PWHL

PWHL Minnesota at Boston Game 2 preview: Hosts can get within one win of Walter Cup

After beating Minnesota 4-3 in Game 1, Boston has the chance to extend their lead in the best-of-five championship series Tuesday night.

Boston goalie Aerin Frankel, left, grabs the puck for a save in front of Minnesota forward Michela Cava, right, during the third period of Game 1 of a PWHL hockey championship series, Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Lowell, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

By Jon Couture

May 21, 2024

3 minutes to read

PWHL Boston took the first step toward becoming the inaugural Walter Cup champion on Sunday afternoon, winning a back-and-forth battle with PWHL Minnesota, 4-3, at Tsongas Center in Lowell. Step two comes Tuesday night, when the teams are scheduled to meet for Game 2 of their best-of-five at 7 p.m.

Boston is undefeated in the postseason, having swept PWHL Montreal in three straight during the semifinals, and its lone loss in nine games since returning from the world championship break was via shootout against Ottawa on April 24. It has won six straight at Tsongas Center.

The four goals matched the most Boston scored this season, its 2.1 goals/game lowest in the league. Defense and goaltending have been the key to its success. On Sunday, former Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel stopped 30 shots, the fourth straight game she reached that number.

After the teams combined for five goals in the second period, including four in a span of 4:35, Frankel stopped all 13 shots she saw in a scoreless third.

Momentum, however, hasn’t troubled Minnesota. Safely in a playoff place at the world championship break, it lost its final five of the regular season by a combined 19-7, only getting into the playoffs on the final day of the season when Ottawa lost. Chosen as a semifinal opponent by regular-season champion Toronto, it lost 4-0 and 2-0 on the road before roaring back with three straight wins to reach the finals.

“I think, during the year, we took every opportunity we had to just take momentum [ourselves]. Whether or not we did it, it’s realizing that you can take it at any moment,” said Taylor Heise, whose PWHL-best four playoff goals include two in Sunday’s loss. “For us, obviously, we got down 2-0 against Toronto and never lost hope. So, here [in Game 1], we did a lot of really good things. I think we had some lapses in judgment and defensive shifts that we can just take a look at and be better [in Game 2].”

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Tsongas Center, Lowell

TV, radio: NESN+, youtube.com/@thepwhlofficial

PWHL BOSTON

Season record: 8-4-3-9 regular season, 1-3-0-0 playoffs

PWHL MINNESOTA

Season record: 8-4-3-9 regular season, 2-1-0-3 playoffs

TEAM STATISTICS

Goals scored (regular season): Boston 50, Minnesota 54

Goals scored (playoffs): Boston 11, Minnesota 10

Goals allowed (regular season): Boston 57, Minnesota 54

Goals allowed (regular season): Boston 7, Minnesota 11

Power play (regular season): Boston 7.5%, Minnesota 8.2%

Penalty kill (regular season): Boston 80.0%, Minnesota 67.2%

Notes: Game 1 drew an announced 4,508 at the Tsongas Center, the third-highest crowd of Boston’s 13 home dates. PWHL Boston has averaged 3,751 per game in Lowell, topping out at 5,964 for the regular-season finale (and playoff clincher) against Montreal on Sunday, May 4. Nine of the 13 games have drawn at least 4,000 fans . . . Minnesota outshot Boston in each of the three periods Sunday, ending with a 33-22 edge . . . Minnesota did not commit a penalty in Game 1, its first such game all season. Though it had the PWHL’s worst penalty kill in the regular season, it has wiped out all 10 power-play opportunities against it in the playoffs . . . Boston’s Susanna Tapani, acquired in a trade from Minnesota in February, has scored in back-to-back games and in three of four playoff games . . . Taylor Wenczkowski, a New Hampshire product and three-season member of the PHF’s Boston Pride, has two goals in her last three games after being held without a goal during Boston’s regular-season . . . Boston has played in 12 straight one-goal games . . . Minnesota opened the scoring Sunday for its fourth straight game.