NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Five former Yale Hockey players, Mallory Souliotis '17 (Boston Pride), Taylor Marchin '17 (Connecticut Whale), Emma Vlasic '19 (Connecticut), Saroya Tinker '20 (Metropolitan Riveters) and Tera Hofmann '20 (Metropolitan), are set to compete in the 2021 National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) season which takes place at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y., from Jan. 23 to Feb. 5.
 
There will be more Yale players competing this season than any other NWHL campaign to date.
 
Souliotis '17 has played three seasons on the blueline for the Pride and was the recipient of the 2019 NWHL Foundation Award.
 

"This is an incredible opportunity for women's hockey and a really exciting few weeks," said Souliotis, a research associate for EMD Serono Inc. in Boston, who works with drugs before they go to trials. "I saw my brother play on the 1980 rink but I never got to play on it, so it's extra exciting for me. It's a lot of games over a short period of time, but the adrenaline will kick in and we will be ready to rock and roll."
 
Souliotis, who begins studying for a master's in bioengineering while in the bubble, had to be creative with remote lab work and taking vacation time to make this opportunity work with her employer. "It's good timing for my master's work to start, there will be some down time to study," she said.
 
Vlasic, Yale's 2018-19 captain, re-signed with the Whale after leading the team in scoring and making the NWHL All-Star Game her rookie season at forward.
 
"It's a really exciting and unique opportunity to be able to play in the NWHL bubble this season. I'm looking forward to getting out there and competing with my teammates. It's been a while since we've all played games, so I'm excited to be back in that environment and playing for the Isobel Cup," said Vlasic, a sales analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management (independent investment research firm) in Stamford, Conn.
 
Marchin skated in the Canadian Women's Hockey League for a season before joining the Whale the last two winters.
 

Tinker, the fourth overall draft pick last spring, and Hofmann (16th pick) skated for the Bulldogs last winter and helped the program establish a school record 17 wins.
 
"I am ecstatic that we get to play hockey despite everything this is going on," said Hofmann, who etched her name in the Yale goaltending record books. "It has been such a tumultuous year, and I am lucky to have the opportunity to continue do what I love."
 
Tinker added, "The NWHL has put a lot of time and effort into finding ways for us to play during the global pandemic, and I am happy to be able to participate in the bubble. Not only will the bubble provide us - as female hockey players - with the attention and consideration we deserve, but it will also allow us to speak up and use our platforms to create awareness for things that matter most to us."
 
The competition in Lake Placid features the NWHL's six teams: Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, and the first-year expansion club Toronto Six. Games will be played without fans in attendance.
 

 The NWHL, which will have an all-female officiating staff for every contest, will be in the national spotlight this winter. The Isobel Cup Championship semifinals and final airs live on NBCSN on Feb. 4-5, the first women's pro hockey games shown live on a major national cable network in the U.S.