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Metropolitan Riveters

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Metropolitan Riveters
CityEast Rutherford, New Jersey
LeaguePremier Hockey Federation
Founded2015
Folded2023
Home arenaThe Rink at American Dream
ColorsBlue, red, white
     
Owner(s)BTM Partners
(John Boynton, chairman)
General managerTori Charron
Head coachVenla Hovi
CaptainMadison Packer
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Franchise history
2015–2017New York Riveters
2017–2023Metropolitan Riveters
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2017–18)
Playoff championships1 (2017–18)

The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) were a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.

They were one of the four charter franchises of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), later known as the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Its team name and logo were 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 formed a promotional affiliation with the Devils and were renamed the Metropolitan Riveters; the partnership ended in 2019. The team folded in 2023, when the PHF's assets were purchased and the league dissolved.

History

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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.[1] With the first pick overall in the 2015 NWHL Draft, the Riveters selected Alex 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.[2]

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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5]

In March 2019, it was announced that the professional level Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) would discontinue operations.[6] 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.[7] In response, the NWHL committed to pursuing many more sponsors than in previous years in hopes of increasing player salaries.[8]

On May 17, 2019, it was reported that the New Jersey Devils were ending their partnership with the Riveters.[9][10] 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,[11] and returned to their original blue, red, and white colors.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14]

On September 14, 2022, the Riveters announced that they would play their home games at The Rink at the American Dream Meadowlands retail and entertainment complex for the next three years.[15]

On June 29, 2023, it was announced that the PHF and its assets had been purchased as part of a bid to create a new, unified professional women's league.[16] This led to the PHF and its teams folding, and the founding of the Professional Women's Hockey League in August, 2023.[17]

Season-by-season records

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Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T OTL SOL Pts[a] 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
2021–22 20 7 12 — 1 0 21 54 65 Lost Preliminary Round to Minnesota Whitecaps
2022–23 24 11 13 — 0 0 30 64 79 Did not qualify
PHF Totals 139 59 71 0 7 2 141 393 470
  1. ^ Starting with the 2021–22 season, 3 points are awarded for a regulation win, 2 points are awarded for an overtime/shootout win, 1 point is awarded for an overtime/shootout loss, 0 points are awarded for a regulation loss[18]

Team

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2022–23 roster

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As of December 9, 2022[19][20][21]
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
9 United States Kaycie Anderson (A) F L 33 2022 Maple Plain, Minnesota
8 Canada Kelly Babstock F L 32 2020 Mississauga, Ontario
12 Sweden Ebba Berglund D L 26 2022 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
16 Canada Sarah Bujold F L 28 2022 Riverview, New Brunswick
– United States Katie Burt G L 27 2022 Lynn, Massachusetts
10 United States Kendall Cornine F R 27 2019 Livingston, New Jersey
97 United States Catherine Crawley F L 27 2022 Washingtonville, New York
13 Hungary Réka Dabasi F L 27 2022 Budapest, Hungary
3 Switzerland Sarah Forster D L 31 2022 Berneck, Switzerland
77 Canada Kennedy Ganser F R 26 2022 Provost, Alberta
94 Hungary Fanni Garát-Gasparics F R 29 2022 Budapest, Hungary
22 United States Emilie Harley D L 25 2022 Syracuse, New York
5 Finland Anna Kilponen D L 29 2022 Orivesi, Finland
1 Finland Eveliina Mäkinen G L 29 2022 Kuikainen, Finland
44 United States Taylor Marchin D R 30 2022 Algonac, Michigan
28 United States Leah Marino F L 24 2022 South Lake Tahoe, California
33 Canada Rachel McQuigge Injured Reserve G L 26 2022 Bowmanville, Ontario
14 United States Madison Packer (C) F R 33 2015 Detroit, Michigan
21 United States Amanda Pelkey (A) F R 31 2022 Montpelier, Vermont
18 United States Reagan Rust D R 27 2022 Southaven, Mississippi
15 Finland Minttu Tuominen (A) D R 34 2022 Helsinki, Finland

Coaching staff and team personnel

  • General Manager: Tori Charron
  • Head coach: Venla Hovi
  • Associate head coach: Ivo Mocek
  • Goaltending coach: Mitch Harris
  • Equipment manager: Regina Bataille

Team captains

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Head coaches

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General managers

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NWHL draft

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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.[24] With the first pick in the 2015 NWHL Draft, the New York Riveters selected Alex Carpenter.

2015 NWHL Draft

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Main article: 2015 NWHL Draft

The following were the Riveters selections in the 2015 NWHL Draft on June 20, 2015.[25]

# Player Position Nationality College
1 Alex 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

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Franchise milestones

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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[26]
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[27] Katie Fitzgerald November 20, 2016

References

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  1. ^ "NWHL Announces Historic First Player Signing". NWHL. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "Kelsey Koelzer Taken First Overall". Princeton Tigers (Press release). June 18, 2016. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  3. ^ Cimini, Kaitlin (August 1, 2016). "From The Ice New York Riveters leave Brooklyn for Newark". Today's Slapshot. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "New Jersey Devils Enter First of Its Kind Agreement and Form Multi-Year Strategic Partnership with the NWHL's Riveters". NWHL (Press release). October 5, 2017. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  5. ^ "Randy Velischek Named Riveters Head Coach". NWHL.zone. September 20, 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "The Canadian Women's Hockey League to Discontinue Operations". Canadian Women's Hockey League (Press release). March 31, 2019. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  7. ^ McKenzie, Bob (May 2, 2019). "More than 200 players call for overhaul of women's pro hockey". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "A Statement to the Players, Fans and Supporters of the NWHL and Women's Hockey". NWHL.zone (Press release). May 2, 2019. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  9. ^ Murphy, Mike (May 17, 2019). "New Jersey Devils dissolving partnership with Metropolitan Riveters". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  10. ^ Mastracco, Abbey (May 17, 2019). "NJ Devils dissolve partnership with Metropolitan Riveters ahead of schedule". North Jersey Media Group. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "NWHL Reveals Expanded Schedule for the 2019-20 Season". NWHL (Press release). July 29, 2019. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  12. ^ "Riveters Unveil New Sweater Design for Season 5". NWHL (Press release). September 27, 2019. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  13. ^ "Metropolitan Riveters Withdrawn from NWHL Season". NWHL (Press release). January 28, 2021. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  14. ^ "NWHL Announces Sale of the Metropolitan Riveters". NWHL (Press release). May 26, 2021. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  15. ^ "Metropolitan Riveters to play home games in New Jersey megamall American Dream". ESPN. September 14, 2022. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  16. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (June 29, 2023). "Sources: Premier Hockey Federation sale could unite women's hockey". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  17. ^ Kennedy, Ian (October 22, 2023). "The Disappearance Of The Buffalo Beauts and Metropolitan Riveters". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  18. ^ Krotz, Paul (November 6, 2021). "PHF Announces Changes to Playing Regulations". PremierHockeyFederation.com. Premier Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  19. ^ "Metropolitan Riveters, 2022-23 PHF – Roster". Premier Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  20. ^ "Metropolitan Riveters, 2022-2023 Roster". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  21. ^ Kass, Matthew (December 8, 2022). "Metropolitan Riveters Sign Isobel Cup Winning Goaltender Katie Burt". Metropolitan Riveters (Press release). Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  22. ^ Murphy, Mike (April 8, 2021). "Kate Whitman Annis named Director of W Hockey Partners, Anya Packer named GM of the Riveters". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  23. ^ Rodriguez, Angelica (April 13, 2022). "Anya Packer declines to renew contract as Riveters general manager". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  24. ^ "NWHL Draft Lottery: New York Riveters get top pick!". watchthishockey.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  25. ^ "2015 NWHL Complete Draft, June 20, Boston". NWHL. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  26. ^ "New York Riveters vs. Buffalo Beauts, December 27 Game Sheet". NWHL.co. December 27, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  27. ^ "Riveters shutout Whale 4–0, move into second place". NWHL Zone. November 20, 2016. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
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