In the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) on Jan. 6, Montreal visited Minnesota in the team’s record-setting home debut at Xcel Energy Center, with a 3-0 win and over 13,000 total fans in attendance — the largest to date for a professional women’s hockey crowd. It was a terrific day for the sport and the incredible showing of fans contributed to that.
Getting into the game, it was a hard-fought bout from both sides that had a playoff feel to it. Neither side gave up too much, but it was Minnesota that came out on top. What were some takeaways?
Zumwinkle Proving Her Worth
Forward Grace Zumwinkle scored her second, third, and fourth goals of the season in this one, which leads the PWHL in total goals. Scoring game-winning tallies in back-to-back games, the 24-year-old Minnesota native has been the team’s most valuable player in the very early stages of the season. The third-round pick of the 2023 PWHL Draft has had a boost in her stock, and an empty-net hat-trick tally was the storybook ending to top it off.
Though it’s still early, Zumwinkle has been rewarded for her talent, and it’ll likely continue if she keeps playing at the level that she has. On her first tally, she came charging to the scene off of a won puck battle for Minnesota, backhanding a puck past Montreal netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens from a tough angle. While it was one the goaltender would probably like to have back, Zumwinkle took charge to create the chance in the first place.
Zumwinkle’s second goal was the most impressive, weaving her way from the boards to the top of the point, coasting, pulling back, and firing a shot toward the net that got a fortunate bounce up front. Her empty-netter was nothing more than routine, but it was a wonderful moment. When a player is all over the puck like she has been to this point, bounces like that are going to happen. If she continues her wonderful start, she likely won’t be far from the top of the league’s scoring list, if not there all by herself.
Montreal Played Tight in the Neutral Zone
In Minnesota’s 3-2 win over Boston in their inaugural contest of the season, much of their offense came off the rush. In response to that, Montreal played a fantastic game in the neutral zone — it forced their opponents to find new ways to score.
Related: PWHL: 4 Takeaways From 3-2 Minnesota Win vs. Boston
Montreal defended Minnesota in such a way that they made the game go the way it did. Instead of Minnesota getting easy 2-on-1 or breakaway tallies that could have been prevented by being a bit more responsible, it was actually Montreal that got the better of those chances. They let too many of those go awry, but the point still stands that their game plan in the neutral zone was superb. The PWHL is a league where speed has proved to be deadly. Taking that away, which seems to be one of Minnesota’s biggest strengths, proved to be one way to play them competitively moving forward.
While Montreal still lost in forcing Minnesota to grind out their opportunities, it was a big challenge for them. If anything, Montreal was the better team. The star-studded first line of Minnesota led by first-overall selection Taylor Heise was held in check — it was some of the depth that got them the win, but they had to fight for it.
Physicality Was the Name of the Game
Instead of the end-to-end speed that the PWHL has frequently displayed, this one had a lack of that, being chippy and physical like some games before it. Getting chances wasn’t easy for either side thanks to consistent checking whenever players got themselves into tight windows. It kept both sides honest and limited the scoring down to just a couple of goals.
Minnesota wasn’t particularly physical in their first game, but they had to be here. As mentioned before, Montreal played so tight in the neutral zone that rush chances were hard to come by. If Minnesota got the puck in an area where there was little to no space, they paid the price for it. Both teams had to be pretty unforgiving in terms of their checking and board battles, as forechecking created all of the goals rather than pure speed.
The women in the PWHL have been able to adapt rather easily to their opponents, which will make for a competitive league. None of the teams play the same, so strategies are constantly shifting. The athletes have been able to play whatever style they please, and have done so effectively.
Goaltending Could Be a Huge Strength for Minnesota
Following a 33-save performance from starting netminder Nicole Hensley in Minnesota’s first game, Maddie Rooney notched a 24-save shutout in her debut after getting the start in this one. If it wasn’t for Zumwinkle stealing the show, the Minnesota goaltender might’ve gotten more love than anyone in her sensational performance.
It’s certainly premature to conclude that the goaltending will continue to be as good as it has been for Minnesota for an extended period, but both Rooney and Hensley are immensely talented. For the former, some of her aggressive saves were a big part of why she was able to come away with the victory. While her style is much different from Hensley’s, it is just as effective.
If Minnesota has the best tandem in the PWHL on top of having stars like Heise, Zumwinkle, and even Kendall Coyne Schofield, they’ll be one of the most dangerous teams in the entire league. They’ve been a formidable test so far.
Looking forward, Montreal visits New York for their next game on Jan. 10, while Minnesota will stay on their home ice to play Toronto on the same date. These two teams face each other again on Jan. 24, and Minnesota will be the host once again.