PWHL Players of the Week: Natalie Spooner, Savannah Harmon and Aerin Franklin thrive in Week 4

We’ve reached the one-month mark of the PWHL’s inaugural season! To cap it off, let’s look at three players who stood out and made their mark in Week 4 of the PWHL.

Take a look at last week’s Players of the Week, courtesy of Tyler Kuehl.

Natalie Spooner (F, Toronto)

When a team starts from scratch, there’s going to be plenty of firsts, and it feels like Natalie Spooner has accomplished most of them for Toronto. The Scarborough native scored the first goal in franchise history, and on Friday, she scored the first Highlight of the Night-worthy goal.

That snipe was buried nearly 17 minutes into the second period, and I can tell you that in the first 37 minutes of the game, Spooner was on a mission, getting multiple rushes up ice and generating scoring chances. She would add a second goal in the third period and Toronto would come away with their first home win in franchise history, another first led by Spooner.

“I think we knew it was a big game and we needed to turn the tides,” Spooner said after the win. “Every game I’m trying to get better, I haven’t played that many games in the last two years so to try and feel the momentum of how it goes has been something I’m trying to get back into.

“Luckily I feel like myself again,” she said. If that’s the case, then we may see Toronto climb up the standings as we get into February.

Savannah Harmon (D, Ottawa)

While the No. 5 overall pick in the PWHL Draft didn’t jump off the scoresheet, recording two assists through Ottawa’s three games this week, Savannah Harmon’s solid two-way play earns her the spot of the defensive Player of the Week.

Harmon is being relied on in all situations and earning quite a bit of ice time. She was also able to generate six shots on net between the three games. Ottawa fans are starting to see why Harmon is a staple on the U.S. National Team.

Aerin Frankel (G, Boston)

What I’ve learned in the first month of covering this league is that with only six teams in the league, on any given night you’re going to see world-class goaltending. We’ve already seen that with New York’s Corrine Schroeder and Montreal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens, and now we’re seeing it with Boston’s Aerin Frankel.

After a rough first outing against Minnesota on Jan. 3, the 2021 Patty Kazmaier Award winner has looked dominant in her three appearances since, only giving up four goals on 77 shots, a .945 SV% during that span. She only started once this week, but her 37 saves on 39 shots against Ottawa last Wednesday helped pave the way for a 3-2 win for Boston.

As of the publishing of this piece, Boston is third in the standings. There’s no doubt that Frankel and her 1.91 GAA is a large part of why.