Sports
The art of hitting in women’s hockey: How are PWHL players adapting to a more physical game?
The Professional Women’s Hockey League, hoping to educate players on the art of taking a hit, brought in a big name.
Ex-NHL player Ryan Getzlaf was one of his generation’s best combinations of skill and physicality. He was an elite playmaking center — who won a Stanley Cup and two Olympic gold medals — and a punishing 6-foot-3, 220-pound presence.
The former Anaheim Ducks captain now works in the NHL’s department of player safety, which hands out suspensions or fines for on-ice incidents in the league. It was in that capacity that he spoke to PWHL players during the league’s November preseason camps.
Since the launch of the PWHL in January, women’s hockey has become more physical than ever before. And while the increased contact has largely been celebrated — by both players and fans — there have been some concerns about injuries and ambiguity about how to interpret the PWHL’s rulebook. Getzlaf’s goal was to teach players how to better protect themselves on the ice.
“Through no fault of their own, a lot of them never played contact hockey before, so they’re learning a whole new set of rules and a whole new style of play,” Getzlaf told The Athletic. “(The league) saw the benefit for me to go in and talk about spacing on the ice, how to use your body properly along the boards (when) defending against contact, as opposed to putting yourself in some tough spots.”
Over 1,157 NHL games, Ryan Getzlaf was no stranger to making and taking hits. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Women’s hockey has been played the same way for decades. But now athletes are having to adjust to a new style of play once they hit the professional ranks. Navigating that change is going to take time for many players, league officials and executives.
“It’s unprecedented to have your first professional game be the first time you’re allowed to be physical,” said Toronto Sceptres coach Troy Ryan. “You’re going from 0 to 100.”
Physicality has been a hot topic in women’s hockey for years, especially among players.
In April 2023, The Athletic conducted an anonymous poll in which the majority of players said that if they could change one rule in women’s hockey, it would be to allow more contact.
According to the International Ice Hockey Federation rulebook, “bodychecking” in women’s hockey is allowed when there is a clear intent to play the puck. What that typically meant in practice, however, was players being penalized for making contact. That has made women’s hockey conspicuously different from the NHL, where hitting — and fighting — is very much a part of the game.
Women’s hockey players have long believed they should be able to get away with more contact, particularly at the net front and along the boards — not so much in open ice, where hits get more dangerous.
Before the PWHL launched, league leaders were deciding what PWHL games should look like; making the games more physical was an easy change.
“The players want this,” said Jayna Hefford, the PWHL’s senior vice president of hockey operations, who played 17 years for the Canadian women’s national team. “We think it’s a great brand of hockey. (The players) are strong, they’re fast, they can play this way.”
The PWHL’s initial rules around bodychecking were written similar to the IIHF’s — where gaining possession of the puck was a requirement to make contact — but it was clear early on that the interpretation of the rules and the way games were officiated was going to be different. There were more hits on the boards, and more contact was allowed in puck battles.
There were injuries last season, but according to Hefford, the number of injuries did not hit an alarming level. If at any point the increased physicality was creating more injuries, the league’s chief medical officer, Tina Atkinson, was instructed to flag her concerns with hockey operations. Over a number of check-ins, Hefford said that was never the case.
But there was inconsistency in how games were called last season. And for many players, the increase in contact was a first in their career.
Some players grew up playing boys hockey, where bodychecking is introduced at the under-14 level. Those players would have learned how to absorb contact, or how to throw a good hit — albeit years ago, especially for veteran players. Bodychecking has never been permitted in youth girls hockey, which means those skills are not typically taught.
“We’re figuring it out as players,” said Toronto defender Renata Fast. “There’s going to be bad hits because players are learning how to play physically. Not only are you learning how to take a hit, you’re learning how to give it and there’s going to be instances of doing it at the wrong time.
“I think for our league it’s been a work in progress.”
Defenders like the Sceptres’ Renata Fast can now add physicality to their arsenal, but it’s a learning process. (Troy Parla / Getty Images)
That work has taken on a few different forms.
Before the start of the 2024-25 season, the PWHL announced several rule clarifications regarding bodychecking.
The rulebook now more clearly states that bodychecking is permitted when players are moving in the same direction and that hitting an opponent straight on — with “opposite-directional force” — is prohibited. The league also introduced strict guidelines around head contact; any illegal checks to the head will result in a major penalty and a game misconduct, pending a video review.
Hefford said the league sent out multiple educational videos to officials, players and team staff on things like boarding (which many around the league found to be inconsistently penalized last season), hits to the head and bodychecking, with examples on what is permitted and what should be penalized heading into the season.
“We’re all adapting to this new standard,” said Hefford. “After season one, we felt the need to really try to clarify where those lines are.”
Getzlaf was brought in to help players better protect themselves on the ice for the times when an opponent might cross those very lines the league is trying to make less blurred. He hosted two short video sessions in Toronto and Montreal, where the league’s six teams were split up for preseason.
The main areas of concern Getzlaf identified in clips was player awareness and positioning. With no contact in women’s hockey for so long, players were accustomed to turning their backs to opponents along the walls to protect the puck. Now, that could put a player in a vulnerable position.
“If somebody is coming to make a hit and you turn your back at the last second, you’re going into the boards head-first,” Getzlaf explained. “Those are certain things we have to get out of the game.”
Getzlaf also told players he’d like to see them stop either five feet from the boards, or right up against them.
“When you’re standing at three feet, you can go in pretty hard on your head,” he said. “If you get closer to the boards, your shoulders and the boards can absorb some of the hit and it allows you to be safer.”
The importance of being more aware of their surroundings on the ice — and where contact might be coming from — was perhaps the biggest takeaway for players.
“It was interesting to have someone with an outside perspective and I totally agree with it,” said Minnesota forward Taylor Heise. “In this league (players sometimes) get away with being complacently not aware of what’s going on. Whereas in the NHL, your life is at stake at that point. You’re not going to turn and not know where you’re going because you’re going to get your ass laid out.”
Player awareness on the ice was a big takeaway for the Minnesota Frost’s Taylor Heise. (Michael Chisholm / Getty Images)
Some teams had already taken the onus on themselves to help teach players how to safely get hit. The Ottawa Charge brought in former NHL defender Marc Methot to run a hitting clinic ahead of the inaugural season. Minnesota coach Ken Klee, who played 934 games in the NHL, instructed players himself.
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Klee said. “I’m more concerned with can we absorb checks, can we get out of the way, can we protect ourselves, rather than us being the big bad (Philadelphia) Flyers.”
And while protecting yourself is important, Klee has also emphasized to players the lines that should not be crossed, particularly when it comes to dangerous boarding penalties, which are called when a player hits an opponent violently into the boards.
“If you see numbers (on the back of their jersey) you have to let up,” he said. “If you see numbers, you can’t go finish them and say it’s on her because she didn’t look.”
At a recent Toronto Sceptres practice, Ryan spent most of the skate working with players on angling while on the defensive side of the puck. Having a good angle, he said, is critical for proper defensive positioning, but it also allows for safer contact versus going straight at an opponent.
“I want physicality. I think it’s a big part of the game, but I don’t want it to be reckless,” he said. “It’s our job to make as many adjustments as we can to get athletes ready for physical play – it’s no different than helping an athlete get ready for our power play or penalty kill.”
With more contact looming, many players took a different approach to training in the summer to prepare for the 2024-25 season.
Around 20 PWHL players spent the summer at Shield Athletics — a facility in Burlington, Ont., 35 miles from downtown Toronto — with a more holistic training plan that included rehab, mobility, strength training and on-ice sessions.
“Last year opened a lot of players’ and trainers’ eyes into all those little rehab exercises that needed to be implemented in our programming,” said Fast.
At Shield, players spent several weeks working on their mobility and any nagging injuries or weaknesses in their body before moving onto any heavy lifting.
“If you’re not dealing with these minor weaknesses, when there’s contact, all of a sudden they catch up to you and they catch up to you very fast,” said Shield founder Brandon Coccimiglio, who worked with the PWHL players.
In the gym, players focused on building strength more than they’d done in previous offseasons, especially in their upper body. On the ice, Coccimiglio ran drills that simulated the kind of in-game contact situations players are most likely to be in, like escaping pressure while carrying the puck or taking a hit and making a pass.
“When you build that confidence in that body with that athlete,” Coccimiglio said, “all of a sudden they’re going into the boards and it’s not even fazing them.”
Despite all the adjustments, there have already been controversial hits this season.
Fast was boarded hard in Toronto’s first game of the season. Sarah Fillier, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, was needlessly hit into New York’s open bench door in a game against Boston. Last week, Minnesota defender Maggie Flaherty was suspended for two games after what the league’s player safety committee called an “unsafe and dangerous” hit on Boston forward Alina Müller.
Flaherty was initially given a major penalty and game misconduct for an illegal hit to the head, which was downgraded to a minor after a video review. The officials believed Müller’s own stick hit her in the head, not Flaherty.
But the league still handed down a suspension for multiple infractions: a north-south hit with no intent to play the puck, an extended elbow and avoidable head contact.
“We just went over this with players,” said Hefford, who is on the player safety committee. “All of those things cannot be part of the game. And we wanted to make sure we didn’t allow any sort of gray area.”
The hope for many stakeholders in the women’s game is that some form of body contact is introduced at lower levels so players are more prepared as they move up the ranks and eventually get to professional hockey. Nobody wants dangerous bodychecks in girls youth hockey. Instead, the focus would be on teaching players how to use their body safely and how to defend against contact. That way, when they get to the PWHL, it’s a more seamless transition into contact hockey.
“I think it has to be addressed at younger ages,” said Coccimiglio, who said he’s been working with some youth female hockey players on controlled contact scenarios. “The game is getting more physical and they have to be prepared for that.”
While it’s still a work in progress, most players ultimately see this increased physicality as a good thing for the game.
“It allows for the game to be played at a higher level,” said Fast. “It brings more fan engagement. There’s a lot of benefits to it.”
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic. Photos: Chris Young / The Canadian Press via AP, Bailey Hillesheim Icon Sportswire via Getty)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The World Cup group stage can get complicated quickly.
With 48 teams participating for the first time ever, FIFA instituted new tiebreaker rules to determine the top two in each group along with the eight highest third-place finishers.
Below, FOX Sports Research has broken down what each team needs to advance, what results would send them through, and which scenarios could leave their fate hanging in the balance.
Here’s where every group stands heading into the next round of matches, and the simple scenarios for them to advance.
Note: Below scenarios are through all games played on June 25. Additionally, three points is now the minimum required for teams to advance as one of the eight third-place teams.
GROUP A SCENARIOS
- Mexico won the group and will face a third-place team from either Group C or E in the Round of 32 in Mexico City on June 30.
- South Africa finished as runner-up in the group, and will play Canada on June 28 in Los Angeles.
- South Korea finished third, and currently ranks eighth among the third-place teams.
- Czechia cannot advance to the knockout stage.
Mexico celebrates after securing the top spot in Group in the win vs. South Korea.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
GROUP B SCENARIOS
- Switzerland won the group and will play a third-place team from either Group G or J in the Round of 32 in Vancouver on July 2.
- Canada finished as runner-up in the group and will play South Africa on June 28 in Los Angeles.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina finished third, and will play USA in the Round of 32 on July 1 in Santa Clara.
- Qatar cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP C SCENARIOS
- Brazil won the group and will play Japan on June 29 in Houston.
- Morocco finished as runner-up of the group and will play the Netherlands on June 29 in Monterrey.
- Scotland finished in third, and currently ranks tenth among third-place teams.
- Haiti cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP D SCENARIOS
- USA won the group, and will play Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on July 1 in Santa Clara.
- Australia finished as runner-up of the group and will play Egypt on July 3 in Arlington.
- Paraguay finished in third, and will play Germany on June 29 in Foxborough.
- Türkiye cannot advance to the knockout stage.
Folarin Balogoun of the U.S.
GROUP E SCENARIOS
- Germany won the group and will play Paraguay on June 29 in Foxborough.
- Ivory Coast finished as runner-up of the group and will play Norway on June 30 in Arlington.
- Ecuador finished in third, and clinched a spot as a third-place team.
- Curaçao cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP F SCENARIOS
- Netherlands won the group and will play Morocco on June 29 in Monterrey.
- Japan finished as runner-up of the group and will play Brazil on June 29 in Houson.
- Sweden finished third, and will play France on June 30 in East Rutherford.
- Tunisia cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP G SCENARIOS
- Belgium won the group and will play a third-place team from Group A, I, or J on July 1 in Seattle.
- Egypt finished as runner-up of the group and will play Australia on July 3 in Arlington.
- Iran finished in third and currently ranks sixth among the third-place teams.
- New Zealand cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP H SCENARIOS
- Spain won the group and will play the runner-up of Group J on July 2 in Los Angeles.
- Cape Verde finished as runner-up of the group and will play Argentina on July 3 in Miami.
- Uruguay cannot advance to the knockout stage.
- Saudi Arabia cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP I SCENARIOS
- France won the group and will play Sweden on June 30 in East Rutherford.
- Norway finished as runner-up of the group and will play Ivory Coast on June 30 in Arlington.
- Senegal finished in third, and clinched a spot as a third-place team.
- Iraq cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP J SCENARIOS
- Argentina won the group and will face Cape Verde on July 3 in Miami.
- Austria will advance with a win or draw; in a draw, the runner-up will be decided by tiebreakers.
- Algeria will advance with a win or draw; in a draw, the runner-up will be decided by tiebreakers.
- Jordan cannot advance to the knockout stage.
Lionel Messi of Argentina.
GROUP K SCENARIOS
- Colombia has advanced.
- Colombia will win the group with a win or draw.
- Portugal will advance with a win or draw, and will win the group with a win.
- Uzbekistan can advance with a win, but it is not guaranteed.
GROUP L SCENARIOS
- England will advance with a win/draw.
- England will win the group with a win AND a Ghana draw/loss.
- Ghana will advance with a win/draw.
- Ghana will win the group with a win AND an England draw/loss.
- Panama cannot advance to the knockout stage.
SAN DIEGO — The home run that Roki Sasaki gave up to San Diego’s Ty France was more dramatic than the two walks he issued to open the inning. But it was the free passes that really hurt him.
In the Dodgers’ 7-1 loss to the Padres on Friday, Sasaki was out of the game before he could record an out in the fifth inning. He gave up only three hits but issued five walks, tying his season high, and hit a batter.
“I actually felt different than I ever felt before, mechanically,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo, noting that his lower body felt a little off. “So I need to go over it and see what was really happening.”
Sasaki successfully pitched around traffic for much of his outing, other than the three-run homer to France in the second inning. But the inefficiency sent his pitch count past 80 before he exited with runners on first and second in the fifth.
“I’m not going to have it every time out, so that’s something I have to improve,” Sasaki said. “And also the game plan. I was able to execute some of the pitches, but some of the pitches I couldn’t, so that’s something I have to go through before next start.”
Earlier this month, when Sasaki held the Angels scoreless through seven two-hit innings, it seemed as if he’d had a breakthrough. But in three starts since, including a seven-run dud against the Chicago White Sox two weeks ago, he has yet to pitch through the sixth inning.
“I am a little surprised, because there was such good momentum going on,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Hopefully we can get him back to throwing the way he did in May.”
The Padres’ Walker Buehler walks off after holding his old team to one run for 5-1/3 innings Friday at Petco Park.
(Derrick Tuskan / Ap Photo/derrick Tuskan)
Sasaki’s command issues Friday showed up almost immediately. After striking out Padres leadoff hitter Fernando Tatis Jr., Sasaki walked Samad Taylor on 10 pitches. But Sasaki bounced back by inducing a double play.
The next inning, there would be no such escape. Sasaki walked both Manny Machado, whom he also battled for 10 pitches, and Gavin Sheets to open the frame. Then Xander Bogaerts’ sharp line drive to center field found leather.
France’s long fly ball to left field, however, found the seats.
Sasaki’s only clean inning, the third, was made possible by catcher Dalton Rushing’s successful challenge of a called ball four against Tatís, flipping a walk into a strikeout.
“I know that there’s confidence in there,” Roberts said. “But when you feel good and you don’t feel good mechanically and can’t execute pitches, then the results are walks, and 1-2 [count] homers, and things like that. But I do think that we can kind of tackle the mechanical things that he’s probably looking for right now.”
The Padres piled on in the eighth inning against reliever Jonathan Hernandez, as the sold-out crowd chanted “Beat L.A.!”
Mookie Betts hit a home run off former teammate Walker Buehler for his second homer in as many games. Betts seems to have come out of his offensive funk, entering Friday with a 1.061 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over the previous 11 games.
Buehler earned the win, delivering five strikeouts in 5⅓ innings.
“[Buehler] is reinventing himself,” Roberts said. “He’s throwing the kitchen sink at you. Cutter, slider, changeup, two-seamers. He doesn’t just try to bully you, and he’s finding ways to just get guys out. So yeah, he’s gonna still go up there and compete.”
The Dodgers went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and squandered a bases-loaded opportunity with one out in the sixth inning after chasing Buehler. Max Muncy popped out and Kyle Tucker, back in the lineup after exiting Monday’s game because of back spasms, flied out.
The Dodgers have built such a big lead in the division that the loss barely made a dent. The Padres, in second place, trail by eight games.
Caitlin Clark hit in throat during WNBA loose-ball scramble, sparking backlash and game suspension
WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark was hit in the throat during a loose-ball scramble, sparking outrage and a one-game suspension for Alyssa Thomas. Fox News’ Garrett Tenney reports on the ‘absolutely unacceptable’ incident and the coach’s reaction. Political analyst Gianno Caldwell discusses Clark’s immense impact on WNBA viewership, including a $2.2 billion deal, and the role of gender and race in the controversy.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Phoenix Mercury All-Star Alyssa Thomas is the latest villain to Caitlin Clark fans after punching Clark in the throat during a game on Wednesday night.
The referees missed the punch in real time, but fans and the league office did not.
A viral clip of the punch in slow motion spread across social media, pouring gasoline on the ongoing culture war surrounding Clark’s physical treatment by opposing players, which has been a controversial issue dating back to Clark’s rookie season in 2024.
And Less than 24 hours after the incident, the WNBA slapped Thomas with a one-game suspension for what was deemed a “reckless” and “non-basketball act.”
Who is the woman behind the punch?
If Thomas wasn’t in the WNBA, she says she would go pro in combat sports
In a 2019 interview with Nike PLAYlist, Thomas answered what sport she would have gone pro in if she didn’t go pro in basketball.
“Either boxing or MMA,” Thomas said.
If Thomas never went pro in any sport, she said she would have gotten into dentistry.
“Since I was a kid, I loved going to the dentist. I just was fascinated with teeth and still am. I’m passionate about that whole process of cleaning,” according to a profile on WNBA.com.
The first time Thomas stepped on a basketball court, she threw a ‘hissy fit’
Thomas was signed up to try basketball for the first time at the age of five by her mother, Tina, per the WNBA.
Thomas said she “Threw myself all down the stairs, down the hallway,” while her mom said “She just threw an absolute hissy fit.”
WNBA SUSPENDS ALYSSA THOMAS FOR ‘RECKLESSLY’ HITTING CAITLIN CLARK IN THROAT DURING SCRAMBLE
Her parents didn’t let her win a popular board game
Thomas’ parents never took it easy on her when they played “Candyland” as she was growing up.
“We weren’t the parents that were just going to let you win,” Tina said, per the WNBA.
“In life, you have to fight, and how are you going to fight if you don’t teach your kids to fight? So if she fell over, ‘get up, you’re alright,’ and if she didn’t get up, you knew something was wrong.”
It was a parenting tactic also used by the father of New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, who famously never let Jeter win in board games or card games when he was growing up, to instill harsh competitiveness at an early age.
Thomas added that her mom was especially hard on her and helped develop her toughness.
“By no means was it easy, and it’s still not easy,” Thomas said.
Thomas plays more physically because shoulder issues hinder her shooting ability
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas scrambles to get up over Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 24, 2026. The Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 111-109. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Thomas currently plays basketball with torn labrums in both of her shoulders.
The injuries are so severe that she completely lacks the structural integrity to lift her arms and shoot a traditional, fluid jump shot. Instead, she is forced to use a rigid, one-handed pushing motion from her chest just to get the ball to the rim.
Because she cannot rely on outside shooting, Thomas adapted by leaning entirely into her physical frame. She drives directly into the teeth of opposing defenses, absorbing heavy contact in the paint to score closer to the basket.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark shown after falling in the lane while Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas watches the ball at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana on June 24, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
That brutal, driving style requires her to initiate intense physical collisions on nearly every single possession.
Despite the mechanical limitations and constant pain, the tactical shift worked. She transformed herself into a six-time All-Star, three-time First-Team All-WNBA, an Olympic gold medalist and the undisputed triple-double queen of the WNBA.
Thomas has been the center of immense criticism this week
The throat punch on Clark ignited a fierce wave of backlash.
Indiana Fever Head Coach Stephanie White led the charge, completely unloading on Thomas and the league’s officials during her postgame press conference.
“We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called,” White said, pointing directly at Thomas’s actions. “Absolutely unacceptable.”
White argued that Thomas regularly crosses the line from playing physical defense into inflicting dangerous, non-basketball contact.
“It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful,” White continued to fume to reporters. “The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous.”
On Thursday, Fever President Kelly Krauskopf released a statement praising the decision to suspend Thomas.
“Player safety should be paramount in our league. We appreciate the WNBA’s review of last night’s incident and the action taken. Right now our focus is on Caitlin and our entire team as we prepare for Saturday,” Krauskopf wrote.
Former Minnesota Vikings captain and prominent conservative activist Jack Brewer said the punch would be considered a “hate crime” if the roles were reversed.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“This would be considered a hate crime if it were the other way around,” Brewer told Fox News Digital.
Other critics have expressed their own outrage on social media.
-
San Francisco, CA9 minutes agoServing up a slice of Palestine at Old Jerusalem in the Mission District
-
Dallas, TX12 minutes agoAll-day restaurant and patio coming to Dallas’ Knox and more top stories
-
Miami, FL17 minutes agoBugtopia takes center stage at Zoo Miami
-
Boston, MA24 minutes agoWhat JJ Peterka Will Add to the Bruins’ Roster, ‘He’s Got an Elite Shot’ | Boston Bruins
-
Denver, CO27 minutes agoThis Boulder farm dinner serves up midsummer Slavic vibes with James Beard-worthy fare
-
Seattle, WA32 minutes agoSeattle Pride weekend to bring parade, festivals and World Cup crowds
-
San Diego, CA39 minutes agoYour Produce Man – Great produce at the San Diego Farmers Market! 8am
-
Milwaukee, WI42 minutes agoSee the corpse flower in bloom this weekend at the Domes
