The Minnesota Whitecaps were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at the Richfield Ice Arena. Established in 2004, the Whitecaps were originally part of the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from 2004 to 2011.
Allison Thunstrom is an American ice hockey forward for the Boston Pride in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She currently holds the PHF record for goals scored in a single season. She has also played for the United States national team.
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), comprising four league-owned teams. Over time, some teams gained independent ownership and the number of teams grew to seven; teams during the league's final season in 2022–23 included the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force, and Toronto Six. The Isobel Cup was awarded annually to the league playoff champion.
The Boston Pride was a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They were one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The Pride played at Warrior Ice Arena, which is also the practice facility for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. The Pride won the inaugural Isobel Cup in 2016 and became the first professional women's ice hockey team to win three championship titles when they claimed consecutive victories in 2021 and 2022.
The Connecticut Whale were a professional ice hockey team based in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Simsbury, Connecticut at the International Skating Center of Connecticut. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four charter franchises of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which became the PHF in 2021. Their name and colors paid homage to the Hartford Whalers, a former NHL and WHA franchise based in Connecticut. The team folded along with the PHF in 2023 as part of the creation of a new, unified women's league, the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
The Buffalo Beauts were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, at the Northtown Center.
The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy that was awarded annually to the now defunct Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. The trophy is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, the daughter of Lord Stanley—former Governor-General of Canada and namesake of the Stanley Cup—and one of the first women known to play the game of ice hockey.
The Premier Hockey Federation Players' Association (PHFPA), formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League Players' Association (NWHLPA), was a representative body for professional ice hockey players in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The association was founded in 2015, the year of the league's founding, and disbanded in 2023 after the league was purchased and dissolved as part of the establishment of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Former PHF players now playing in the PWHL are members of the PWHL Players Association.
Amanda Leveille is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for PWHL Minnesota of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Formerly a member of the Buffalo Beauts and Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), Leveille holds the PHF all-time records for wins and shutouts, and is a two-time Isobel Cup champion.
Jonna Albersnée Curtis is an American ice hockey player, currently playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Minnesota Whitecaps, who she won an Isobel Cup with in 2019. Prior to that, she captained the New Hampshire Wildcats women's ice hockey team, twice earning a Hockey East All-Star Honorable Mention.
Nicole Schammel is an American ice hockey forward currently playing for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
Mikyla Grant-Mentis is a Canadian ice hockey forward, currently playing with Ottawa of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is the all-time leading scorer of the Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey team. In 2021, she became the first Black player to win the PHF's Most Valuable Player award.
The 2021–22 PHF season was the seventh season of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), which was known as the National Women's Hockey League during the previous six seasons, in North America. After mostly playing in a bubble environment the previous season due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the PHF commenced the 2021–22 season with a normal travel-based schedule.
The 2021–22 Minnesota Whitecaps season was the team's fourth year as a member of the Premier Hockey Federation. They play their home games at TRIA Rink, the practice facility for the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The Whitecaps opened the season on the weekend of November 6–7 in Boston playing against the Pride, dropping their first two games. Their first home game, on November 20, 2021 led to their first win of the season, also against the Pride.
The 2022–23 Minnesota Whitecaps season is the team's fifth year as a member of the Premier Hockey Federation. Before this season, they moved to their new home rink at Richfield Ice Arena. The Whitecaps started the season on Saturday, November 5th at Canlan Ice Sports – York, losing to the Toronto Six in overtime.
The 2022–23 PHF season was the eighth and final ice hockey season of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) – known as the National Women's Hockey League during its first six seasons (2015–2021).
