Minnesota won a tightly contested matchup against Ottawa on Wednesday, winning 2-1 in front of a home crowd at Xcel Energy Center.
With the regulation win, Minnesota secures three points and moves one point ahead of Montréal to claim first place in the standings.
The game began with both teams exchanging early scoring opportunities, but it was defender Amanda Boulier who broke the deadlock at 14:31 of the first period to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead.
Taking advantage of a moving screen by Becca Gilmore in front of Minnesota goaltender Maddie Rooney, Boulier fired a shot from the blue line off a cross-ice pass from her defensive partner, Aneta Tejralová. The goal was Boulier’s first of the season, with both Tejralová and Gilmore collecting their first helpers of the year on the tally.
Minnesota tied it up on the power play at 2:35 of the second period after a fortunate bounce off the end boards ended up at the side of the net, where forward Kelly Pannek got a stick on it before linemate Abby Boreen was able to slide the puck through the pads of Ottawa netminder Emerance Maschmeyer.
Minnesota newcomer Sophie Jaques picked up the secondary assist on the goal in her first game with the team after being traded from Boston earlier in the week. The assist is Jaques’ first point of the season and her first as a pro. The 23-year-old graduated from Ohio State in 2023.
The teams headed into the second intermission with a 1-1 tie and an identical 13 shots apiece on net.
Defender Maggie Flaherty broke the deadlock at 3:35 of the third period to give Minnesota a 2-1 advantage.
Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield used her speed to carry the puck deep and create space in the corner before sending a pass back to the point and onto Flaherty’s stick. The defender stepped into a one-timer that found the back of the net, giving the home team their first lead of the game.
Despite furious pressure late from Ottawa with the extra attacker on the ice, Minnesota hung on to preserve the victory at home, with Rooney making several key saves in the last 90 seconds.
Rooney made 23 saves to register her second win of the season. Maschmeyer made 22 saves in the loss.
Next up, the two teams face each other for the second game in a row, as they head to Ottawa for a tilt on Saturday, February 17 at The Arena at TD Place for a 2:00 p.m. ET puck drop.
Postgame Quotes:
Minnesota head coach Ken Klee on scoring depth: “We’re not looking for one or two players to score all the goals for us. Those teams usually don’t win. The more first goals we have the better…everyone contributing, everyone pitching in trying to help us win.”
Minnesota defender Maggie Flaherty on her first PWHL goal: “To score your first professional goal, especially in your home rink surrounded by your family and friends…it doesn’t get much better than that, you can’t write it up any better.”
Ottawa forward Emily Clark on the 2-1 loss: “Of course there is some frustration because this team wants to get back in the win column. Our group is still very optimistic and tight knit. We just try to get more external than internal. We need to talk about solutions and areas where we can get better for Saturday.”
Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod on her team’s play on Wednesday: “It’s another hard-fought game. This league is always so close! A little bit of frustration, of course, settling in. We’re trying to get that W and get us on the right side of the scoreboard, here. We just talked about how we can make those small gains, cause this league is so tight. It comes down to details. We take it upon us as a coaching staff and as a team to make sure that for the next one we have grown a little bit in those areas. Let’s get back out there and play them again. It’s fun!”
Notes:
- Attendance: 6,276 – Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN
- Three Stars 1) Maggie Flaherty 2) Abby Boreen 3) Maddie Rooney
- Shots ended 24-24 — Ottawa outshot Minnesota in the first (6-5) and third period (11-10), Minnesota had the edge in the second (9-7).
- Minnesota’s Kelly Pannek led all players with five shots on goal — Teammate Grace Zumwinkle was second with four.
- Hayley Scamurra had the most shots amongst Ottawa players with three.
- Minnesota was 1/1 on the powerplay — Ottawa was 0/1.
- Pannek and Boreen were +2 in the game, the highest mark amongst all players.
- Boreen got her first multi-point performance playing in the last game of her 10-day contract.
- Rooney has secured points in each of her four starts this season — She has two regulation wins and two overtime losses.
- Kendall Coyne Schofield extended her point streak to four games.
- Amanda Boulier’s first PWHL goal came in her first game back in Minnesota after playing four seasons with the PHF’s Minnesota Whitecaps.
- The loss is Ottawa’s sixth by one goal – Two in regulation time — Four in overtime.
- Ottawa’s fourth straight loss becomes the longest losing streak in the PWHL this season.
- The regulation win ties Minnesota with Toronto for most in the PWHL with four.
- Minnesota (4-2-2-2) now sits alone in first place in the league standings with 18 points.
- Ottawa (2-0-4-2) has 11 points on the season, tied with New York for fourth place.
- Many Minnesota and Ottawa players and staff arrived at the game wearing Sophie’s Squad apparel – Sophie’s Squad, founded by Gabbie Hughes and her family, is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the mental health of athletes from youth to college.
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