Game 1 of a Professional Women’s Hockey League semifinal series saw Boston defeat Montreal 2-1 thanks to a goal from Susanna Tapani in overtime and 53 saves from Aerin Frankel, a league record.
Courtney Kessel, head coach of Boston, described her goalie as “tremendous.” She comes hurtling across the net just as you believe everyone is outmatched on the ice.
The first overtime goal in PWHL playoff history was scored by Tapani, who pounced on a stray puck in the blue paint at 14:25. Lexie Adzija scored for Boston during regulation.
The visitors, who had defeated Montreal 4-3 in the season-ending match, had won four of their previous five games going into the best-of-five semifinal. Montreal, which placed second in the PWHL regular season and six points clear of third-place Boston, was led by Kristin O’Neill’s goal and Ann-Renée Desbiens’ 24 saves.
We had 54 shots, I believe it’s the first time we’ve done that, and Frankel played extremely well,” Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin remarked. “All we need to do is persist, keep firing numerous shots at the net, obstructing her vision, and putting traffic in her path.”
This Saturday is the series’ second game in Laval. In the best-of-five Walter Cup final, the victor takes against either Toronto or Minnesota. Toronto has a 1-0 advantage in the other semifinal.
In a tense contest, Montreal’s power play went 1 for 5. Boston had a score of zero for two. Ten minutes into the extra session, Laura Stacey chased down a stretch pass from Mélodie Daoust and came dangerously close to ending the game on a breakaway, but she missed high.
Keller then took the stick from Stacey’s hands to start a power play for Montreal. Montreal, though, was unable to adapt.
I got lucky on a few occasions,” Frankel remarked. “I was informed by someone that the puck had briefly been inside my pants before falling out. Tonight we were a little lucky with the puck.
Shirley cut to the inside and ripped a shot that beat the Desbiens and struck Adzija’s stick with Boston behind 1-0 in the third. This tied the score at 1:48. At 1:07 of the second period, O’Neill scored the first goal on a power play.
Before O’Neill could put Stacey’s one-timer into the net, it struck Frankel’s shoulder and landed on the goal line.
After forty minutes, Montreal had a 25-10 lead, and after twenty, a 12-2 lead. Sarah Lefort, a forward for Montreal, was penalized for one game prior to the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs for hitting Boston’s Jamie Lee Rattray in an open ice encounter on Saturday.
Boston’s forwards Loren Gabel, Taylor Girard, and Rattray were not in the starting lineup.
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