The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) was in action yesterday with PWHL Minnesota back at home to celebrate Pride Day in front of a crowd of over 10,000, including Brian Burke, when they took on PWHL Boston on a warm sunny afternoon in St. Paul on Sunday, Feb. 25. It had been a while since they’d played in their home arena, 11 days to be exact. They did have a back-to-back on the road Saturday, Feb. 17, and Sunday, Feb. 18, when they took a trip to Canada. They returned home with a split, a win over PWHL Ottawa, and a loss to PWHL Montréal.
The loss was the last game they played before having a week off prior to their PWHL Boston match-up. Unfortunately for PWHL Minnesota, it was announced shortly before the game that they had placed forward Taylor Heise on long-term injured reserve. PWHL Minnesota looked like they had plenty of rest on their week off of games, as they came out energized and had many chances in the first. They faced a solid goaltender in PWHL Boston’s Aerin Frankel, who stood tall throughout the first as the period ended 0-0.
The second looked to be the same as both teams battled hard, and the game was quite physical on both sides. However, PWHL Boston found the back of the net first and protected the lead through the second. The third started with PWHL Boston up 1-0, and PWHL Minnesota had to find a way to convert. They couldn’t score despite several strong chances and fell 2-0 after an empty net goal was scored.
PWHL Minnesota Power Play Quiet
PWHL Minnesota again found themselves in power play trouble as they had chance after chance and couldn’t get the puck to go in. They had four chances on the man advantage and could not score on any of them. They gave themselves good looks and had plenty of quality shots, but nothing went in.
It was addressed once again in the postgame press conference by head coach Ken Klee: “It’s hard because, once it, you know, the first power play, I thought we had some great looks, we had some high tip plays, we had some good looks around the net. You know Kelly (Pannek) walks around, maybe another half-step. She could get it up maybe, but then as it goes on, I could tell we started getting tired, and we need to go back and say remember our fundamentals, what we’re trying to do, and not shoot at shin pads, stuff like that.”
They did an excellent job of staying out of the penalty box and forcing PWHL Boston to take penalties; they just have to figure out how to get the puck to go in. Obviously, taking shots like they had been is good, but more quality chances are what they need going forward, and hopefully, it’ll turn around for them as the season moves along.
PWHL Minnesota Outshooting Teams Again
PWHL Minnesota didn’t hesitate to take shots, in fact that’s what they did most of the game. However, PWHL Boston came up with big blocks, and their goaltender made some vital saves to allow them to steal the win away from PWHL Minnesota. They took 41 shots compared to PWHL Boston’s 23, so it’s clear who had more chances.
“I would hope, you know I said after the second I’m like, alright, we’re going to have over 40 shots, we’re going to have three goals. Well, we got to the 41 shots but we didn’t get obviously the goals. But everyone played great, it certainly wasn’t a lack of our team trying or we just couldn’t actually get the final. I mean we had great looks, so we get those looks most nights they’re going in. So we just gotta keep working; hockey’s not always kind to you in that way.” Klee said in the postgame press conference.
He continued to say they’d been working on scoring scenarios in practice all week, but for some reason, when it came to game time, they couldn’t get them to go in. “We did scoring drills all week; funny enough, we literally kept score. We did a whole practice of keeping score and had a score of 31 goals for one team and like 24 for the other so it was definitely an emphasis in the week of practice for us to score goals and bare down and try to go, you know zip it, but you know like I said it’s tough, their goalie played great, their team played hard so it was a good game,” Klee said after the game.
PHWL Intense Physicality
The game was intense from start to finish, battling for the puck and in the actual physicality that happened. There were several big hits, and the referees allowed them to play through most of it. It gave another level to the game that typically isn’t seen in women’s hockey, and it was noticed by the fans and teams alike.
“I mean it’s physical I think around the net front it was more so present today, it’s part of the game. I think it’s hard to manage it sometimes from there’s just the nature of it and then what’s too far. I thought we got rewarded in a few ways by getting pucks to the net, you know against a team like that, they’re going to be physical standing up for their goalie,” said Kelly Pannek when asked about the physicality of the game from a players standpoint during the postgame press conference.
There was clearly some tension and bad blood between a few of the players after some of the interactions, and there were a few instances where things almost went too far, but the referees got it under control quickly. It’ll be interesting to see what happens the next time these two teams play in just a couple of weeks on Wednesday, March 13. It’ll be another home game for PHWL Minnesota, and they’ll be looking to redeem themselves in front of their hometown crowd.
PWHL Minnesota’s Next Opponent
PWHL Minnesota won’t have a week off between games this time; they’ll play again on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at Marucci Arena, the home rink of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s hockey team. They had to move locations due to the Minnesota Wild having a home game simultaneously.
Related: PWHL Halfway Point: Milestones & Progress
PWHL Minnesota will face PWHL Toronto, who will be coming off a 2-1 win over PWHL New York. The defense must be on the lookout for Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, Emma Maltais, Jocelyne Larocque, and Rebecca Leslie. All of these players are the top point producers for PWHL Toronto. In net, PWHL Minnesota will have to find a way past Kristen Campbell, who’s played solid for PWHL Toronto this season. Hopefully, they will figure out their power play and keep shooting the puck, eventually, it’ll go in and they’ll get a win.