The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) were a professional women's
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team based in
East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the
American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.
They were one of the four charter franchises of the
National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), later known as the
Premier Hockey Federation
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), com ...
(PHF). Its team name and logo were based upon
Rosie the Riveter, the subject of the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
-era motivational poster "
We Can Do It!". The Riveters played one season in Brooklyn before moving to the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
practice rink in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, in 2016. The team then formed a promotional affiliation with the Devils and were renamed the Metropolitan Riveters; the partnership ended in 2019. The team folded in 2023, when the PHF's assets were purchased and the league dissolved.
History
The first player signed to a contract was
Janine Weber, who also became the first player in the history of the NWHL to be signed to a contract. With the first pick overall in the
2015 NWHL Draft, the Riveters selected
Alex Carpenter, a medalist from the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The team made its debut in
2015 playing at
Aviator Sports & Events Center in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. The first player to ever score a goal for the Riveters was Brooke Ammerman. The New York Riveters won their first game against the
Boston Pride on November 15, 2015.
Nana Fujimoto became the first New York Riveters goaltender to earn a win in the NWHL and the first Japanese born goaltender to win a NWHL game.
Meghan Fardelmann became the first Riveter to record a
hat trick.
On May 1, 2016, the Riveters signed free agent
Amanda Kessel to a one-year deal worth $26,000, making her the highest paid player in the league. At the
2016 NWHL Draft, held in Brooklyn, the Riveters held the first overall pick for the second consecutive year and selected
Kelsey Koelzer from the
Princeton Tigers women's ice hockey program.
On August 1, 2016, it was announced that the Riveters would move from Brooklyn to Barnabas Health Hockey House at the
Prudential Center
Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...
in Newark, New Jersey.
Prior to their second season in New Jersey, the Riveters announced they had partnered with the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL), becoming the first NWHL team to officially partner with an NHL team. Upon the announcement, the Riveters changed their name to the Metropolitan Riveters to reflect the broader geographic region. The Riveters also adopted the colors of the Devils and changed their jerseys. As part of the new affiliation, the Riveters and Devils held a doubleheader for the Riveters'
2017–18 season opener against the Boston Pride followed by the Devils' game against the
Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...
at the Prudential Center. In the 2017–18 season, the Riveters won both the regular season and the
Isobel Cup against the previous champions, the
Buffalo Beauts.
At the end of their 2017–18 championship season, original head coach
Chad Wiseman resigned, taking a job closer to home as an assistant with the
Guelph Storm, and was replaced by
Randy Velischek.
In March 2019, it was announced that the professional level
Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) would discontinue operations.
In response to the folding of the CWHL, players from both leagues were dissatisfied in the operation of both the NWHL and CWHL in that neither league provided health insurance or a livable salary. Due to these conditions, over 200 players released a joint statement announcing their intent to not participate in any North American professional league for the 2019–20 season. In response, the NWHL committed to pursuing many more sponsors than in previous years in hopes of increasing player salaries.
On May 17, 2019, it was reported that the New Jersey Devils were ending their partnership with the Riveters. Following the dissolution of the partnership, the Riveters no longer had a lease to operate out of Barnabas Health Hockey House at the Prudential Center in Newark, which they had used rent-free as part of their partnership. The team then changed home venues to ProSkate Ice Arena in
Monmouth Junction, New Jersey,
and returned to their original blue, red, and white colors. The team was eliminated in the semifinal game by the
Minnesota Whitecaps prior to the championship being cancelled by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
The following season was then delayed amidst the capacity and travel restrictions during the pandemic. The
2020–21 season eventually started on January 23, 2021, with the entire season to be played at
Herb Brooks Arena in
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205.
The village of Lake Placid ...
, without fans in attendance and teams kept in isolation. However, after playing three games, the Riveters were forced to withdraw from the two-week season on January 28 after several members of the organization tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.
On May 26, 2021, the league announced the Riveters had been sold to BTM Partners, owners of the Boston Pride and
Toronto Six, with John Boynton named the team's chairman.
On September 14, 2022, the Riveters announced that they would play their home games at The Rink at the American Dream Meadowlands retail and entertainment complex for the next three years.
On June 29, 2023, it was announced that the PHF and its assets had been purchased as part of a bid to create a new, unified professional women's league.
This led to the PHF and its teams folding, and the founding of the
Professional Women's Hockey League
The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL; , LPHF) is a women's professional ice hockey league in North America. The league comprises eight teams, four each from the United States and Canada. The teams play a Season (sports), regular season ...
in August 2023.
Season-by-season records
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Team
2022–23 roster
Coaching staff and team personnel
* General Manager: Tori Charron
* Head coach:
Venla Hovi
* Associate head coach: Ivo Mocek
* Goaltending coach: Mitch Harris
* Equipment manager: Regina Bataille
Team captains
*
Ashley Johnston, 2015–2018
*
Michelle Picard, 2018–19
*
Madison Packer, 2019–2023
Head coaches
*
Chad Wiseman, 2015–2018
*
Randy Velischek, 2018–19
*
Ivo Mocek, 2019–2022
*
Venla Hovi, 2022–2023
General managers
*
Dani Rylan, 2015–16
*
Kate Whitman Annis, 2019–2021
*
Anya Packer, 2021–22
*
Tori Charron, 2022–2023
NWHL draft
A draft lottery was held for the
2015 NWHL Draft, taking place on June 20, 2015. and the New York Riveters earned the first pick overall. With the first pick in the 2015 NWHL Draft, the New York Riveters selected
Alex Carpenter.
2015 NWHL Draft
The following were the Riveters selections in the
2015 NWHL Draft on June 20, 2015.
Awards and honors
*
Ashley Johnston, New York Riveters, 2017 NWHL
Denna Laing Perseverance Award
*
Katie Fitzgerald, New York Riveters, 2017 NWHL Goaltender of the Year
Franchise milestones
References
External links
*
{{NYC Metro sports
Defunct ice hockey teams in New Jersey
Sports in Newark, New Jersey
Defunct women's ice hockey teams in the United States
Premier Hockey Federation teams
2015 establishments in New York (state)
2016 establishments in New Jersey
2023 disestablishments in New Jersey
Ice hockey clubs established in 2015
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2023