Jill Saulnier has been an energy line for the Canadian women’s national team for nearly a decade, winning two Olympic medals and a world championship.
Now, she can add a new line to her resume: in a fight with Ottawa striker Tereza Vanišová, she throws out the first real punch in the history of the professional women’s hockey league.
“We’re fighting there,” Solnier told sports. “She grabbed my stick and put it down, and it was just a green flag to me…. I said, ‘Let’s go.””
exist #pwhl. 🥊 @pwhl_bostonJill Saulnier @pwhl_ottawa‘Cross with Tereza Vanišová. #pwhl@Jill_Saulnier @vanisovatereza pic.twitter.com/l6fr5bivmv
– Melissa Burgess (@_melissaburgess) February 21, 2025
The battle in the game between the Boston Fleet and Ottawa charges on February 20 was the first in the PWHL and one of the league’s most harmful moments.
Fighting is not entirely new to women’s hockey. There was a brawl between Canada and the United States in a pre-game match before the 2014 Olympics, and there was a fight in the now-extinct National Women’s Hockey League.
Whistles on professional and international levels often have big blows and confusion. But these moments (fists flew) rarely between each other.
For the players involved in the first battle of the PWHL, this is just a natural part of the women’s game and a product of physical growth that has been created in the league.
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“It’s a fierce game, a physics game, and we’re all very competitive,” Solnier said. “It’s just the way the chips fall in the corner.”
The buildup of the battle included a hit against Vanišová, one of Ottawa’s highest-scoring forwards, and at least two additional cross checks. When Vanišová got up, she threw Saulnier’s insistence on the ground.
“I feel the next guarantee is a tough right to be right,” Solnier said. “Currently, this is physical and this battle has to happen. It’s there, it’s the message on each side.”
Given that women’s players wear full cages to protect their faces, but don’t throw gloves like men’s hockey, like most NHLERS-wearing sun visors, this leaves most of their faces exposed. In both leagues, players are not allowed to take off their helmets to fight.
“You just look foolishly dropping your gloves completely,” said Solnier, who will hit a cage with their bare hands.
Nearly 6,000 fans of Ottawa TD Place Arena stand up. The same goes for every player on the bench. Five minutes after the fight, Ottawa defender Ronja Savolainen scored 2-1 late in the third phase. When Vanišová exited the penalty box, she sent it to overtime with three seconds left in the game and registered the first informal “Gordie Howe Hat Hat Trick” in league history – helping to score goals and fighting in the same game when players score goals.
“I think it’s great to keep the fans going,” Solnier said. “I’m sure I’ll get a few boos next time I go there, but please know, it’s all respectable, and it’s fun.”
Ottawa eventually lost 3-2 in overtime, and Solnier and Vanishawa shared for a while on the post-match handshake line and said: “Fight.”
“You see the intensity of the game, which is an interesting part of the league,” Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod said after the game. “No player is backing off, and I suspect it will cause a little buzz, and that’s not bad for the game either.”
The battle became global news in the headlines of TMZ and Daily Mail, and generally does not cover women’s hockey. It’s all the rage on social media, while 16 million people in North America are watching Canada and the United States in the 4-country confrontation finale.
Last week, fans gave Solnier bracelets that spelled beads and t-shirts from the “Gill Solnier Fighting Club” that one of her family members played against Montreal on Saturday at the Bell Center.
“I think it’s more to reach out than we did when we won the gold medal,” said Solnier, a member of the 2022 Canadian Olympic team. “Obviously, you shouldn’t play every game, but I think it’s actually good because it’s more eyeing the league.”
PWHL will only be officially launched in January 2024 and will be in contact. This battle is also a good proof that the league is full of skilled players who can play at sophisticated speed and speed, but also embrace the body. Still, fighting is not what they want to be the norm.
The league’s rulebook clearly states: “Fighting is not part of a PWHL game.” Before last month’s dispute, there was no clear verdict.
Saulnier and Vanišová only gave battles to minors, which led to confusion about the rules. Last week, the league clarified that the fight will now be subject to a significant fine of five minutes and penalty for game misconduct, with further discipline likely after review and consideration of repeated offenders.
According to Saulnier, Boston general manager Danielle Marmer called it “Jill Saulnier’s rule.”
The new rules should prevent players from fighting regularly. In a short 30-game season, players may be reluctant to play extra games just to make their team promote energy after fighting. Equipment barriers will also continue to be a natural deterrent in women’s hockey battles.
Besides that, fighting is far too unusual on other levels of women’s competition. Even young girls hockey is never allowed to do fitness, meaning these skills are not usually taught. In boys hockey, training is introduced at the under-14 level, and by the time the players reach professional level, combat has become part of the game.
Saulnier believes her fight will not open the floodgates at more moments in the future. But, she said, it certainly won’t be the last time we’ve seen a fight with professional hockey in women.
“With physical level, you will never see it in PWHL,” she said.
(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / sports;Photo: Troy Parla / Getty Images)
