2022–23 PHF season

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).

League business
The PHF decided not to hold a draft this year.

Montreal expansion
The long-expected Montreal Force expansion franchise was announced in July and the team name, colors and logo were revealed in August. The team will not have an official home arena during the 2022–23 season but will instead play home games across the province of Quebec, with expected stops in Montreal, Gatineau, Quebec City, Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup, Saint-Jérôme, and Sept-Îles, Quebec, among others.

International players
A record twenty international players signed as roster players in the PHF for the 2022–23 season. Of the international players, six are from Finland, five are from Czechia, four are from Sweden, two are from Austria, two are from Hungary, and one is from Switzerland. Signed as a practice player rather than to the main roster, Iveta Klimášová of the Buffalo Beauts is from Slovakia.

An additional four players are North American-born but hold multiple citizenship and have represented nations outside of North America in international competition (listed with nations of citizenship): Taylor Baker (Canada/Hungary). Janka Hlinka (Slovakia/United States), Leah Lum (Canada/China), and Lenka Serdar (Czechia/United States).

Player nationalities


 * Austria: Antonia Matzka, Janine Weber
 * China: Leah Lum
 * Czechia: Denisa Křížová, Dominika Lásková, Kateřina Mrázová, Lenka Serdar, Aneta Tejralová, Tereza Vanišová
 * Finland: Anna Kilponen, Eveliina Mäkinen, Emma Nuutinen, Meeri Räisänen, Jenna Suokko, Minttu Tuominen
 * Hungary: Taylor Baker, Réka Dabasi, Fanni Garát-Gasparics
 * Slovakia: Janka Hlinka, Iveta Klimášová
 * Sweden: Lovisa Berndtsson, Ebba Berglund, Ronja Mogren, Lovisa Selander
 * Switzerland: Sarah Forster

Front office changes
On May 17, 2022, the Minnesota Whitecaps announced that Jack Brodt, who co-founded the team in 2004, would take a position with NLTT Hockey, the company who bought the Whitecaps in the 2021–22 season.

On August 21, 2022, Chi-Yin Tse was named as the new general manager for the Whitecaps.

Coaching changes
On May 9, 2022, Venla Hovi succeeded Ivo Mocek as head coach of the Metropolitan Riveters. Mocek remains with the team as associate head coach.

On May 17, 2022, Ronda Engelhardt took over as sole head coach of the Whitecaps.

Schedule
The 2022–23 season schedule was published on September 19, 2022.

All times in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00); exception of November 5–6, 2022, which are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−04:00).

News and notes

 * December 10, 2022: Boston Pride goaltender Corinne Schroeder set a new PHF single season record for shutouts, recording her fourth shutout in just seven starts for the first place Pride.
 * December 11, 2022: Boston Pride team captain Jillian Dempsey tied a PHF record with six points on Sunday including her first career hat-trick to lead Boston to a 7–5 win versus Buffalo.

Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of the season on March 12, 2023.

The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the season, noted with their overall league scoring rank:

Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in regular season save percentage at the conclusion of the season on March 12, 2023, while playing at least one-third of games.

Awards and honors

 * Most Valuable Player: Loren Gabel (BOS)
 * Outstanding Player of the Year: Loren Gabel (BOS)
 * Defender of the Year: Kali Flanagan (BOS)
 * Goaltender of the Year: Corinne Schroeder (BOS)
 * Newcomer of the Year: Loren Gabel (BOS)
 * Rookie of the Year: Corinne Schroeder (BOS)
 * Denna Laing Award: Lauren Kelly (BOS)

PHF Foundation Award Winners
 * Boston: Sammy Davis
 * Buffalo: Cassidy MacPherson
 * Connecticut: Shannon Turner
 * Metropolitan: Reagan Rust
 * Minnesota: Denisa Křížová
 * Montreal: Laura Jardin
 * Toronto: Shiann Darkangelo

Player of the Month
 * November 2022: Corinne Schroeder (BOS)
 * December 2022: Brittany Howard (TOR)
 * January 2023: Kennedy Marchment (CTW)
 * February 2023: Loren Gabel (BOS)
 * March 2023: Madison Packer (MET)

Three Stars of the Week
 * November 5–6: 1. Corinne Schroeder (BOS), 2. Brittany Howard (TOR), 3. Élizabeth Giguère (BOS)
 * November 18–20: 1. Sarah Bujold (MET), 2. Corinne Schroeder (BOS), 3. Leah Lum (TOR)
 * November 26–27: 1. Jade Downie-Landry (MON), 2. Ann-Sophie Bettez (MON), 3. Fanni Garát-Gasparics (MET)
 * December 3–4: 1. Kennedy Marchment (CTW), 2. Minttu Tuominen (MET), 3. Sydney Brodt (MIN)
 * December 9–11: 1. Jillian Dempsey (BOS), 2. Loren Gabel (BOS), 3. Brittany Howard (TOR)
 * December 16–18: 1. Natalie Snodgrass (MIN), 2. Shiann Darkangelo (TOR), 3. Taylor Girard (CTW)
 * January 6–8: 1. Taylor Girard (CTW), 2. Loren Gabel (BOS), 3. Elaine Chuli (TOR)
 * January 14–15: 1. Allie Thunstrom (BOS), 2. Ann-Sophie Bettez (MON), 3. Jonna Albers (MIN)
 * January 17–22: 1. Loren Gabel (BOS), 2. Kennedy Marchment (CTW), 3. Brittany Howard (TOR)
 * February 3–6: 1. Loren Gabel (BOS), 2. Shiann Darkangelo (TOR), 3. Corinne Schroeder (BOS)
 * February 11–12: 1. Tricia Deguire (MON), 2. Elaine Chuli (TOR), 3. Alexandra Labelle (MON)
 * February 18–19: 1. Corinne Schroeder (BOS), 2. Samantha Ridgewell (BUF), 3. Michela Cava (TOR)
 * February 24–26: 1. Madison Packer (MET), 2. Tereza Vanišová (TOR), 3. Justine Reyes (CTW)
 * March 3–5: 1. Kennedy Marchment (CTW), 2. Sarah Bujold (MET), 3. Jillian Dempsey (BOS)
 * March 10–12: 1. Madison Packer (MET), 2. Daryl Watts (TOR), 3. Abbie Ives (CTW)
 * March 16–20: 1. Jonna Albers (MIN), 2. Amanda Leveille (MIN), 3. Michela Cava, (TOR)

Playoffs
The top four teams in the standings qualified for the Isobel Cup playoffs, which were held in two rounds. The first round was a best-of-three series, hosted at the Bentley Arena in Waltham, Massachusetts and the Mattamy Athletic Centre at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, starting Thursday, March 16, 2023. The two semi-final winners played a one-game championship final on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.