For almost a decade, Jill Saulnier was an energy line for the Canadian women's national team and won two Olympic medals and a world championship.
Now she will be able to add a brand new line to her resume: she threw the primary real blows within the history of the skilled women's hockey league in a fight with Tereza Vanišová, the Ottawa striker.
“We fought out there,” said Saulnier. “She captured my stick and dropped it, and that was just the green flag for me … I said, 'Let's go.' “
The first legitimate fight within the #PWHL. 🥊 @Pwhl_boston'S Jill Saulnier & @Pwhl_ottawa'With Tereza Vanišová you’re struggling. #PWHL@Jill_saulnier @Vanisovatereza pic.twitter.com/L6FR5BIVMV
– Melissa Burgess (@_melissaburgess) February 21, 2025
The fight on February 20 during a game between the Boston fleet and the costs by Ottawa was the primary within the PWHL and some of the viral moments within the league.
Fights are usually not completely latest for girls's hockey. There was a fight between Canada and the United States In a game before the tournament Before the 2014 Olympic Games and one other within the now now not existing National Women's Hockey League in 2016.
There are frequently big hits and scrums for whistles on an expert and international level. But these moments – flying with fists – were only a couple of and much apart.
For the players involved in the primary fight of the PWHL, it was only a natural a part of the ladies's game and a product of increased physicality within the league.
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“It's a heated game, it's a physical game, and we are all very competitive,” said Saulnier, now a striker for Boston after a trade in January of the New York Siren. “It's exactly the way the chips fell into the corner.”
The structure of the fight included a goal and at the least two additional crossbeats from Saulnier against Vanišová, one in every of Ottawa's top hits. When Vanišová got up, she threw Saulnier's stick on the ground.
“I felt that the justified next step was a hard right,” said Saulnier. “At the moment it was physical and this fight needed to occur. It was right there and it was a message from every page. “
None of the players dropped their gloves, as is common in men's hockey, since the women of women wear full cages who protect their face – not like most Nhlers, which are exposed to most of their face. In both leagues, players must not remove their helmets for fighting.
“They would only look silly to drop the gloves completely,” said Saulnier, as they would hit a cage with their bare hands.
The almost 6,000 fans in the TD Place Arena in Ottawa were on the feet. So the players were on every bench. Five minutes after the fight, the defender of Ottawa scored Ronja Savolainen to make the game 2-1 towards the end of the third period. When Vanišová got out of the penalty area, she only scored three seconds in the game to send him into the extension and to register the first unofficial “Gordie Howe has trick” in the history of the league – when a player scores a goal, a goal helps and fights in the same game.
“I believed it was great, it got the fans up and running,” said Saulnier. “I'm sure I'll get a couple of boos next time when I’m going in there, but please know that every part was respectful and it was a variety of fun.”
In the end, Ottawa lost 3: 2 and Saulnier and Vanišová for a moment in the Handshake line after the game to say: “Nice fight”.
“You see the intensity of the sport and that’s the funny a part of this league,” said Ottawa coach Carla Macleod after the game. “None of the players have withdrawn and I think that there will likely be a little bit of humming about what is rarely bad for the sport.”
The fight made worldwide news with headlines in TMZ and the Daily Mail, Outlets, which usually cover the hockey for women's hooky. And it became viral on social media, while 16 million people across North America Canada and the United States observed the 4 nations face-off final.
In the last week, the fans gave Saulnier Armbands who say the “Fight Club” in Perlen and T-shirts with the “Jill Saulnier Fight Club”, that one of their family members wore against Montreal at the Bell Center on Saturday.
“I believe more people won the seek for a gold medal,” said Saulnier, member of the Canadian Olympic team 2022. “Obviously you shouldn't fight every game, but I believe it was actually good since it has more in mind.”
The PWHL, which only officially began in January 2024, will be aware. The fight was also a nice proof that the league is full of experienced players who can play with finesse and speed, but can also accept physicality. Nevertheless, fights don't want to be the norm.
The regular book of the league clearly states that “fights are usually not a part of the PWHL game.” And before the conflict of the last month, there was not much clarity about which punishments that the referees could impose, except that the players who fight, punish them and ejected out of the game.
Saulnier and Vanišová only received minors for their fight, which led to a certain confusion about the rules. Last week, The league made it clear that a fight is now being punished with a 5-minute great punishment and misconduct of games, with the possibility of a further discipline after a review and taking repeat offenders into account.
According to Saulnier, Boston's general manager, Danielle Marmer, calls it “the Jill Saulnier rule”.
The new rules should prevent the players from struggling frequently. In a short season with 30 games, the players may not be ready to suspend an additional game, just to give their team an energy supply after the fight. The equipment barrier will continue to be a natural deterrent for the fight in women's hockey.
In addition, fighting at other levels of the women's play is anything but usual. Even bodychecking has never been allowed in hockey for youth girls, which means that these skills are usually not taught. In boy hockey, bodycheck is introduced under 14 on the level. When a player comes to the professional level, fighting was very part of the game.
Saulnier does not believe that her fight will open the locks for further moments in the future. But she said it will certainly not be the last time that we see a fight in the professional hockey of women.
“With the degree of physicality you won’t ever see it within the PWHL,” she said.
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image credit : www.nytimes.com