Walter Cup championship caps record-breaking 1st PWHL season — and years of work by players

Joy flooded Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield's face as she lifted the 35-pound Walter Cup above her head on Thursday night, after her team defeated Boston 3-0 to win the Professional Women's Hockey League's first championship.

It was the culmination of not just a season of hockey, but years of work to create a sustainable league where women would be treated as professionals.

It was Coyne Schofield who led a group of players in negotiating a landmark collective bargaining agreement with the PWHL's owners last summer, securing benefits like maternity leave and a housing stipend.

She was one of the leaders who rallied players together five years ago to push for more. With the help of sporting icons Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss, they found investors in Mark and Kimbra Walter, who own the six-team league.

"The only reason this [league] happened from a player's sense is Kendall," Minnesota's Kelly Pannek said, after watching her captain be the first to hoist the new trophy.

WATCH | Recapping the Walter Cup playoffs on Hockey North:

In between the labour agreement and the crowning of the first Walter Cup champion, the PWHL broke attendance records, sold merchandise faster than they could keep it in stock and racked up a long list of corporate sponsors.

Each team competed in a 24-game regular season and for the teams that went the distance, two best-of-five playoff series. Many games were physical and more than half were decided by one goal.

"I know the effort that every single player in this league put forth because it was a grind," Boston head coach Courtney Kessel said after her team's loss on Wednesday. "It's something no one's used to."

It all started on New Year's Day when New York defender Ella Shelton