Minnesota's "Mental Mistakes" Costly In Game One

PWHL Minnesota made too many mistakes, and sunk their chances for a win in game one of the PWHL Playoffs falling to Toronto.

Fourth-seed PWHL Minnesota dropped the first game of their best-of-five semifinal series against first-seed Toronto 4-0 at Coca-Cola Coliseum Wednesday night.

Blayre Turnbull netted two goals and Natalie Spooner added a goal and an assist in their statement game-one win where the State of Hockey squad could not handle the home side’s waves of offense.

"We played a good game. We had a couple of mental mistakes, individual mistakes, and they capitalized," Minnesota's head coach Ken Klee told media following the game. "If you look at the game as a whole, we got down and were chasing, and that's the tough part."

The PWHL's leading goal scorer, Natalie Spooner, scored the first playoff goal in league history halfway through the opening period. The Scarborough, Ont., product used Lee Stecklein as a screen and sniped a slick shot past Nicole Hensley to give Toronto the edge.

Emma Maltais scored 55 seconds into the middle frame following a sneaky feed from Sarah Nurse. The Olympian caught Minnesota's defenders puck-watching, allowing Maltais to sneak in behind the defense, receive a net-front pass and pot a backhander five-hole through Hensley.

Either side got a crack on the power play following Maltais' marker, but neither could capitalize on the player advantage.

Later in the period, Turnbull added a tally with five minutes remaining to give her team a comfortable 3-0 lead entering the second intermission.

"No, I mean the crowd was great," Klee said, following a question about whether the venue and crowds were a factor in Wednesday's contest. "It's exciting, it's exciting to play in a packed arena. I know for these guys they love it. It's easy to get up."

"When you have a big crowd like that, everyone feels good, everyone's got their jump," Klee continued. "It's exciting for the players, and that's what it's all about for me, is that they're getting the experience — real playoff hockey, big crowds, on the road, intense situations.

Minnesota opened the third with a flurry of chances, but Kristen Campbell stood tall, turning aside shots from Kelly Pannek, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Co.

"There haven't been many times where we've played the same game or same team on the road back-to-back, if ever, all season," Pannek said. "Settle in a little bit, get a practice in, regroup, and at the end of the day, try to win one game, and that's always going to be the next one.

Turnbull tallied her second of the game with 38 seconds to go, giving the 8,000-plus fans in attendance at Coca-Cola Coliseum one last thing to cheer about.

Campbell's 26 saves guided Toronto to a 1-0 series lead as she earned the first postseason shutout in PWHL history.

Minnesota signed forward Abby Boreen ahead of Wednesday's showdown. The 24-year-old scored four goals and one assist through nine regular season games during her brief PWHL stints but hasn't played a game since March 5.

The Somerset, Wis., product was an effective top-six forward in her nine games with Minnesota earlier in the season. Her forechecking skills, two-way ability and knack for goal-scoring made her a threat whenever she was on the ice.

"It's tough; she hasn't played a game in over two months," Klee said. "I was trying to keep my expectations even for her, but she brings an element of grit to us. She brings an element of intensity that is great to have as a coach. She's great in the room, and I know her teammates love her, so it's great to have her back with us.

Against Toronto, Boreen recorded two hits, took a tripping penalty and was a minus-one. Expect her to become a major offensive factor as the series progresses.

Should Minnesota upset Toronto, Boreen will not be eligible to play in the championship series.

Minnesota's game-one defeat makes it six consecutive losses for the side and three straight by three or more goals.

Minnesota has failed to score more than one goal against Toronto in its last two meetings with the Canadian squad. To solve Campbell and the stingy Toronto defense, Minnesota may need to make some adjustments ahead of game two.

"You're playing the same team, so you get [to] make those adjustments versus in the regular season, you're always switching back-and-forth who you're playing against,” Pannek said. “We're always trying to focus on ourselves, but it also helps to get those tendencies on other teams."

To avoid a dreadful 2-0 series deficit and seventh straight loss, Minnesota will have to find ways to reignite its skilled offensive weapons.

Minnesota looks to tie its best-of-five series one-apiece Friday night against Toronto at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. CT.

"We knew coming in, our goal was to come in here and win one game," Klee said. "So we got to come in here and be ready to go Friday night and win that one game before we go home."

Files from Curtis Martin of The Hockey News