Antonia Matzka scores first PHF goal
Austria international Antonia Matzka scored her first goal in the Premier Hockey Federation, formerly the National Women´s Hockey League, a week ago. She found the net for the Buffalo Beauts against Montreal Force to make it 1:0 in the 10th minute.
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While Matzka can celebrate her first goal, things have not yet gone to plan for her team. They lost each of their first three games, including a 4:5 shootout defeat to Montreal Force. Their second game against the Canadians on Sunday finally brought their first win of the season. The 23-year-old did not register a point.
Matzka received a one-year contract with the Beauts for the 2022-23 season – her first in the PHF. The 1,80m left-shot defenceman has been part of the national team since 2014. Matzka played her NCAA college career at both Holy Cross and the University of Vermont. She graduated from Vermont in May 2022, shortly before signing in Buffalo.
Matzka played 146 NCAA games – 32 of them for Vermont last season, 2021-22, while she played the other 114 games for Holy Cross, from where she transferred after the 2020-21 season. In her NCAA career, she recorded 10 goals, 30 assists, 40 points and 80 penalty minutes. Matzka was captain at Holy Cross in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. Her best offensive season at D1 level was 2019-20, when she posted 3-5-8 in 33 games and led all defencemen on the team in points and assists.
At international level, Matzka has represented Austria at four different U18 World Championships and six World Championships. She won silver with the national team at the IIHF Division 1A World Championships in 2015 and 2017.
Matzka has played professional-level ice hockey in the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL) since the age of 13. She played 28 EWHL regular-season games for EHV Sabres Wien, scoring one goal and adding 13 assists.
