Two days after her dismissal as general manager of the PWHL Championship-winning Minnesota franchise, Natalie Darwitz offered her first comments via a statement.

“I would like to thank the State of Hockey for their support of PWHL Minnesota,” Darwitz’ statement, obtained Sunday night by KSTP Sports, began.

“As the General Manager of PWHL Minnesota, I gave my heart and soul to provide a first-class experience to the players, staff and fans. My goal was to grow the game of women’s hockey and to show young girls their dream could become a reality.

I am very proud of the team and organization that was built and the championship we brought home to this great State of Hockey. At this time, I am not able to provide any details regarding my departure. Thank you.”

Darwitz was at her post from the very beginning of PWHL Minnesota and was still at the helm as they won the league’s inaugural championship. Her last duties as GM were serving as the primary speaker at the team’s victory celebration at Xcel Energy Center.

Her title-winning season as PWHL Minnesota’s general manager adds to Darwitz’ hockey resume that already included playing in three Olympic Games, winning three world championships and winning back-to-back NCAA titles with the University of Minnesota – where she later served as an assistant coach.

Head Coach Ken Klee and his staff will assume general manager responsibilities for Monday’s PWHL Draft in St. Paul and will continue into the free agency period if a new GM isn’t in place by the time the free agent signing period begins on June 21st.

The specifics of Darwitz’ dismissal are shrouded in secrecy. The decision to fire Darwitz was made by the PWHL front office, as the league owns each of its six franchises.

All PWHL coaches and general managers were initially hired on one-year contracts. Darwitz was reportedly offered the chance to explore another position within the PWHL.

Initially reported Friday, the PWHL confirmed Darwitz’ firing with an announcement on Saturday.

The Associated Press was included in a small number of media members invited to a videoconference with PWHL vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford on Saturday.

The AP report quotes Hefford saying, “a ton of factors” prompted the league’s decision which came after the league performed “a deep dive into what was going on in the market.”

Hefford said the league performed a lengthy, months-long internal review supplemented by additional review by an outside third-party.

The reviews included interviews with PWHL Minnesota players and staff.

“The feedback to us was pretty direct and pretty clear that there wasn’t a path forward with the current personnel in place. It was with the work we did throughout the year, and it was clear that a change needed to be made.”

Hefford refuted reports hinted a rift between Darwitz and the team’s players or head coach Ken Klee was the reason for her dismissal.

“The easy thing would be to look and say, `This team won a championship. Everything’s perfect,’” Hefford said. “The harder thing to do is, I think, look at the broader picture and everything that’s occurred. … So when you put all of it together, it unfortunately led us to this decision.”

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report