PWHL Minnesota raises the Walter Cup trophy, after defeating Boston on the road in Game 5
PWHL Minnesota raises the Walter Cup trophy, after defeating Boston on the road in Game 5
LOWELL, MA – Almost 6 months ago, Boston and Minnesota met at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, kicking off the inaugural season of the PWHL.
A mere 147 days later, after Minnesota was able to narrowly defeat Boston, 3-2, you could feel the energy for hours before puck drop of Game 5 of the PWHL finals.
We knew all of the storylines. We knew the excitement to follow.
And yet, upon arrival into this sold-out building, you were met with instant goosebumps.
On Sunday evening, it looked like an unbelievably impressive turnaround was coming to an end for Boston.
Instead, after escaping defeat in one of the wildest endings you’ll ever see, it was Boston that forced a game 5 back home at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.
However, Alina Muller’s game 4 heroics could not carry Boston when it mattered most on Wednesday night.
In a hard-fought battle, Minnesota ultimately dominated Boston in all facets of the game, winning 3-0, and raising the Walter Cup trophy on the road.
Taylor Heise, who was the first overall draft pick in the PWHL draft, was named the Ilana Kloss playoff MVP, after scoring a league-high five goals throughout ten postseason games.
“Heading into the playoffs, we just had a little bit of a change in confidence, when you lose 6 games straight, it’s hard to come back from that,” said Heise. “We knew that once we had gotten to the playoffs, we could do whatever we wanted to. Firstly, Toronto wanted to play us, so that gave us all of the animosity we needed.”
When the puck dropped, the intensity was higher than ever.
With Boston’s Taylor Wenczkowski hitting Liz Schepers into the boards halfway through the first, the crowd erupted, realizing once again how high these stakes were.
Nobody wanted to be the loser.
The second period brought the first goal of the evening, as Liz Schepers found the back of the net on a great find from Sydney Brodt, putting Minnesota in front, 1-0.
After taking two hard hits early on, including one that was reviewed for a major penalty, the goal could not have been any sweeter for Schepers, her first goal of the postseason.
Despite the goal, it was clear that Minnesota needed much more to stay on top.
That insurance came nearly halfway into the final frame, when Michela Cava’s wrap-around goal, her fourth score of the postseason, was the ultimate nail in the coffin.
“I had scored a goal kind of similar in the beginning of the series, and I knew I could try to put something off the pads on the wrap-around,” said Cava. “I tried to use the space behind the net to my advantage, and try to beat the goalie around on the other side.”
With Boston down to their last breath, an empty-net attempt failed, as Kendall Coyne Schofield ended things for good.
The most eye-popping stat of all? The third period discrepancy in shots, as Minnesota outshot Boston, 25-4, and 44-17 on the night overall.
For Klee, the inaugural season will surely be remembered for years to come.
From taking over the job after Charlie Burggraf’s sudden departure just one week before Minnesota’s opening game, to going all the way and winning the finals on the road, Heise knows Klee’s journey didn’t come easy.
“He’s special, he’s special,” said Heise on Klee. “He’s someone that’s not afraid to shed a few tears, but to be honest with us, and also prove that he trusts us. Ken has done everything he possibly could, and the staff isn’t going to take any credit, but a lot of the credit goes to them.”