Pride star Loren Gabel leads the PHF because of the pride she takes in her game

If you’re looking for Loren Gabel most days, try looking in a hockey rink.

Gabel, who leads the Premier Hockey Federation in goals, assists and points, loves the game as much as anyone.

“I don’t think I need to be on the ice to stay sharp, I just like to be on the ice,” says Gabel, whose Boston Pride will be at York University on Saturday and Sunday for a first-place showdown with the Toronto Six.

“I like being able to work on my skills, just being out there. I love hockey and it kinda shows. If I had the opportunity, I’d probably be on the ice all day long.”

Gabel, a 25-year-old from Kitchener, has 19 goals and 19 assists in 20 games this season. She was the player of the month in February, when she have averaged more than two points a game and had the first goal in four of five games.

“Every time she steps on the ice, she is a threat to score,” Pride coach Paul Mara says. “She works extremely hard to improve every day, and you can clearly see the benefits of the hours of practice she puts in week in and week out.”

If Gabel continues her pace of 1.9 points per game, she will eclipse the league record of 1.82 held by Brianna Decker. She is also chasing linemate Allie Thunstrom, who set a league mark with 24 goals in 24 games in 2019-20, and linemate Jillian Dempsey, who had 40 points in 24 games the same season. And Gabel missed two games this season to play with Canada in the Rivalry Series against the U.S.

She was not included on the Canadian roster for April’s world championships in Brampton.

But that hasn’t stopped Gabel from joining Dempsey and Pride goaltender Corinne Schroeder at Boston’s open-ice workouts, optional ice time where any player can practice if she has time. The three are regulars, having fun and working on game details.

“Loren is just amazing, she’s always trying to score, even in practice, and you can see why she’s where she is as a player,” says Schroeder, who leads the PHF with 18 wins, a 1.66 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage — .977 in February.

Gabel believes in simple mental reminders that relate to her daily goal, which is to get better at something in her game. With the help of Hockey Canada strength trainer Nick Westcott, she has increased her speed and skating skills, which will only create more of a challenge for the Six this weekend.

The Pride have 51 points going into the final two games of the regular season, three more than the second-place Six. The teams split a pair of games in Boston in late November.

“One thing I go by is, you’re not going to get to where you want to be unless you follow the path to that place,” says Gabel, who is friends with Toronto’s Brittany Howard. “The other thing I follow is, continue to challenge yourself and chase your dreams. So every day on the ice I challenge myself to do something different, and I think it translates into my game.”

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