Former University of Maine Black Bear Tereza Vanisova became the first player in Professional Women’s Hockey League history to record a Gordie Howe hat trick — when a player scores a goal, notches an assist and is penalized for a fight during the same game — earlier this season for the Ottawa Charge.
In a 3-2 overtime loss to Boston on Feb. 20, Vanisova was chosen the game’s second star after having an assist and a goal. She also made league history during the game by trading several punches with Boston’s Jill Saulnier.
Neither player dropped their gloves, but they did register what is widely considered to be the first fight in the PWHL’s two-year history. You can watch those historic punches here courtesy of NHL.Discussion on Instagram.
A Gordie Howe hat trick gets its name from the hard-nosed and high-scoring National Hockey League Hall of Famer.
And that wasn’t the only hat trick history that Vanisova has made this season. The 29-year-old player from Czechia, who finished as UMaine’s all-time leading scorer, also became the first PWHL player to register two hat tricks in the same season.
You can watch one of those hat tricks, which she scored in a 5-2 win over the New York Sirens on March 22, in this video from the Ottawa Charge’s Instagram account.
Vanisova is also one of seven former Black Bears currently playing in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Women’s Championship. Czechia is hosting that ongoing tournament.
