History, of sorts, was made in Ottawa on Thursday.
While the American and Canadian men were facing off in the 4 Nations Final down in Boston, two members of the Professional Women’s Hockey League were throwing down on the ice.
In what is now believed to be the first fight in major women’s professional hockey history, Ottawa Charge forward Tereza Vanisova and the Boston Crew’s Jill Saulnier were each whistled for roughing minors after attacking each with just eight minutes left to play.
The fracas got started with both teams fighting for a loose pick along the boards. Saulnier’s relentless physicality ultimately set off Vanisova, who returned fire with a flurry of punches.
Neither combatant dropped gloves, as is customary in hockey fights, but both appeared to get in several good shots before being separated by officials.
It wasn’t quite the same scene as last week’s Team USA-Team Canada 4 Nation matchup in Montreal, where three fights took place over the first nine seconds of game action. The US would ultimately win that game before falling to their northern neighbors in the 4 Nations final on Thursday.
Jill Saulnier #44 of the Boston Fleet and Tereza Vanisova #13 of the Ottawa Charge earn double minors for roughing during the third period of their PWHL game at The Arena
Tereza Vanisova (left) and Jill Saulnier (right) threw down in the PWHL’s first real fight
Boston Fleet’s Jill Saulnier (44) and Ottawa Charge’s Tereza Vanisova (13) exchange punches
As fans pointed out on social media after the game, Vanisova finished with what’s famously known as the Gordie Howe hat trick after recording a goal, an assist and a fight.
‘Finished off with a Gordie Howe, renamed the Vanisova Hat-Trick,’ one fan wrote on X.
The rest of the game was just as thrilling as Susanna Tapani scored on a breakaway with 47 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Fleet a 3-2 win over the Charge/
Ottawa dominated in the overtime period but Tapani broke free in her own end and outskated defenders before beating goalie Emerance Maschmeyer.
Vanisova tied the game for the Charge with 2.9 seconds left in the third period after Ronja Savolainen scored the first Charge goal with 3:33 left in regulation.
Theresa Schafzahl and Alina Muller scored first-period goals for Boston.
Aerin Frankel finished the game with 21 saves for the Fleet while Maschmeyer turned aside 27 shots.
Schafzahl opened the scoring at 8:18 as she took a pass from Ottawa native Jamie Lee Rattray and beat Maschmeyer glove side with a shot from the slot.
Just under eight minutes later, the Fleet went up 2-0 as Muller went five-hole on Maschmeyer on a short-handed partial breakaway.
Shay Maloney #27 of the Boston Fleet races Tereza Vanisova #13 of the Ottawa Charge
Five of the seven meetings between these teams have been decided by one goal, including both this season, both Fleet wins.
The Charge host the Montreal Victoire on Saturday.
The Fleet will be up next on the Takeaway Tour when they will be in Buffalo, New York, to face the New York Sirens on Sunday.
The PWHL’s second season began in November.
Each team has a logo and nickname after going without last year. And there’s already talk of expansion, with the privately financed and centrally controlled PWHL looking to add up to two franchises by next year.
‘It’s hard to put into words, to be honest. Obviously, the first season exceeded all of our expectations,’ vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said in November. ‘We always believed. We had a vision for it. But to see it happen as quickly as it did was something that was pretty special.’
