The Metropolitan Riveters are starting their end of the season climb with games every weekend until the regular season closes on March 13. The Minnesota Whitecaps welcomed the Riveters to their home rink for a weekend series. Although game one did not go as planned with the Riveters falling 5-2, it was a big day for them.
Captain Madison Packer, in her seventh season in the PHF, celebrated her 100th game in the Professional Hockey Federation, all of which have been played with the Riveters. Fellow Riveters celebrated the milestone with congratulations and cheers of 100 more with Kelly Babstock saying, “It’s been awesome to play with ya, better than playing against ya that's for sure.”
This is not the first milestone that Packer has reached lately as she also became the second PHF player to ever score 100 game points back in January. She has been integral in not only the league but the Riveters and gives a lot of the credit to making it this far towards her teammates, both past and present. Packer even said, “I think the games mean more to me than the points, just because of the journey.”
The Riveters’ came into this game coming off of a 3-2 win against Buffalo just last weekend. However, they were not able to hold off the dominant Minnesota Whitecaps from tallying up goals. The game was hardfought, with Riveters goaltender Brooke Wolejko saving 27 of 32 shots that were made during the match. In the 8’ minute of the first period the Whitecaps got an opportunity in a 5 on 3 powerplay that they were unable to convert on and then just a minute later had another. During the match both teams had a combined total of 22 penalty minutes to give them advantages. Before the game, Riveters head coach Ivo spoke about one of the keys of the match being to stay out of the box, knowing that it would allow Minnesota to get on top of the puck.
The first goal of the match didn’t come until the second period off of a goal from the Whitecaps, coming from Joanna Curtis. They were able to add two more to their tally, both coming from Allie Thunstorm before the Riveters’ got one on the board. Curtis went on to add a second, and Audra Morrison was also able to score to bring the Whitecaps score up to 5.
The two Riveters came early into the third period of the match. Kelley Babstock scored at 10:38 of the third period and Kendall Cornine quickly followed with a goal of her own at 11:58. Babstock’s goal was assisted by Captain Madison Packer. Cornines goal adds to her four game goal streak, totaling her score to five goals in the past six games for the Riveters.
Up Next For Metropolitan Riveters
The Metropolitan Riveters will take on Minnesota in a rematch Sunday afternoon, and are hoping for a win. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST at Tria Rink and the game can be watched on ESPN+ in the US and TSN Direct for Canadian viewers.
