Jun. 14—GRAND FORKS — Patti Marshall is staying in Minnesota.
The defender from Thief River Falls, who captained the University of Minnesota, has signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation.
The deal will run through the 2024-25 season. Terms were not disclosed.
"Patti is the nicest person you'll ever meet off the ice," Minnesota general manager Chi-Yin Tse said. "She brings character and leadership on the back end and in the locker room. I'm very excited to see how she'll work with this crew."
Marshall has played three years of pro hockey since graduating from Minnesota in 2020.
She played one season for Brynas in Sweden's top league in 2020-21 before coming back to Minnesota to play for the Whitecaps.
Over the past two seasons, Marshall has played 44 games for the Whitecaps, tallying two goals and 19 points. She was named to the Premier Hockey Federation All-Star Game in both seasons.
Marshall helped Minnesota reach the Isobel Cup Final in the spring. The Whitecaps lost to Toronto in overtime.
"I'm super excited to be returning to such a great organization for the next two years," Marshall said. "I love playing in my home state, especially with my friends and family around. After making the Isobel Cup final last year, I'm excited to get back on the ice with the girls and bring Izzy home to Richfield this season."
Marshall played high school hockey in Thief River Falls from 2010-12 before moving to Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep School for four seasons.
Marshall played for the U.S. in the IIHF World Under-18 Tournament three times, winning two gold medals.
"She's got a lot of poise with the puck," Tse said. "That's something I encourage every young player to work on. It's a skill that she keeps mastering with every shift and it gets me excited for what our even-strength play will look like with some of the additions we have made. It plugs in very nicely to the type of players we are developing in Minnesota."
The Premier Hockey Federation has seven teams — Minnesota, Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan (N.J.) Riveters, Montreal Force and Toronto Six.
Two former UND players and Finnish Olympians recently signed deals for next season. Emma Nuutinen signed with Buffalo and Susanna Tapani with Metropolitan.