exit. It detailed key moments such as COVID-19 protocols, trade deadline day and of course, John Tavares’ terrifying playoff injury. With this insideContinue reading “Takeaways from “All or Nothing”, the Toronto Maple Leafs Amazon Prime Series”

The National Women’s Hockey League announced a rebrand heading into their seventh season. It was reported on Monday night by Marisa Ingemi of the Seattle Times, followed by the league’s Tuesday announcement to make it official. They took on a new name, the Premier Hockey Federation to solidify change within the federation as a whole.Continue reading “The NWHL Becomes the Premier Hockey Federation in Rebrand”

The opening round of the Women’s World Hockey Championships in Calgary, Alberta is now complete. The last time this usually annual tournament was played was in April 2019 when the USA beat Finland for the gold medal. Canada finished in third. The first week of the tournament has given fans plenty of exciting stories andContinue reading “Women’s World Hockey Championships: Preliminary Round Recap”

Henrik Lundqvist, the beloved New York Rangers goaltender, made the announcement on Friday morning that he would officially be retiring from professional ice hockey. After 15 years with the Rangers and 887 games played, Lundqvist took to Twitter to thank all of the fans, the city of New York, and the National Hockey League, sayingContinue reading “Henrik Lundqvist Retires”

Friday night was the National Hockey League’s 2021 Entry-Level Draft. The first night of the draft saw the first round of the draft completed. With the majority of the 32 NHL teams choosing in the first round, Friday night was an interesting night to say the least. This is the second consecutive year that theContinue reading “A Recap of the 2021 NHL Entry-Level Draft”

As Drake said “we’re going back to back.” It’s almost like Drake was foreshadowing Patrick Maroon’s historic Stanley Cup hat trick ride. For the third straight season, Patrick Maroon is a Stanley Cup champion. In 2019, he became hoisted the Cup for the first time with his hometown St.Louis Blues. Following an offseason move toContinue reading “The Big Rig Effect”

On December 4th 2018, the National Hockey League officially approved a proposal for a new franchise inSeattle, Washington. Discussions about what the team would be named soon followed, and by July 2020it was revealed that this new NHL team would be called the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken will be the 32ndNHL franchise and are setContinue reading “The 32nd Team”

On July 2, 2021, the Boston Pride announced their General Manager, Karilyn Pilch, will not be apart of the organization for the upcoming 2021-2022 season.  The former Pride manager will be joining the Chicago Blackhawks as a scout. Pilch has been with the Boston Pride for two years and have served as a successful GMContinue reading “From an Isobel Cup to an NHL Front Office: Pride’s Pilch Joins Chicago”

It’s the trophy that 31, soon to be 32, teams want to hoist. The 89.54cm long, 37 pound silver and nickel alloy trophy that grown men work towards their entire life. It is one of the accolades in sport that players just cannot seem to have enough of. If a player has not won it,Continue reading “The Stanley Cup: A Short History Lesson”

To say that things are heating up in the Six would be an understatement. In the past few days, the NWHL’s Toronto Six franchise has been making some serious roster moves ahead of their second season in the National Women’s Hockey League.  The Toronto Six are coming off of their inaugural season in the NWHL.Continue reading “What’s happening in the Six?”

Were down to the last days of preliminary action at the men’s World Hockey Championships in Riga, Latvia. Day 11 had four games so let’s recap them! Game one was in Group A between the Czech Republic and Demark. This one was low-scoring and took overtime and a shootout to decide a winner. Denmark tookContinue reading “The Riga Recap: Day 11”

Happy day 10 of the IIHF World Championships! With the round robin aspect of the tournament winding down, each and every single game is becoming more and more important. Day 10 saw 8 teams facing off against each other. Let’s recap the 4 games that took place on day 10. The first game of theContinue reading “The Riga Recap: Day 10”

We’ve hit the 9th day of tournament action in Latvia at the men’s World Hockey Championships! It’s been great so far but there is still a ton of hockey to be played. Let’s recap the six games played on day 9 of the tournament. The first game of the day was between the Czech RepublicContinue reading “The Riga Recap: Day 9”

Another day in Riga is now in the books! Welcome back to the Riga Recap where we detail all the action at the men’s World Hockey Championships in Latvia. Day 7 had four games on the schedule so let’s get to the recap. The opening game of the day was from Group A between SwitzerlandContinue reading “The Riga Recap: Day 7”

Another day of round-robin action in Riga, Latvia is now complete! Day 5 at the men’s World Hockey Championships had four games on the schedule so let’s get to the recap. The first game of the day came out of Group A. Great Britain and Denmark took the ice hoping to improve their records. GreatContinue reading “The Riga Recap: Day 5”

After an exciting day three, the IIHF Men’s World Championships was back in action on Monday. Day four of the tournament saw four games on the docket. The first game of the day saw Slovakia taking on Russia in Group A action. The undefeated Slovaks were looking for their third straight victory against Russia inContinue reading “Riga Recap: Day 4”

Day two of the IIHF Men’s World Championship in Riga, Latvia was no short of excitement. The second day of the tournament saw six games on the schedule.  In group A action, Denmark was starting off their tournament action with a game against Sweden. Denmark ended up taking the game 4-3 with Nicklas Jensen puttingContinue reading “Riga Recap: Day 2”

It was an exciting day three of tournament action in Riga, Latvia. The athletes at the men’s World Hockey Championships came out to play and gave fans across the world incredible hockey to watch. The day opened with a Pool A matchup between Great Britain and Slovakia. While Slovakia took the win 2-1, Great BritainContinue reading “The Riga Recap: Day 3”

While the NHL begins their playoffs, the IIHF is holding their annual men’s World Hockey Championships. After a cancellation in 2020, the teams were ready to come back to the tournament and vye for a gold medal. The tournament began on May 21st in Riga, Latvia with a full day of action. Let’s get startedContinue reading “Riga Recap: Day 1”

The 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation’s annual Men’s Ice Hockey Championship will be starting on May 21st after a year of absence due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This year’s tournament will be held in Riga, Latvia from the 21st of May to June 6th. The tournament was originally intended to be hosted by Minsk, Belarus,Continue reading “The Riga Recap: IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship Tournament Preview”

We made it! The U18 Men’s World Hockey Championships in Texas have come to a close. The final day of the tournament had two fantastic games so let’s get to the round-up. The first game of the day was the bronze medal game between Finland and Sweden. The Swedes came into this game off aContinue reading “Hockey in the South Round-Up: Final Day”

Welcome back to Unbenched’s coverage of the Men’s Under-18 World Hockey Championships. Day 2 in Texas was eventful so let’s get started on the round-up!  Day 2 consisted of four matchups. In Pool A action, Belarus took on Switzerland and Canada hit the ice against Sweden. On the other side of the tournament, Pool BContinue reading “Hockey in the South: Day Two Round-Up”

Monday marked the first day of the Under-18 Men’s World Championships that is taking place from April 26th to May 6th. This year, the annual tournament is being held in Frisco, Texas. Fans will be allowed in the building for the games, a welcomed sight in the sports world. The tournament, as well as theContinue reading “Hockey in the South: Day One Round-Up”

For the first time this season, we struggled to compile three major events to breakdown for you. Thus, this week will be a little bit different: stay tuned as we look ahead to the trade deadline, take a look at the recent influx of the signings of college athletes, and analyze the major COVID-19 outbreakContinue reading “NHL Top Three: Chopping Block, College Kids, and Jeopardy in Vancouver”

Some interesting and unfortunate events have occurred this week in the NHL and we are here to break it all down for you. Stay tuned as we analyze Montreal’s recent acquirement of Eric Staal, what led to Ekblad being out for the remainder of the season, and the Buffalo Sabres losing skid. Staal Heads NorthContinue reading “Staal Heads North, Ekblad Out for the Season, and Sabres Continue Losing Streak”

In honour of women’s history month, let’s take a look at the first IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships.  The first IIIHF sanctioned Women’s World Hockey Championships were held March 19-25, 1990 in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, Ontario. Prior to this, there had been smaller tournament hosted by various organizations but nothing of this magnitude.  There wereContinue reading “The First Women’s World Hockey Championships”

In March of 2020, the NWHL’s Boston Pride and Minnesota Whitecaps were preparing to battle it out for the Isobel Cup. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that game never happened and the cup was left unawarded. When the NWHL announced their return in 2021, they insisted after a season with no winner, there would finallyContinue reading “The Boston Pride are the 2021 Isobel Cup Champions”

4 teams, 2 spots. Day one of the return of the NWHL Isobel Cup Playoffs bubble began on Friday in Brighton, Massachusetts. The NWHL 2021 playoffs began in January and was unfortunately suspended for close to two months because of a number of positive COVID-19 cases in their Lake Placid bubble. The four remaining teams-Continue reading “NWHL Bubble 2.0: Semi-Final Friday”

WE ARE BACK!  After nearly two months, the NWHL’s Isobel Cup playoffs are back. The 2021 playoffs were suspended after numerous COVID-19 cases were reported within the Lake Placid bubble. While the four remaining teams were disappointed that they didn’t get to finish the playoffs in Lake Placid and left the bubble with no timelineContinue reading “NWHL Bubble 2.0: WE ARE BACK!”

This week of play within the NHL was hectic as usually, but this week we focus on three important topics that have occurred off ice. Stay tuned as we cover COVID-19 hitting the North Division for the first time this season, the recent changes to the NHL draft lottery, and how the Vancouver Canucks’ socialContinue reading “COVID-19 Hits the North, Changes to the Draft Lottery, and the Canucks vs the Homophobes”

Another interesting week has gone by in the NHL and we have you covered with the top three highlights from this week. Stay tuned as we provide an update on Artemi Panarin, check in on where Ovechkin sits in the list of top all time goal scorers, and dive into the newest bright spot forContinue reading “NHL Top Three: Panarin Update, Ovechkin Passes Esposito, and Daccord Defeats Toronto”

Another hectic week of NHL antics has come and gone and we have it all covered for you here at Unbenched. Stick around as we reflect on how the NHL chose to celebrate International Women’s Day, the possible upcoming deal between the NHL and ESPN Sports, and the controversy surrounding Tom Wilson’s recent suspension. TheContinue reading “NHL Top Three: Women and Diversity, ESPN Deal, and Wilson Suspension”

Back in January, the six teams that make the NWHL were in Lake Placid. After not playing for nearly a year, these teams were able to gather in a safe place to battle for the best award in their NWHL career, The Isobel Cup. 11 days into the playoffs, the bubble burst and all teams hadContinue reading “The Return of Isobel”

Seven weeks of the NHL season have flown by and this week we recap three highlights from the week, one of which being a rather sensitive and rather serious topic. Stay tuned as we keep you updated on all the important news. Toronto Maple Leafs Dominate the Month of February After a year of inconsistencyContinue reading “NHL Top Three: LeafsNation Domination, Celebrating Women in Sports, and Panarin’s Leave of Absence”

Angela James, opponents have described her as “Steel on Skates.” When she is on the ice, you know the game is about to get good. Her playing style has been called dominant and excelled in any position on the ice she was put into. Not only has James been the only black woman to beContinue reading “The Story of Angela James”

This week was another fun one in the NHL books and we’re here to break it all down for you. Stay tuned as we look into the new Devils captain, the train wreck currently going down in Quebec, and the crazy delay in this past weekends outdoor game at Lake Tahoe. Nico Hischier Becomes CaptainContinue reading “NHL Top Three: Captain Hischier, Downfall in Quebec, and Sun Delays”

With the NHL season well underway, the top draft picks have officially begun their professional careers in one of the craziest seasons the league has ever seen. In typical years, the NHL draft picks would be making their first appearances in NHL arenas all across the United States and Canada but, during this COVID-19 season,Continue reading “Where Are They Now? A Look at the 2020 NHL Draft’s Top 3 Picks”

Week five of the NHL season has concluded and the unpredictable is beginning to present itself. Stay tuned as we breakdown the latest postponements of games, Galchenyuk being traded for the second time within a week, and the Ottawa Senators overcoming a four goal deficit. Postponements and Rescheduling Galore While it’s nothing new, there haveContinue reading “NHL Top Three: Postponements Galore, Galchenyuk Back to Canada, and Ottawa Senators Defy the Odds”

The first month of the shortened 2021 NHL season has come to a close and it certainly did not go without it’s fair share of soap opera-esque moments. While we won’t cover it in today’s article, the NHL has announced more postponements of games from teams like the Philadelphia Flyers to the Boston Bruins. TheContinue reading “NHL Top Three: Koivu Announces Retirement, Laine Benched in Columbus, and the Ottawa Senators Off to a Rough Start”

For years, hockey has been a place of exclusivity and toxicity. There have been countless accounts of racism, homophobia, and misogyny from athletes who’ve experienced it at a variety of levels. The only way to fix this culture is to educate and make firm stances that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. TheContinue reading “Tony DeAngelo and Toxic Hockey Culture”

The NWHL announced on Wednesday afternoon that they would be suspending the season. This decision was made after numerous positive COVID-19 tests came up just one day before the teams were set to play the semi-final games. The league tried to find new solutions but the safest thing to do was to keep everyone offContinue reading “The Day the Bubble Burst”

Three weeks into the NHL season and teams are beginning to find their right places in the standings. The restructuring of each of the divisions this year makes it difficult to test each teams true potential, as each team plays the same few teams throughout the season, but it’s becoming more and more apparent whoContinue reading “NHL Top Three: Toronto/Montreal, Laine Lands in Ohio, and the Devils COVID Scandal”

Coming into Monday, NWHL fans expected to see two games. The first would be a battle between the Connecticut Whale and Minnesota Whitecaps to determine second and third place rankings. The second was the final game in the best of three series between the Boston Pride and Buffalo Beauts with the winner heading to theContinue reading “NWHL Bubble Diaries: Day 8”

After an exciting night of hockey on Saturday and record-breaking number of fans tuning into the games, the NWHL was back for day seven of the Isobel Cup bubble. In the first game of the night, we saw Buffalo take on Boston in the best of three series to determine who would be granted aContinue reading “NWHL Bubble Diaries: Day 7”

After a pause in play and the withdrawal of the Metropolitan Riveters on Thursday, the NWHL and its teams were ready to get back in action. Before they started up again, they had to alter the format and schedule to fit five teams.  The standings were determined by win percentage calculated from the games played.Continue reading “NWHL Bubble Diaries: Day 6”

In honour of the 2021 Isobel Cup playoffs, it’s time to explain the history of the award itself.  We all know that the Stanley Cup is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, who served as the Governor General Canada back in late 1800s. Who was Lady Isobel, and why does she have the highest award inContinue reading “Lady Isobel: Who is She?”

Well, this is not how today was supposed to go… In the fifth day of action in the NWHL bubble in Lake Placid, we were supposed to see Buffalo take on Metropolitan in the 5:30 game and the Whale take on the undefeated Whitecaps in the second game of the night but as of 3pm,Continue reading “NWHL Bubble Diaries: Day 5”

The second week of the NHL season is in the books and it was packed full of drama. Stay tuned as we break down what led to the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, the Dallas Stars going undefeated throughout their first three games, and the recent resignation of the Pittsburgh Penguins general manger. Pierre Luc-Dubois is WinnipegContinue reading “NHL Top Three: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dallas, and Resignations”

After a day off and a night full of off-ice drama, the NWHL was back for their third day of bubble action. Day three saw the two undefeated teams, Minnesota and Metropolitan, face off in the first game and the second game had the Toronto Six looking for their first win against Boston. Minnesota WhitecapsContinue reading “NWHL Bubble Diaries: Day 3”

We’ve made it to day 4 of the National Women’s Hockey League Bubble season. The teams are certainly keeping things interesting in Lake Placid and It continues to be anyone’s year to win the Isobel Cup. Day 4 of NWHL action had just two games but they did not disappoint. It was another day ofContinue reading “NWHL Bubble Diaries: Day 4”

We’re back for day two of the NWHL bubble. After an eventful Saturday, the teams were ready to get back on the ice for more hockey. Sunday saw all six NWHL teams in action with plenty of exciting moments. Didn’t get to all the games? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with NWHL Bubble Diaries,Continue reading “NWHL Bubble Diaries: Day 2”

Today is the day… the NWHL bubble day one! Saturday’s games kicked off two weeks of bubble hockey in Lake Placid that will eventually end with one team winning the Isobel Cup, becoming the fifth team in history to hoist the cup. All five original NWHL teams (not including the new Toronto Six) have notContinue reading “NWHL Bubble Diaries: Day 1”

The hockey world woke up on Saturday morning to a long-awaited blockbuster trade between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Winnipeg Jets. After the weeks of drama and rumours surrounding Pierre-Luc Dubois and his future with the team became deafening, he was dealt in a trade that to sent him to the Winnipeg Jets. ItContinue reading “Dubois and Laine Switch Places in Blockbuster Deal”

This article was a collaborative piece between Krissy Draper and Mikayla Guarasci. Bubble hockey is back! With COVID-19 still plaguing the world, the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) will be playing their 2021 regular season and playoffs in Lake Placid, New York using a bubble format to ensure all teams stay safe and healthy. TheContinue reading “NWHL Bubble: Everything You Need to Know”

After the paused 2019-2020 NHL season and a playoff run like we’ve never seen before, the NHL has returned! Every week on NHL Top Three, we’ll be going over and diving into the top three highlights from all across the league! Stay tuned every Wednesday to stay up to date! Connor McDavid Scores Hat TrickContinue reading “NHL Top Three: McDavid, Outbreak, North Division”

Amid the pandemic, young men from all over the world gathered to represent their country at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. They quarantined, sometimes more than once, were tested numerous times and followed protocols to ensure the safety of all competitors and staff. Each team wanted to go there and make aContinue reading “USA Stuns Canada to Win 2021 World Junior Hockey Championships”

For the fifth time in history and the first time since 2017, Team Canada and Team USA will face against one another in the gold medal game. The last time these two went head to head in search of the gold, the USA remained undefeated in the tournament (5-2-0) and triumphed over Canada in aContinue reading “2021 World Junior Championship Gold Medal Game Preview: Canada vs. USA”

Canada secured a berth in the finals at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton, Alberta after another dominant win. They topped Russia 5-0 in the semi-finals and will play the United States for gold. Heading into the game, Canada revealed new lines, adding Alex Newhook back into the lineup. He missed the quarter-finals withContinue reading “Canada Books Spot in Gold Medal Game”

Canada bested the Czech Republic 3-0 in their first game of 2021 to advance to the semi-finals at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. Coming into the game, it was announced Canada would be without forward Alex Newhook after he sustained a shoulder injury against Finland. He missed most of that game onContinue reading “Canada Advances to the Semi-Finals at World Junior Hockey Championships”

This is the one Team Canada has been waiting for. They played a complete game, almost completely shutting down the second best team in their pool. This New Year’s Eve matchup against Finland had been Canada’s most anticipated of the tournament. Canada beat Finland 4-1 to secure the top spot in Group A. Right fromContinue reading “Canada Tops Finland to Win Group A”

Team Canada remains undefeated at the World Junior Hockey Championships after a 10-0 win over Switzerland on Tuesday night.  Coming off of a sloppy 3-1 win against Slovakia, Team Canada looked to improve their overall game. They got both defenceman Braden Schneider and forward Dylan Holloway back in the lineup for this one. Schneider hadContinue reading “Canada Adds Another Win at the World Junior Hockey Championships”

Team Canada took on Team Slovakia in their second game at the World Junior Hockey Championships In Edmonton, Alberta. It wasn’t pretty but they managed to top the Slovakians 3-1, improving to a 2-0 record in the tournament. Coming into this game, Team Canada announced they would be without Dylan Holloway due to an upperContinue reading “Canada Barely Beats Slovakia to Stay Undefeated”

Team Canada started their tournament against Germany with a 16-2 win on Boxing Day. This is one of the most lopsided wins we’ve seen in recent years. Team Germany, who has been heavily affected by COVID-19, were coming off a loss to Finland on Friday. For the second time in as many days, the GermansContinue reading “Canada Shows Up Big in Lopsided Win to Start the World Juniors”

Team Canada has finalized their 25-man roster for the 2021 World Junior Championships on Friday after starting camp with 46 players. This announcement comes just days after the Canadians were released from a 14 day quarantine following positive COVID-19 tests within the camp. They were finally able to finish their intrasquad games in order toContinue reading “Team Canada Announces Roster For The 2021 World Junior Championships”

The Tampa Bay Lightning shocked all of the NHL in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs after getting swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in round one. They had just made history by tying for most wins in a single season at 62, and were easily everyone’s cup favorites heading into the post season. However, thingsContinue reading “From First Round Sweep to Stanley Cup Champions: The 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning”

Given the crazy turn of events the year 2020 has continued to throw at the world, it is no surprise that the qualifying round of the NHL playoffs wasn’t any different – symbolic, if you will. The qualifying round consisted of 16 teams that were seeded 5-12 based on regular season standings when it wasContinue reading “NHL Qualifying Round Recap”

When they brought in coach Joel Quenneville the Florida Panthers thought this would be their year. The Panthers have appeared in 5 playoff seasons since joining the league in the 1993-1994 season. In their 26 seasons in the NHL the Panthers have only made it to the Stanley Cup finals once and have yet toContinue reading “Will New GM Change Panthers’ Future?”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere” -Martin Luther King Jr Despite this quote being written back in 1963 at the height of the Civil Rights movement, it has recently become increasingly relevant once again as the similar Black Lives Matter movement reaches new heights. The aim of these movements is to target andContinue reading “103 Years of Underlying Discrimination – How the NHL Has and Continues to Perpetuate a Racist Culture”