25 May 2024
In a span of less than three weeks, Minnesota’s fortunes in the Professional Women’s Hockey League have gone from near catastrophe to being on the cusp of capturing the league’s inaugural championship.
The Walter Cup will be in the building on Sunday as Minnesota looks to close out Boston after taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five finals on Friday at Xcel Energy Center with a 4-1 victory. An announced crowd of 9,054 was in a festive mood from the start, and the home team did not disappoint.
After squeaking into the playoffs despite losing its last five games of the regular season, Minnesota soon found itself down two games to none against top-seeded Toronto in the first round. Since then, Minnesota has gone 5-1 and has looked every bit the part of the team that was among the league’s elite for most of the season.
Coach Ken Klee has said that Minnesota has gotten this far by taking things one game at a time, and that’s the credo as it finds itself one win from the title.
“Obviously it is going to be a special moment,” said center Taylor Heise, who put Minnesota in front 59 seconds into the game with her fifth goal of the playoffs. “But I’m just thinking about what my first shift of the next game is going to be like.
“So, no, I haven’t thought about what it is going to feel like because I want it to feel electric. We’re just thrilled to be in the position that we are — and hopefully not have to go back to Boston.”
Minnesota got a big night from its top line, with Michela Cava and Heise each picking up a goal and assist and Kendall Coyne Schofield playing her usual 200-foot game. Cava and Heise, in particular, were offensive dynamos.
“We feed off each other,” Cava said. “We give each other positive energy on the bench. Every time we come off we have something for each other to be better.”
Added Heise: “We both have gone through the ups and downs this season. We’ve had injuries, we went through the losing streak. We’ve been in the gutter, feeling bad. But at the end of the day great players step up in great moments, and this is one of them.”
Cava made two strong individual plays that led to goals. She set up Heise’s goal by stealing the puck from behind the Boston net and sending it into the slot, where Heise beat Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel on a wrist shot.
After Boston scored with two seconds remaining in the second period to cut Minnesota’s lead to 2-1, Cava stifled Boston’s hopes for a comeback. After taking a cross-ice pass from Heise at center ice, Cava stick-handled past two defenders before slipping the puck past Frankel for her third goal of the playoffs.
“Playoffs are do or die,” Cava said. “Obviously it’s super fun to win a championship, and obviously this is going to be the first one. So, basically just do everything you can and use all the skills you have to leave it all out there.”
Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley, making her second straight start, made a big save on a point-blank shot with just over six minutes to play that led to the crowd chanting her last name in appreciation.
When Boston went on a power play at 15:37, coach Courtney Kessel elected to pull her goalie. The move backfired when Grace Zumwinkle poked the puck out of the Minnesota zone, outraced two defenders and slid the puck into the empty net as she was being dragged down.
Zumwinkle slid into the back of the net just after the puck crossed the goal line, sealing the victory.
Briefly
The PWHL announced prior to the game that the draft will be held on June 10 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. The PWHL Awards will take place the following afternoon inside the Great River Ballroom at the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront Hotel. Tickets to the draft are free and will become available on May 29.
There are 20 Minnesotans playing in the PWHL, with 16 of them competing in the PWHL Finals.