All of these individual stories are part of a bigger project highlighting Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey alumnae in the PWHL. For information about the individual teams click here. The articles reflect the 2025-26 season rosters.
TORONTO SCEPTRES
The Toronto Sceptres are one of the six inaugural teams in the PWHL. Its establishment continued the professional women’s ice hockey in Toronto, as the former Premier Hockey Federation team Toronto Six was the last one to win the Isobel Cup.
Forward Emma Woods ‘17 from Burford, Ontario, played four years at Quinnipiac University. She was selected in the inaugural PWHL draft by the New York Sires from the 81st spot, and currently plays for the Sceptres.
Being from Canada, hockey was a part of Woods’ life since she was about four years old. But it was just one of the many sports she partook in.
“My mom was pretty passionate about getting me into sports, I have a twin brother, so we both played alongside each other growing up,” Woods said. “I think I just stayed in the game all through my childhood just from the passion of the game. I was a little tomboy that just wanted to be on the ice, or the field, whatever it was.”
While it was her passion, it was never meant to be a career. Until she learned about the world of college hockey and landed at Quinnipiac.
Woods made her impact in Hamden right from the start. In her freshman season she posted 13 goals and 12 assists and never fell out of the top 15 in the nation in points per game among freshmen. She was also named ECAC Rookie of the Month.
Alongside her former teammates —and now fellow PWHL players — Shiann Darkangelo ‘15 and Kelly Babstock ‘14, they made up one of the highest scoring top forward lines in the country.
“Emma has such an explosive shot, like she can release it, and I think it’s what’s helping her to find success at the PWHL level too because that shot can be a difference maker,” Quinnipiac ice hockey’s head coach Cass Turner said.
That explosive shot certainly helped, especially in securing Quinnipiac’s first ever ECAC Regular Season Championship in 2016 after she contributed a goal and two assists in that victory.
“I have a photo on my desk of her coming in to give me a hug after we won and it was such a cool moment,” Turner said. “She’s just somebody that’s there for everyone on the team, and such a phenomenal teammate and phenomenal person.”
Woods served as a captain in her senior year and recorded 47 career goals and 59 assists, suiting up for a total of 149 games for the Bobcats.
“We had a really tight group, so that obviously made my experience extra special,” Woods said. “It’s a very strong culture, a lot of hard work and dedication. I loved going to the rink and I think my four years at Quinnipiac really shaped me as a person and a player.”
Following graduation, Woods’ career took her into the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, playing for the Vanke Rays, a China-based team. In two years, Woods amassed 35 points.
From there she migrated to Sweden, where she posted 29 points and later suited up for the PHF’s Toronto Six for three years.
“I think throughout my pro career it shaped me and allowed me to fit in with different cultures and different groups of players,” Woods said. “I think I was able to get that from playing my four years (at Quinnipiac).”
Woods was also part of the first ever PWHL game ever played, when the New York Sirens faced the Toronto Sceptres on Jan. 1, 2024.
“There was a lot of lead-up, build-up, emotions, excitement leading up to that game so it was a special night,” Woods said. “I was really trying to just be in the moment, recognizing that this is the start of something so much bigger than what that moment was, you know what I mean? Once the puck drops, you don’t even think about it. Obviously the second game was just as important, but to be able to play in that inaugural game and we got the win, it was a crazy moment and I definitely won’t forget that one for a long time.”
Currently, Woods is the only former Bobcat on the Sceptres’ roster, one of the few teams in the PWHL, without at least two former Quinnipiac players.
“That connection is something that you can bond over. I’m proud to have played at Quinnipiac and it’s fun to see all the girls come into the league,” Woods said. “I definitely follow the team, I know most of their names. You have to have a certain different skill set to have success in this league and the players they’re helping to shape are having success so it’s pretty cool to see.”
Woods now slates up for her second season with the Sceptres after recording six points in 30 games the previous year.
“I’m glad I stuck with it,” Woods said. “Having the opportunity to continue to chase a dream and be a professional hockey player, I think that’s important. I love playing hockey, it’s why I’m still doing it. I have fun doing it. I’m lucky to be able to play a sport for a living.”
She has one assist on the season as of Jan. 20.
MINNESOTA FROST
Minnesota Frost is another one of the six inaugural teams of the PWHL. Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the Frost are the two-time champions of the Walter Cup.
Defender Kendall Cooper ‘25 from Burlington, Ontario was drafted by the Frost as the No. 6 pick in the 2025 PWHL draft — the highest a former Quinnipiac player has been drafted yet.
“It was really cool,” Cooper said. “I was in Ottawa, I have some family there so I went out for breakfast with them before. It was so well run. I didn’t know what to expect but it was really cool and to have my family there with me and some of my friends who I played with and against, it was really cool and I mean, to get drafted in general is a great honor and I am definitely excited for Minnesota for sure.”
The former captain spent five years with the Bobcats and left the program as one of its most decorated players.
“She’s just really good,” Turner said. “She’s dynamic, the way she skates with the puck, it’s like the game slows down when she has it and she has such amazing vision. She can think of play ahead to play fast but she can also control the pace to slow the game down. She’s got a great shot, she’s smooth, she’s somebody who I think is gonna do very well, and it fits for her to be a first-round draft pick.”
Cooper recorded 116 total points, making her the highest scoring defender in program history. She was also the only Bobcat so far to be named to an All-ECAC Hockey team for five consecutive seasons.
“I thought I knew what I was gonna get out of the experience even before I went there, but I was quite naive,” Cooper said. “I learned so much there, and it wasn’t just being a better player, it was life skills that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
The Canadian represented her country twice in the IIHF U18 World Women’s Championship, winning a gold and silver medal. With her impressive background, her goals reached all the way to the potential Olympics rosters, before PWHL was announced.
She was a junior at that time and with two more years of college hockey in front of her, the PWHL wasn’t at the forefront of her mind. But the excitement of what was to come pushed her forward.
Suiting up for her first season of professional hockey, Cooper sees one big difference between collegiate play and the PWHL.
“The physicality,” Cooper said. “Now I’m playing against people who are older than me and they have that strength and knowledge of the game, so I think that will be an adjustment for me but at the same time, hockey is a game full of adjustments and I’m looking forward to it, it should be fun.”
Minnesota is one of the few teams that only rosters one former Quinnipiac player. But the Bobcat nation runs deep, not only among the fans but the former players as well.
“I’m in touch with a few of them and I followed along when they’ve been playing the past couple of years,” Cooper said. “I actually just skated the other day with (Boston Fleet defender) Zoe Boyd, that was fun to get on the ice with her again. I’m excited to play with them again.”
Playing in “the State of Hockey,” Cooper couldn’t wait to start her career as a professional hockey player, with her family supporting her along every step.
“I’m gonna be playing with some of the best players in the world, so it’s really cool and I’m just gonna try and learn as much as I possibly can,” Cooper said.
In her first season in the PWHL, Cooper records seven assists on the season so far as of Jan. 20.
