PWHL Player Safety Committee Disciplanary Action: Jan. 13, 2026

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NEW YORK AND TORONTO (January 13, 2026) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today announced that, after an automatic review by the PWHL Player Safety Committee, Montréal Victoire forward Abby Roque has been suspended for one game. The incident reviewed was a match penalty for an illegal check to the head at 4:06 of the third period during Sunday’s game against the Vancouver Goldeneyes.

In their review, the PWHL Player Safety Committee determined that Roque took a poor angle of approach to deliver a hit on an unsuspecting player, making her opponent’s head the main point of contact on a play where such contact to the head was avoidable.

Roque has not been fined or suspended previously in her 64-game PWHL career.

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 Vice Chair Chris Burkett, PWHL Vice President of Labour Relations and Player Safety; Cassie Campbell-Pascall, PWHL Special Advisor; Meghan Duggan, Special Consultant to PWHL Hockey Operations; Mike Murphy, a long-time NHL executive and former VP of Hockey Operations; and Matt McMahon, a member of the NHL’s Player Safety department.

Here is a video of the incident with an explanation from the Player Safety Committee: