PWHL

Taylor Wenczkowski is the triple-OT hero, as Boston beats Montreal to climb one win away from PWHL Finals

Boston holds a 2-0 series lead.

Boston's Taylor Wenczkowski (12) celebrates her goal with teammate Gigi Marvin (19) in front of Montreal goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens in Saturday's 2-1 triple-overtime victory at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec.

By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS, The Boston Globe

May 12, 2024

4 minutes to read

They had played over 110 minutes of hockey at Place Bell, and yet Boston and host Montreal were still knotted at 1 in Game 2 of their PWHL playoff semifinal series Saturday night.

Six Boston players had logged over 40 minutes, while seven Montreal skaters had done the deed — with five of them logging over 50. And with Boston looking the more tired crew, and the hosts threatening in the third overtime, Boston coach Courtney Kessel called on some fresh legs to see if they could make a difference.

Good call, coach.

Taylor Wenczkowski took a feed from defenseman Sidney Morin circling the net, and followed up her initial bid by popping home the rebound at 11:44 of the third overtime, giving Boston a 2-1 victory and a commanding 2-0 series lead.

“This is a great new rivalry in women’s hockey,” Wenczkowski said in a postgame TV interview. “And it’s great to go back home with a 2-0 lead.”

Wenczkowski had played just over 12 minutes when she took the ice, joining other fresher teammates Gigi Marvin (17 minutes) and Morin (28 minutes). Marvin won a right-circle draw to her right, where Morin picked it up and kept coming.

While Morin steamed around the net, Wenczkowski fought to the top of the crease. The first in-tight bid was stopped by Montreal goalie Ann-Renêe Desbiens (50 saves), but Wenczkowski whacked home the rebound to silence the Place Bell. It was the Rochester, N.H., native’s first-ever PWHL goal.

Four minutes earlier, Montreal almost won it when a point-shot by defenseman Erin Ambrose (who logged a game-high 61:33 of ice time) was on target. Boston goalie Aerin Frankel looked to kick out the rebound clear, but it instead caromed off the head of Morin back toward the goal — but it trickled harmlessly wide of the goal post.

Aerin Frankel squares up on a shot from Montreal’s Kristin O’Neill (43) as Boston’s Kaleigh Fratkin (13) defends during Saturday’s PWHL playoff game at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec.

After recording a league-record 53 saves in the Game 1 overtime victory two days earlier, Frankel stopped 56 of 57 shots to put Boston in the driver’s seat — needing to win just once more to get to the PWHL Finals. And Boston has won four straight at Tsongas Center, where they’ll host Game 3 on Tuesday.

This game was more tightly contested than Game 1, when Montreal dominated play throughout but was stymied by Frankel.

Boston came out firing to start, outshooting the hosts by a 10-5 edge in the first period. And Boston scored the game’s first goal, 6:48 into play, after some great forechecking and a fortunate bounce on a feed from below the goal line.

Amanda Pelkey picked up a loose puck behind the Montreal net, and fired it into the crease. The puck caromed off the skate of Desbiens and into her net for a surprising 1-0 Boston lead.

But Montreal righted its game in the middle frame, and tied it up on the power play. Maureen Murphy’s initial shot was saved by Frankel, but Kristin O’Neill was right there to knock home the rebound to make it 1-1 just 1:58 into the second.

The hosts controlled the third period, owning an 11-4 shot advantage, but they once again could not beat Frankel a second time in regulation. They thought they did with 30 seconds to go, when Mélodie Daoust’s shot was stopped by Frankel. Montreal crashed the net, and the puck sprung loose and was tapped in — but the referee had already blown the play dead.

After a long review, the play stood as called. So once again, these two combatants headed to overtime.

Montreal almost won it 2:30 into the extra session, but Laura Stacey’s low shot from the right rang Frankel’s outside post.

Then the game took a painful turn at 6:20, when Boston forward Lexie Adzija was called for a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for a hit to the head of Stacey. The officials reviewed the play for several minutes before confirming it and sending Adzija to the showers.

But Boston’s defense stood tall, only allowing three shots on the entire five-minute penalty kill, and Frankel saw them all. Montreal’s best chance was by Montreal star Marie-Philip Poulin, but Frankel stoned the Canada captain with 1:35 left on the power play.

Another Boston mistake, this time by standout defenseman Megan Keller, gave Montreal another opening with 3:36 left in overtime. Instead of firing a puck off the glass for a breaking forward, Keller sent it straight into the Place Bell crowd — earning a delay-of-game penalty.

But Frankel was unmoved. She stoned O’Neill on a nifty move down low, then made two more stops in quick succession, and finally fought through a screen to catch Murphy’s bid. Captain Hilary Knight showed her leadership by making two blocks in the final minute to protect her goaltender, leading to the second OT session.

A roughing penalty right at the final buzzer of the first overtime on Daoust gave Boston a full power play on clean ice to start double OT. Boston couldn’t capitalize, but it took control of the period from there, outshooting Montreal, 11-7, in the frame.

While the hosts had the better chances in the final minutes, the best chance fell to Boston in the final minute. Game 1 OT hero Susanna Tapani blocked a pass and broke down the left wing. She found Knight alone in the slot, but the Boston captain fired high from 12 feet up the slot and the goal beckoning.