Starting March 18 and running through the weekend, AdventHealth Center Ice, at 3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, will host the Premier Hockey Federation’s (PHF’s) 2022 Isobel Cup Playoffs. This marks the first time the women’s hockey league will play its championship game outside of its franchise markets.
“This is like the Stanley Cup for this women’s hockey league,” said Gordie Zimmerman, the ice center’s CEO, who has run the facility since it opened more than five years ago. “We’re thrilled to be hosting this with the PHF and look forward to some great hockey over the few days these teams will be here.”
Center Ice is the largest ice sports facility in the southeastern U.S. It has housed events such as the 2017 Four Nations Cup and the 2021 NHL Prospect Showcase.
All six PHF teams will participate in the tournament and all of those games are on ESPN+. The Isobel Cup Championship game is scheduled for March 28 at 9 p.m., and will be shown on ESPN2. Five games will be played on March 25, followed by two semifinals on March 27. Tickets on Eventbrite are only available for games March 25, while the semifinals and championship are sold out.
The six PHF teams are the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride (the 2021 Isobel Cup winner), Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps and Toronto Six. The Isobel Cup is named after Lord Frederick Arthur Stanley’s daughter, Isobel, who shared his love of the game and is known to be one of the first female hockey players in Canada.
