1st NWHL All-Star Game

The 1st NWHL All-Star Game took place on January 24, 2016 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York. The event featured two 20-minute periods in a 4-on-4 format and a Skills Competition. Team Pfalzer entered the game with a 4-0 lead having won all events in the Skills Competition.
This edition of the All-Star Game featured a "fantasy draft" format in order to determine the rosters. The team captains were Hilary Knight from the Boston Pride, and forward Emily Pfalzer, also a team captain with the Buffalo Beauts. Team Knight had the first pick overall and selected Kacey Bellamy. The captains each chose 11 players for their team.
==Draft==
Each captain had to select at least one player from all four teams in the NWHL. In addition, each captain had to select two goalies among their 11 selections. Two available spots on each team would be determined by fan balloting, which would take place from December 11–14, 2015, with winning players announced on December 15.
Team Knight	Team Knight	Team Knight 	Team Knight 	Team Knight
Num. 	Nat. 	Player 	Team 	Pos.
1 	 	Kacey Bellamy 	Boston Pride 	Defense
3 	 	Kelli Stack 	Connecticut Whale	Forward
5 	 	Kaleigh Fratkin 	Connecticut Whale	Forward
7 	 	Janine Weber 	New York Riveters	Forward
9 	 	Jaimie Leonoff 	Connecticut Whale	Goaltender
11 	 	Alyssa Gagliardi 	Boston Pride 	Defense
13 	 	Jordan Smelker 	Boston Pride 	Forward
15 	 	Brianne McLaughlin	Buffalo Beauts 	Goaltender
17 	 	Shelby Bram 	Buffalo Beauts 	Forward
19 	 	Amanda Pelkey 	Boston Pride 	Forward
21 	 	Jordan Brickner 	Connecticut Whale	Defense
Team Pfalzer	Team Pfalzer	Team Pfalzer 	Team Pfalzer 	Team Pfalzer	Team Pfalzer
Round 	Nat. 	Player 	Team 	Pos. 	
2 	 	Brianna Decker 	Boston Pride 	Forward 	
4 	 	Meghan Duggan 	Buffalo Beauts 	Forward 	
6 	 	Kelley Steadman 	Buffalo Beauts 	Forward 	
8 	 	Nana Fujimoto 	New York Riveters	Goaltender 	
10 	 	Megan Bozek 	Buffalo Beauts 	Defense 	
12 	 	Gisele Marvin 	Boston Pride 	Defence 	
14 	 	Blake Bolden 	Boston Pride 	Defense 	
16 	 	Brittany Ott 	Boston Pride 	Goaltender 	
18 	 	Shiann Darkangelo	Connecticut Whale	Defense 	
20 	 	Emily Field 	Boston Pride 	Defense 	
22 	 	Zoe Hickel 	Boston Pride 	Defense 	
===Fan voting===
Over 62,000 votes were cast in order to select four more players to add to the All-Star Game rosters. Madison Packer and Hayley Williams were assigned to Team Knight, while Morgan Fritz-Ward and Devon Skeat shall suit up with Team Pfalzer.
Player 	Nationality	Team 	# of votes
Madison Packer 	 	New York Riveters	13,397
Morgan Fritz-Ward	 	New York Riveters	6,948
Hayley Williams 	 	Buffalo Beauts 	6,384
Devon Skeats 	 	Buffalo Beauts 	4,726
==Game summary==
The starting goaltenders in the contest were Nana Fujimoto for Team Pfalzer and Jaimie Leonoff for Team Knight.
Kelley Steadman would score the first goal in All-Star Game history, providing Team Pfalzer with the lead, as Leonoff allowed said goal. Earning the assists on Steadman's historic goal was Meghan Duggan. Adding to Team Pfalzer's lead was Emily Field, who would also score on Leonoff in the first.
In the second period, Brianne McLaughlin would replace Leonoff for Team Knight, while Brittany Ott stood between the pipes for Team Pfalzer. Along with Blake Bolden, Field and Kaleigh Fratkin, Ott would become one of four women to have competed in the 2015 Women's Winter Classic and the inaugural NWHL All-Star Game.
Steadman would score on McLaughlin, generating the first multi-goal performance in All-Star Game history. Other Team Pfalzer skaters that would score included Shiann Darkangelo and Devon Skeats, who became the first Canadian to score a goal in the NWHL All-Star Game. During the second, Hayley Williams would score the only goal of the game for Team Knight.
===Skills competition===
Held prior to the game itself, there were four different skills events. Whichever team would prevail in each event would gain one point that would count towards the All-Star Game's final score. Of note, Team Pfalzer captured the win in all four events at the Skills Competition, gaining four points. In the hardest shot competition, Megan Bozek was the winner, with a shot of 88 mph.
== References ==
Category:National Women's Hockey League (2015–)
Category:Buffalo Beauts
Category:2016 in ice hockey