PWHL Player Safety Committee Announces Disciplinary Action

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NEW YORK AND TORONTO (May 9, 2025) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (pwhlpwhl) today announced that, after an automatic review by the PWHL Player Safety Committee, Minnesota Frost forward Britta Curl-Salemme has been assessed a one-game suspension for an illegal check to the head in Game 1 of the PWHL Playoffs against Toronto.

The Player Safety Committee determined that Curl-Salemme, at 14:37 of the second period in Wednesday’s game, delivered a high and forceful check on opponent Renata Fast, making the head the main point of contact on a play where such contact to the head was avoidable. The play resulted in a major penalty and a game misconduct in violation of PWHL Rule 48 – Illegal Check to the Head.

This is the third one-game suspension assessed to Curl-Salemme this season following a high sticking incident on Jan. 2 against Boston and an illegal check to the head on Mar. 9 against Toronto.

Click here for a video of the incident with an explanation from the PWHL Player Safety Committee.

The PWHL Player Safety Committee monitors all games and is responsible for providing independent review and recommendations on supplementary discipline. Chaired by Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, the committee also includes Cassie Campbell-Pascall, PWHL Special Advisor; Bill McCreary, a former NHL referee and Hockey Hall of Fame member; Mike Murphy, a long-time NHL executive and former VP of Hockey Operations; Matt McMahon, a member of the NHL’s Player Safety department.

About the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) 

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprised of six teams in Boston, Minnesota, Montréal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto, each with rosters featuring the best women’s hockey players in the world. Launched on Jan. 1, 2024, the PWHL has broken multiple attendance records and holds the worldwide all-time record for a women’s hockey game. In 2024, the PWHL was recognized by Sports Business Journal as the Sports Breakthrough of the Year and received the top position in the first-ever Canadian edition of the Harris Poll, which ranks companies’ reputations. Visit thepwhl.com to purchase tickets and merchandise, and subscribe to the PWHL e-newsletter to receive the latest league updates. Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial.