Metropolitan Riveters

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Metropolitan Riveters
2021–22 PHF season
Metropolitan Riveters Logo (2021).png
CityMonmouth Junction, New Jersey
LeaguePremier Hockey Federation
Founded2015
Home arenaPrudential Center Practice Facility
ColorsBlue, red, white
     
Owner(s)BTM Partners
(John Boynton – chairman)
General managerAnya Packer[1]
Head coachIvo Mocek
MediaTwitch
WebsiteOfficial Website
Franchise history
2015–2017New York Riveters
2017–presentMetropolitan Riveters
Championships
Playoff championships2017–18

The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, with home games at the Prudential Center Practice Facility.

They were one of the four charter franchises of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), now known as the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Its team name and logo are based upon Rosie the Riveter, the subject of the World War II-era motivational poster "We Can Do It!". The Riveters played one season in Brooklyn before moving to the New Jersey Devils practice rink in Newark, New Jersey, in 2016. The team then had a promotional affiliation with the Devils from beginning in 2017 and were renamed the Metropolitan Riveters; the partnership ended in 2019.

History[]

The first player signed to a contract was Janine Weber, who also became the first player in the history of the NWHL to be signed to a contract.[2] With the first pick overall in the 2015 NWHL Draft, the Riveters selected Alexandra Carpenter, a medalist from the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The team made its debut in 2015 playing at Aviator Sports & Events Center in Brooklyn, New York. The first player to ever score a goal for the Riveters was Brooke Ammerman. The New York Riveters won their first game against the Boston Pride on November 15, 2015. Nana Fujimoto became the first New York Riveters goaltender to earn a win in the NWHL and the first Japanese born goaltender to win a NWHL game. Meghan Fardelmann became the first Riveter to record a hat trick.

On May 1, 2016, the Riveters signed free agent Amanda Kessel to a one-year deal worth $26,000, making her the highest paid player in the league. At the 2016 NWHL Draft, held in Brooklyn, the Riveters held the first overall pick for the second consecutive year and selected Kelsey Koelzer from the Princeton Tigers women's ice hockey program.[3]

On August 1, 2016, it was announced that the Riveters would move from Brooklyn to Barnabas Health Hockey House at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.[4]

Prior to their second season in New Jersey, the Riveters announced they had partnered with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), becoming the first NWHL team to officially partner with an NHL team. Upon the announcement, the Riveters changed their name to the Metropolitan Riveters to reflect the broader geographic region. The Riveters also adopted the colors of the Devils and changed their jerseys. As part of the new affiliation, the Riveters and Devils held a doubleheader for the Riveters' 2017–18 season opener against the Boston Pride followed by the Devils' game against the Arizona Coyotes at the Prudential Center.[5] In the 2017–18 season, the Riveters won both the regular season and the Isobel Cup against the previous champions, the Buffalo Beauts.

At the end of their 2017–18 championship season, original head coach Chad Wiseman resigned, taking a job closer to home as an assistant with the Guelph Storm, and was replaced by Randy Velischek.[6]

In March 2019, it was announced that the professional level Canadian Women's Hockey League would discontinue operations.[7] In response to the folding of the CWHL, players from both leagues were dissatisfied in the operation of both the NWHL and CWHL in that neither league provided health insurance or a livable salary. Due to these conditions, over 200 players released a joint statement announcing their intent to not participate in any North American professional league for the 2019–20 season.[8] The NWHL responded that they are pursuing many more sponsors than in previous years and hope to increase player salaries.[9]

On May 17, 2019, it was reported that the New Jersey Devils were ending their partnership with the Riveters.[10][11] Following the dissolution of the partnership, the Riveters no longer had a lease to operate out of Barnabas Health Hockey House at the Prudential Center in Newark, which they had used rent-free as part of their partnership. The team then changed home venues to ProSkate Ice Arena in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey,[12] and returned to their original blue, red, and white colors.[13] The team was eliminated in the semifinal game by the Minnesota Whitecaps prior to the championship being cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following season was then delayed amidst the capacity and travel restrictions during the pandemic. The 2020–21 season eventually started on January 23, 2021, with the entire season to be played at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, without fans in attendance and teams kept in isolation. However, after playing three games, the Riveters were forced to withdraw from the two-week season on January 28 after several members of the organization tested positive for COVID-19.[14]

On May 26, 2021, the league announced the Riveters had been sold to BTM Partners, owners of the Boston Pride and Toronto Six, with John Boynton named the team's chairman.[15]

Season-by-season records[]

Season GP W L T OTL SOL Pts GF GA Playoffs
2015–16 18 4 12 0 2 0 10 47 78 Lost Preliminary Round to Boston Pride
2016–17 18 8 7 0 1 2 19 55 58 Lost Preliminary Round to Buffalo Beauts
2017–18 16 13 3 — 0 — 26 64 30 Won Isobel Cup Championship over Buffalo Beauts
2018–19 16 4 12 — 0 0 8 32 65 Lost Semifinal game to Minnesota Whitecaps
2019–20 24 10 11 — 3 — 23 70 91 Lost Semifinal game to Minnesota Whitecaps
2020–21 3 2 1 — 0 — 4 7 4 Forced to withdraw from season due to positive cases of COVID-19

Team[]

Roster[]

As of January 3, 2021.[16][17]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
21 United States F R 26 2019 Concord, New Hampshire
8 Canada Kelly Babstock F L 29 2020 Mississauga, Ontario
10 United States Kendall Cornine F R 25 2019 Livingston, New Jersey
26 United States Kiira Dosdall (A) D F 34 2015 Stamford, Connecticut
2 Canada D L 25 2020 Red Deer, Alberta
31 Canada G L 23 2020 Leaside, Ontario
13 United States Cailey Hutchison (A) F 25 2019 Hicksville, New York
4 United States Emily Janiga F R 28 2020 East Aurora, New York
5 United States D L 24 2019 San Jose, California
3 United States Theresa Knutson F 25 2020 Onalaska, Wisconsin
7 Czech Republic Sammy Kolowrat D L 25 2020 Prague, Czechia
28 United States Kate Leary F R 28 2019 Seabrook, New Hampshire
15 United States F/D R 23 2020 Troy, Illinois
9 United States Rebecca Morse (A) D L 30 2016 Westfield, New Jersey
United States D R 23 2020 Chatham, New Jersey
14 United States Madison Packer (C) F R 30 2015 Detroit, Michigan
33 United States D L 24 2020 Buffalo, New York
20 Canada F/D L 25 2019 Amherst, Nova Scotia
18 United States Rebecca Russo F L 27 2016 New York City, New York
17 Russia Tatyana Shatalova F L 22 2019 Minsk, Belarus
29 United States G L 24 2020 Braceville, Illinois
71 Canada Saroya Tinker D L 24 2020 Oshawa, Ontario
6 United States Paige Voight F L 25 2020 St. Michael, Minnesota

Team captains[]

Head coaches[]

General managers[]

NWHL draft[]

A draft lottery was held for the 2015 NWHL Draft, taking place on June 20, 2015. and the New York Riveters earned the first pick overall.[18] With the first pick in the 2015 NWHL Draft, the New York Riveters selected Alexandra Carpenter.

2015 NWHL Draft[]

Main article: 2015 NWHL Draft

The following were the Riveters selections in the 2015 NWHL Draft on June 20, 2015.[19]

# Player Position Nationality College
1 Alexandra Carpenter Forward  United States Boston College
5 Haley Skarupa Forward  United States Boston College
9 Erin Ambrose Defense  Canada Clarkson University
13 Dana Trivigno Forward  United States Boston College
17 Kimberly Newell Goalie  Canada Princeton

Awards and honors[]

  • Ashley Johnston, New York Riveters, 2017 NWHL Denna Laing Perseverance Award
  • Katie Fitzgerald, New York Riveters, 2017 NWHL Goaltender of the Year

Franchise milestones[]

Milestone Player Date
First goal Brooke Ammerman October 11, 2015
First game-winning goal Bray Ketchum November 15, 2015
First hat trick Meghan Fardelmann December 27, 2015[20]
First multi-point game To Be Determined To Be Determined
First win Nana Fujimoto November 15, 2015
First African-American player Cherie Stewart November 15, 2015
First shutout[21] Katie Fitzgerald November 20, 2016

References[]

  1. ^ Murphy, Mike (April 8, 2021). "Kate Whitman Annis named Director of W Hockey Partners, Anya Packer named GM of the Riveters". The Ice Garden. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  2. ^ "NWHL Announces Historic First Player Signing". NWHL. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "Kelsey Koelzer Taken First Overall". princetontigers.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Cimini, Kaitlin (August 1, 2016). "From The Ice New York Riveters leave Brooklyn for Newark". Slapshot.
  5. ^ "NEW JERSEY DEVILS ENTER FIRST OF ITS KIND AGREEMENT AND FORM MULTI-YEAR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NWHL'S RIVETERS". NWHL. October 5, 2017. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  6. ^ "Randy Velischek Named Riveters Head Coach". NWHL.zone. September 20, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "The Canadian Women's Hockey League to Discontinue Operations". Canadian Women's Hockey League. March 31, 2019. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  8. ^ "More than 200 players call for overhaul of women's pro hockey". The Sports Network. May 2, 2019.
  9. ^ "A Statement to the Players, Fans and Supporters of the NWHL and Women's Hockey". NWHL.zone. May 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "New Jersey Devils dissolving partnership with Metropolitan Riveters". theicegarden.com. May 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "NJ Devils dissolve partnership with Metropolitan Riveters ahead of schedule". northjersey.com. May 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "NWHL Reveals Expanded Schedule for the 2019-20 Season". NWHL. July 29, 2019.
  13. ^ "RIVETERS UNVEIL NEW SWEATER DESIGN FOR SEASON 5". NWHL. September 27, 2019.
  14. ^ "METROPOLITAN RIVETERS WITHDRAWN FROM NWHL SEASON". NWHL. January 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "NWHL ANNOUNCES SALE OF THE METROPOLITAN RIVETERS". NWHL. May 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "Riveters Roster". NWHL.
  17. ^ "New York Riveters". Elite Prospects.
  18. ^ "NWHL Draft Lottery: New York Riveters get top pick!". watchthishockey.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  19. ^ "2015 NWHL Complete Draft, June 20, Boston". NWHL. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  20. ^ "New York Riveters vs. Buffalo Beauts, December 27 Game Sheet". NWHL.co. December 27, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "Riveters shutout Whale 4–0, move into second place". NWHL Zone. November 20, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2017.

External links[]

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