PWHL Minnesota was looking to make history and take home the first-ever Walter Cup as they took on PWHL Boston for Game 4 of the PWHL Finals in St. Paul on the same day their general manager Natalie Darwitz was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. They were at home in front of a loud 13,104 crowd, and it was clear that the loud cheers motivated them. Despite a lot of action and big hits, the first period remained scoreless as both goaltenders were on top of everything.
The second period got even more intense with the physicality and the chances, but again, both goaltenders came to play and stopped everything that came their way, and the second period ended scoreless. It was the same story through the third period; again, numerous chances were had, but the puck wouldn’t go in the net, and overtime was required.
The first overtime wasn’t enough to crack either goaltender, so a second overtime frame was needed. The second overtime is when chaos broke loose. PWHL Minnesota had what looked like a goal, but it was overturned due to goaltender interference. Following that call, PWHL Boston stormed their way to the other end and scored, thwarting PWHL Minnesota’s night. It was all about the goaltenders and defense, which is where we’ll start.
PWHL Minnesota’s Hensley & Defense Step Up Again
Once again, it was all about the goaltending. Determining a winner took almost five full periods because both goaltenders stopped everything. PWHL Minnesota’s Nicole Hensley stood on her head to keep her team tied multiple times. The final goal that won it for PWHL Boston was not her fault. The shot came so quickly that she couldn’t do anything to stop it.
However, Hensley didn’t do it alone. Her defense was impeccable in front of her, and they blocked shot after shot, even laying their bodies full out to make it impossible for PWHL Boston to get a pass across. They worked together well; unfortunately, it didn’t go their way this time, but if they keep working strongly, they’ll switch it back in their favor.
“I don’t think it’s just tonight; it’s been the whole year. I mean, you look at the goaltenders around the league and the regular season, you look at our last series against Toronto, you look at their (Boston) series against Montréal, you’re not seeing very high-scoring games so you kinda gotta expect that, you gotta be okay winning one nothing but this league is obviously the most competitive league in the world and the goaltenders are phenomenal all across the league so I don’t think it’s a shocker by any means.” Kendall Coyne-Schofield said in their postgame press conference when asked about the goaltending for Game 4.
PWHL Minnesota Had Chances
PWHL Minnesota wasn’t without chances to score. They hit the pipe multiple times and barely missed the open net even more. They had some great offensive chances, and they could cycle the puck quite a bit, looking for their open teammates, which created some strong opportunities. However, PWHL Boston’s goaltender, Aerin Frankel, was just as good as Hensley.
The top line of Coyne-Schofield, Taylor Heise, and Michela Cava had some of the better chances, but even they missed out. Their line was speedy and consistently making moves, but they couldn’t get the puck in. For some reason, they weren’t shooting quite as confidently as in Game 3. They’ll have to figure out that before Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday evening.
PWHL Minnesota’s Power Play Lacks
PWHL Minnesota had one or two games where their power play was successful, and Game 4 was not one of them. They had five power plays and couldn’t score on any of them because they fell into their old habit of passing too many times instead of just shooting. By the time they took their shot, Frankel was all setup and ready to stop it.
For Game 5, PWHL Minnesota has to get its power play working or start shooting more when they can. If they don’t shoot, they can’t score and obviously can’t win the game. They need to again go back to the basics: win the faceoff back to their defenseman at the point and take the shot. It’s simple yet effective when done correctly.
Related: PWHL Minnesota’s Leans on Top Line to Take Series Lead vs. Boston
“We just need to keep putting pucks on net; I think we hit like four posts and a half inch off one way or the other, then those are in the net, so we had some great looks, their power play had some good looks too so it was an exciting game, it was just a matter of inches. I think the whole game was so, you know, for us, it’s just this one hurts, but we’re gonna have to reset and we’ll have a day tomorrow to rest, and then we’ll travel to Boston and get ready to go Wednesday,” Klee said when asked about the plentiful chances on the power play.
PWHL Season Comes to a Close
It all comes down to Wednesday night, May 29, for the PWHL inaugural season to come to a close with the awarding of the Walter Cup. Both teams have a strong chance to win it, and while it’ll be hard for PWHL Minnesota to do it on the road, they’ve won on the road in Boston once already. They have the tools to do so, and if they can put together a game like they did in Game 3, they’ll be able to pull it off. Hopefully, they can still bring the Walter Cup back to Minnesota.
