History was made on Wednesday night, May 29, in Game 5 of the PWHL Finals between PWHL Minnesota and PWHL Boston. The series was tied at two games apiece, and it was anybody’s night. PWHL Boston was coming off a big win in Game 4, but PWHL Minnesota had been playing strong all series.
The first period went scoreless as both teams had big chances, but again, the goaltenders stole the show and came up big. The second period is where things got started as PWHL Minnesota found a way to break through first and it was a big momentum shift in their favor. They kept PWHL Boston off the scoreboard and went into the third up 1-0.
It came down to the third, PWHL Boston had several chances to tie it up, but PWHL Minnesota stood tall and kept them out the entire period. They found a way to turn up the offense in the third and added not one but two more goals to take the shutout win 3-0 and win the first-ever Walter Cup plus Taylor Heise earned the first Ilana Kloss MVP award. It was a team-first effort and that’s where we’ll start this piece.
PWHL Minnesota “Team First” Always
One theme that has been constant for PWHL Minnesota this season was their “team first” mentality. They won and lost as a team; everything was done as a team. They always played as a team throughout the season, as no one stood out above anyone else. It was an offensive, defensive, and goaltending effort.
Watching them play, it was easy to see their team chemistry, especially in Game 5. Every line clicked on all cylinders, making crisp passes and communicating greatly, especially in the defensive zone. While some players tried doing it all themselves, their teammates had their backs, and their goals came when they worked together.
It’s great when their star players stand out, but it’s even better when they can have a whole team effort, exactly what earned them the Walter Cup win. They had a great offense, followed by strong defense and great goaltending, which got them a shutout.
“It took every single player and every single person you see on this ice right now to make it happen. There’s a lot of people that counted us out when we had that (five)-game slide coming into the playoffs. But we got in, and we never looked back. It took a team effort from everyone you see here..there were a lot of moments where we could have gotten down and out. There were moments where we were down, but we knew we were never out–we stuck together. We had so much fun in the making of the Walter Cup champions,” said Kendall Coyne Schofield during the celebrations, according to the PWHL Minnesota website.
PWHL Minnesota Stayed Composed
There were quite a few calls that didn’t go PWHL Minnesota’s way, but rather than getting upset, they stayed composed and didn’t let it rattle them. Many teams would’ve allowed that to affect their mental game, and their physical game would’ve followed, but not PWHL Minnesota. It’s something they’ve been able to excel at all season.
They have players who are more physical than others and who tend to run a little hot, but they kept themselves in check and made sure not to cost their team. Of course, every once in a while, things happen, and they took penalties, but their team stepped up and covered for their teammates.
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This proved true in Game 5 after Liz Schepers was sandwiched between two players and took a hit to the head that wasn’t called despite being reviewed for a major. Rather than letting her anger get the best of her or her teammates, they put their heads down and got to work. They were rewarded a short time later as Schepers knocked in the game’s first goal.
PWHL Minnesota Didn’t Hesitate
During the regular season, one of PWHL Minnesota’s struggles was knowing when to take enough shots and when not to hesitate. They would get plenty of shots but not enough quality ones, or they would spend too much time passing the puck, and their shots wouldn’t make it through. However, in Game 5, they found the perfect combination of passing and shooting, and it worked.
They got the puck to the net without too many passes, and that’s how they scored two of their three goals, with the third being an empty-netter. PWHL Minnesota also crashed the net more than they had in previous games rather than staying to the perimeter, which was another reason they could score goals. They pushed through to the net and took shots immediately, not wasting any time, and were rewarded.
PWHL Minnesota Victorious
PWHL Minnesota struggled throughout both the regular season and postseason, but they stuck to their game and came away with the victory. They were the perfect example of a team that had everything thrown at them, from barely making it to the postseason to facing the number one team. They went on to reverse sweep the number one team and then took down the number three seed to win it all. They kept their heads up and pushed through every obstacle to come out on top in a truly historic season.
