Nicole Hensley
| Nicole Hensley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hensley with PWHL Minnesota in 2024 | |||
| Born |
June 23, 1994 Littleton, Colorado, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | ||
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| PWHL team Former teams |
PWHL Las Vegas Lindenwood Lady Lions Minnesota Frost | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| Playing career | 2012–present | ||
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Nicole Hensley (born June 23, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for PWHL Las Vegas of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She previously played for the Minnesota Frost of the PWHL.
Playing career
Lindenwood University
Hensley debuted with the Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey team during the 2012-13 Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey season. Hensley won four consecutive CHA Student-Athlete of the Year awards, and landed on the CHA all-Academic team each year.[1]
NWHL
On June 12, 2018, Hensley signed a contract with the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).[2] In her debut for the Beauts, Hensley earned a shutout win over Finnish Olympian Meeri Räisänen of the Connecticut Whale in a 4–0 final on October 7, 2018.[3] In the 2019 NWHL All-Star Weekend, Hensley won the Chipwich Fastest Goalie competition.[4]
PWHPA
Hensley was scheduled to be one of three goaltenders to play in the PWHPA Dream Gap tour stop in Tokyo, Japan, along with Kimberley Sass and Alex Cavalinni.[5]
PWHL
On September 18, 2023, Hensley was selected in the 2nd round, 12th overall by PWHL Minnesota in the 2023 PWHL Draft, the first goaltender selected. Playing in a tandem with Maddie Rooney, she delivered two shutouts in the playoffs and the team won the first-ever Walter Cup to conclude the 2023–24 season.
In 2025, Hensley had the opportunity to play in front of her hometown crowd as part of the PWHL Takeover Tour. She noted it was the first women's game at Denver's Ball Arena since 2001.[6] She delivered a 24-save shutout with one game to go in the season to put the Frost within one point of the fourth-place charge, giving the Frost the opportunity to make the playoffs.[7] She played in three playoff games for the 2024–25 season and the team became back-to-back Walter Cup champions.
During the 2025–26 season, she appeared in 13 games and posted a 7–4–2 record, with a 2.69 goals against average (GAA) and .908 save percentage.[8] She had a 30-save shutout against the Seattle Torrent in an attendance record breaking game at Climate Pledge Arena in November.[9]
During the league's expansion to 12 teams ahead of the 2026–27 season, she was left unprotected by the Frost and signed a two-year contract with PWHL Las Vegas on June 10, 2026.[10]
International play
Hensley was named one of three goaltenders to compete for the United States women's national ice hockey team at the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship in Kamloops, British Columbia.[11] Hensley was also named to the 2017 team, where she was in net for a shutout against Canada in the preliminary rounds, started the quarterfinal against Germany, and played in Team USA's 3–2 OT win against Canada for the championship.[12][13]
She made the 2018 Olympic team, where the United States won the gold medal, earning a shutout win over the Russian team in her only appearance.[14]
Hensley was one of the goaltenders named to Team USA's rosters for the second half of the rivalry series between Team USA and Team Canada in 2019–2020.[15]
On January 2, 2022, Hensley was named to Team USA's roster to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[16]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T/OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2012–13 | Lindenwood Lady Lions | CHA |
27 | 7 | 16 | 3 | 1597 | 91 | 0 | 3.42 | .922 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Lindenwood Lady Lions | CHA |
33 | 5 | 25 | 3 | 1864 | 103 | 0 | 3.31 | .921 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Lindenwood Lady Lions | CHA |
30 | 10 | 17 | 2 | 1750 | 79 | 2 | 2.71 | .916 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Lindenwood Lady Lions | CHA |
32 | 8 | 20 | 4 | 1904 | 80 | 2 | 2.52 | .922 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Buffalo Beauts | NWHL |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 360 | 9 | 2 | 1.50 | .935 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 1.97 | .935 | ||
| 2019–20 | Team Minnesota | PWHPA |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | PWHPA Minnesota | PWHPA |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 4 | 0 | 1.33 | .956 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Team Sonnet | PWHPA |
13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 771 | 33 | 1 | 2.57 | .921 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | PWHL Minnesota | PWHL |
14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 849 | 31 | 1 | 2.19 | .919 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 338 | 6 | 2 | 1.06 | .945 | ||
| 2024–25 | Minnesota Frost | PWHL |
11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 639 | 27 | 1 | 2.53 | .900 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 197 | 8 | 0 | 2.43 | .906 | ||
| 2025–26 | Minnesota Frost | PWHL |
13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 781 | 35 | 1 | 2.69 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NWHL totals | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 360 | 9 | 2 | 1.50 | .935 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 1.97 | .935 | ||||
| PWHPA totals | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 771 | 33 | 1 | 2.57 | .921 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| PWHL totals | 38 | 21 | 13 | 4 | 2269 | 93 | 3 | 2.46 | .910 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 535 | 14 | 2 | 1.57 | .928 | ||||
International
| Regular season | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | T/OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
| 2018 | USA | OG |  |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 1.000 | |
| 2022 | USA | OG |  |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 1.000 | |
Awards and honors
- 2014–15 All-CHA First Team
- 2024 Walter Cup Champion[17]
- 2025 Walter Cup Champion[18]
- 2025 PWHL Intact Impact Award (honors one player from each team who best displayed leadership, integrity and commitment) [19]
References
- ↑ "Nicole Hensley Recognized at NCAA Honors Celebration". Lindenwood Lions. January 19, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ↑ Marisa Ingemi (June 13, 2018). "NWHL's Buffalo Beauts land two from gold-medal winning Team USA". ESPN. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ↑ Dan Rice (October 7, 2018). "Olympians Hensley and Räisänen Battle as Beauts Defeat Whale, 4-0". NWHL.zone. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ↑ Strollo, Leighann (February 7, 2020). "2020 NWHL All-Star Weekend Preview". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ↑ Jay, Michelle (February 20, 2020). "PWHPA to play Dream Gap Tour stop in Japan". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ↑ Simpson, Kevin (January 10, 2025). "Colorado hockey hero Nicole Hensley returns as PWHL explores expanding its reach". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ↑ "HENSLEY SHUTS OUT OTTAWA TO KEEP MINNESOTA'S PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE". www.thepwhl.com. May 1, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ↑ "PWHL Las Vegas sings Nicole Hensley to two-year contract". thepwhl.com. June 10, 2026. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
- ↑ Staff, MPR News (November 29, 2025). "Minnesota Frost shutout new Seattle Torrent team 3-0 in front of historic 16,000 fans". MPR News. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
- ↑ "PWHL Las Vegas signs former Minnesota goalie Nicole Hensley". 8newsnow.com. June 11, 2026. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
- ↑ "USWNT Roster Announced for 2016 Women's Worlds". USA Hockey. February 24, 2016. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ↑ "2017 IIHF Women's World Championship". teamusa.usahockey.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ↑ Bevis, Hannah (September 18, 2017). "Women's Hockey Top 25 Under 25 | Number 12 - Nicole Hensley". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ↑ "USA vs OAR game report" (PDF). IIHF. February 13, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ↑ Hockey, U. S. A. (January 17, 2020). "U.S. Roster Announced for Final Three Contests of 2019-20 Rivalry Series". Team USA Hockey. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ↑ "U.S. women with 13 returnees". IIHF. January 2, 2022. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ↑ "Best Of Nicole Hensley #29 | Minnesota Frost 2023-2024 Highlights". www.thepwhl.com. October 12, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ↑ "Minnesota Frost capture second Walter Cup title". Sportsnet.ca. May 26, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ↑ "PWHL Announces 2025 Award Winners". The PWHL. June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or ThePWHL.com
- 1994 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American sportswomen
- American women's ice hockey goaltenders
- Buffalo Beauts players
- Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players from Colorado
- Lindenwood Lions women's ice hockey players
- Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics
- Minnesota Frost players
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in ice hockey
- Professional Women's Hockey Players Association players
- Sportspeople from Lakewood, Colorado
- Walter Cup champions
- Minnesota Frost draft picks