PWHL INAUGURAL SEASON ROSTERS
PWHL MINNESOTA WEBSITE
HOCKEY NEWS FEATURE ON PWHL RESERVES

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University women's hockey alumnae Nikki Nightengale '20 has been added to the new Professional Women's Hockey League's Minnesota franchise as a reserve defender, with the team beginning its inaugural season in early January.

Nightengale is one of three reserves for the Minnesota team, which has a 23-player active roster and one player on long-term injured reserve. According to a story on the PWHL website: "Reserve Players will train exclusively with their teams throughout the season and may be added to rosters through Standard Player Agreements, including a Short-Term SPA, if called upon to play." Nightengale was a training camp invitee to the PWHL Minnesota roster.

The PWHL is a professional hockey league for female athletes in its first year in 2023-24. The Minnesota franchise is one of six in the league's debut season, which also includes teams in New York; Boston; Montreal, Quebec; Toronto, Ontario; and Ottawa, Ontario. Minnesota will be playing at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., with its home opener on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2:30 p.m. (CT) against Montreal. Minnesota opens its season on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. (CT) at Boston.

One of the top defenders in Augsburg women's hockey history, Nightengale was a two-time American Hockey Coaches Association Division III All-American (2018-19, 2019-20) at Augsburg. She also earned All-USCHO.com honors in the 2018-19 campaign. She earned All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors three times -- one of only six Auggies in program history to earn three or more All-MIAC honors. 

Nightengale played in 104 games in her Augsburg career, scoring 22 goals with 35 assists for 57 points -- tied for 21st in school history in goals, tied for 11th in assists and tied for 16th in points. She scored 13 goals and added six assists in the 2018-19 season, and scored four goals with 13 assists in 2019-20. 

She was a member of one of the best four-year classes in program history, going 68-28-10 in her four seasons, including a 49-14-9 record in MIAC play. The Auggies reached the MIAC postseason playoffs all four years of her career, including reaching the title game twice.