The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) saw PWHL Ottawa host PWHL New York on Sunday afternoon. It was the first meeting between these two teams, and it was certainly an important matchup as they entered the game tied for fifth in the league with nine points. Ottawa did have two games in hand, meaning the game was much more important for New York, as they couldn’t afford to fall further behind in the standings.
Physical Night for Both Teams
The game instantly became a physical one. It started with Lexie Adzija taking a big hit along the boards. While it was certainly a clean hit, it set the tone for the rest of the game. A few minutes later, Emma Woods took a high hit from Akane Shiga. No penalty was called, however, Woods appeared to be in clear discomfort as a result but never left the game. She missed a few shifts but did return during the first period. She took a second hard hit of the night when she got knocked to the ice by Zoe Boyd.
While Adzija had a one-on-one against Brooke Hobson, who eventually took a holding call to disrupt the scoring opportunity, Hayley Scamurra and Jamie Bourbonnais attempted to race for the puck and collided awkwardly. The two stumbled and collided hard with the boards behind New York’s net. Both were clearly shaken up as a result of the play, Bourbonnais skated toward the New York bench, but eventually turned around and went down the tunnel with an apparent upper-body injury but did return during the third period. Scamurra remained in the game.
Ottawa’s Defensive Zone Turnovers
Ottawa continuously made mistakes in their defensive zone which gave New York scoring opportunities during the first period. Whether it was a turnover behind the net, an errant pass, or just New York being able to disrupt a breakout and get the puck back, these turnovers seemed like they would inevitably come back to haunt Ottawa if they continued to happen. Ottawa got bailed out on many of their mistakes by Emerance Maschmeyer who stood on her head during the early parts of the game. They did improve in this regard as the game went on, until the end of the third period when everything fell apart for them.
Tejralova Gets on the Board
Ottawa defender, and Czechia national, Aneta Tejralova had yet to record a point in the PWHL entering Sunday’s game. That changed during the first period when Emily Clark was denied on a scoring chance, got the rebound and passed it back to Tejralova at the point. She ripped a slap-shot to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead with the puck beating New York goaltender Corinne Schroeder.
A Confusing Disallowed Goal
As she came out of the penalty box, Hobson interfered with Savannah Harmon near the blue line which resulted in a delayed penalty. While the play continued to develop, Schroeder made the save on a shot from the point, and the rebound went directly to Daryl Watts who tucked the puck into the net which seemed to give Ottawa a 2-0 lead. However, shortly after Schroeder’s save, an official blew the whistle for an unknown reason. Despite Ottawa’s players and fans thinking they had a two-goal lead, the goal was waved off due to the whistle. It was certainly a strange set of circumstances, as New York never had possession of the puck after the delayed penalty, and the whistle likely never should’ve been blown.
Ottawa has now been on the wrong side of a controversial call in two consecutive games, as in their last outing against PWHL Montreal, an argument can be made that the overtime-winning goal scored by Maureen Murphy was the result of goaltender interference preventing Maschmeyer from resetting at the top of the crease. It’s certainly a pair of frustrating circumstances for a team that is looking to climb up the standings, however, if they continue playing like they have in recent outings, they’ll get near the top sooner than later.
New York’s Comeback
Fortunately for Ottawa, Adzija scored just over two minutes into the third period to give them a proper 2-0 lead. After failing to convert on the first three chances, Harmon scored a power play goal to increase the lead to 3-0. For New York to have any chance, they needed to find a way to beat Maschmeyer who had been a brick wall all night. Eventually, they were able to do so, as Abby Roque got her second of the season with roughly five minutes remaining in the third period. Just under a minute later, Jade Downey-Landry got her fourth of the season and brought New York back within a single goal.
Adzija took a boarding penalty and handed New York a key power play opportunity with just under four minutes left in regulation. Alex Carpenter converted only 27 seconds into the power play and Ottawa had blown a 3-0 lead in less than two minutes. The game went to overtime, and Carpenter found the back of the net for a second time and New York walked away with a 4-3 win following a miraculous comeback.
Related: PWHL: Montreal Beats Ottawa in Overtime for Second Time
Entering the third period, everything seemed to be going Ottawa’s way. They were unable to close it out though, and New York’s hard work eventually led to them tying, and then winning the game. Although Ottawa has been unlucky on a couple of occasions, there’s no excuse for blowing a 3-0 lead in less than two minutes. New York simply worked harder at the end of the game, and that was the difference-maker once they got momentum on their side.
