PWHL Walter Cup Final: Goaltending Critical For Both Franchises
PWHL Boston had won its first four playoff games before being shut out by PWHL Minnesota in Game 2.
With the Walter Cup Final leveled Boston hopes to solve Minnesota’s goaltending as the pivotal Game 3 shifts to Saint Paul on Friday night.
Boston scored four goals on Maddie Rooney in Game 1 but failed to get the puck past Nicole Hensley in the second game of the series. Minnesota coach Ken Klee has relied on his goaltending tandem throughout the regular season and into the playoffs.
“We have two great goalies,” Klee said after Minnesota’s 3-0 win on Tuesday. “All year we’ve rotated back and forth. Obviously, Maddie got hot in the first round, so it was tough to take her out, but we knew we could go back to Nicole at any point, and she would be ready to go. She obviously played fantastic for us (on Tuesday).”
Hensley started Minnesota’s playoff run with a 4-0 shutout loss to PWHL Toronto before Rooney took over in Game 2. After being down 2-0 in the opening round, Rooney rattled off three straight wins to complete the reverse sweep and secure Minnesota’s spot in the PWHL finals.
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Across the ice, PWHL Boston has relied on Aerin Frankel between the pipes during its postseason run.
“Aerin Frankel stands on her head every single night for us,” PWHL Boston captain Hilary Knight said.
Frankel has a 1.47 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage in five games for Boston with an overall record of 4-1. She’s faced 200 shots and set a PWHL record with 56 saves in Game 2 of the opening round series against PWHL Montreal.
“Just a tremendous hockey player,” Boston head coach Courtney Kessel said of Frankel after the team’s Game 1 win. “We knew that when we picked her up in free agency. She’s small, but she’s mighty, and we’re going to continue to lean on her.”
Boston will need to win at least one road game to stay alive in the best-of-five series. Boston visited the Xcel Energy Center once in the regular season with the visiting team coming out victorious, courtesy of Frankel’s 41-save shutout.
Puck drop for decisive Game 3 is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game on NESN.