PWHL issues 1-game suspension and $250 fine against Frost's Curl-Salemme after playoff series opener

Frost forward Britta Curl-Salemme has been suspended by the PWHL for one game and fined $250 for two separate plays in Minnesota’s playoff semifinal series opener against Montreal, the league announced on Monday.

Curl-Salemme’s suspension stems from a game misconduct she received for an illegal check to the head on Kaitlin Willoughby in the final minute of the second period of Minnesota’s 5-4 overtime win on Saturday. The league’s Player Safety Committee determined Curl-Salemme made no attempt to play the puck and raised her forearm to complete the check in deeming the hit to Willoughby’s head being avoidable.

The fine was the result of Curl-Salemme’s altercation with Montreal’s Abby Roque, in which both were penalized for roughing earlier in the second period. The committee determined supplemental discipline was warranted in noting the Frost forward grabbed and pulled Roque’s facial protector in sending the player “to the ice with a degree of violence.”

The Frost are two-time defending Walter Cup champions, and Curl-Salemme will miss Game 2 of the best-of-five series to be played at Montreal on Tuesday. The second-year player finished the regular season third in the league with 29 points, including a PWHL-leading 18 assists.

This is Curl-Salemme's first suspension of the season, though she was fined $250 for a cross-checking penalty in March. Last season, she was issued three separate one-game suspensions, twice for illegal checks to the head, and the other time for high-sticking.

___

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey