The PWHL has entered its postseason, the Walter Cup Playoffs. Four of the six original franchises of the league punched their ticket to the playoffs and competition is officially underway. PWHL Boston is facing off against PWHL Montreal in a best-of-five semifinal series. It’s only been one game, yet the showcase of talent and grit by these two teams is indescribable.
PWHL Boston took home the Game 1 win in overtime against the team that was leading them by six points in the regular season standings.
How did they pull it off?
Montreal Dominates, Boston Rallies The Troops
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Boston was on a heater going into the Walter Cup Playoffs, winning four of their five last games of the regular season, including one against their now playoff rivals, PWHL Montreal. Despite this, however, it’s difficult for any team to play in an arena that has seen record-breaking attendance and loyalty for their home team. Playing Game 1 on the road at Place Bell in Montreal was proving to be a challenge, and it certainly was.
Montreal was off to a great start, playing excellent defense and getting shots on Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel. They also did not allow Boston to get a shot on goal until less than halfway through the first period. Montreal was generating several great chances but were not quite able to capitalize on them. The shots on goal in the first period were 12-2 in favor of Montreal.
After going on the power play at the end of the first period –and carrying over into the second– Montreal was finally able to get a puck past Frankel. Kristin O’Neill made it 1-0 after 20 minutes of silence, off a quick pass from Laura Stacey.
PWHL Boston were clearly being dominated throughout the majority of the game, being outshot and outplayed. However, they did not pump the brakes at any point during the game. They picked up the momentum at the latter half of the second period and got more shots to the net. Like in Montreal’s case, they were unable to get past the outstanding Montreal goaltender, Ann-Renee Desbiens.
Less than two minutes into the third period, Boston turned up their well-known heat. Sophie Shirley took a shot that was tipped into the net by Lexie Adzija, and the game was now tied with less than 20 minutes to go. Boston ended up outshooting Montreal in the third period 13-8.
However, good rapid offense was certainly not the only contributor to keeping Boston in the game and taking home the win.
Masterclass In The Crease
Save of the century?? pic.twitter.com/5UdEoA7hBI
— Boston Fleet (@PWHL_Boston) May 10, 2024
We have to give credit where credit is due. In this case, an abundance of credit is given to PWHL Boston’s goaltender, Aerin Frankel, who made a historic 53 saves on PWHL Montreal during Game 1. This is what playoff hockey is all about. For the PWHL, this was a night of many firsts, and Frankel’s save count on Thursday night marked the most amount of saves made by a goaltender in PWHL history. The sky’s the limit.
Out of the 53 saves made, one was the most notable. Five minutes into overtime, Frankel made a sprawling save on Melodie Daoust, who was attempting to shove the puck in following a pass from Stacey. Frankel was able to keep it out and extend the extra period of play.
Frankel was impressed with Montreal’s performance in Game 1, saying, “I think Montréal did a good job of putting pucks on the net and obviously it tires you out as the game goes on, but you have to stay mentally focused…I think I had a couple of lucky bounces.”
Susanna Tapani With The Game 1 OT Winner
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The rally between Boston and Montreal was eventually put to an end late in the overtime period by Susanna Tapani.
There was a crowd in front of Desbiens prior to the goal, with Megan Keller getting some initial shots on the goaltender which were stopped. Eventually, the puck was loose in the blue paint, and Tapani got her stick on it to push it through Debiens and get that sweet victory for Boston 14 minutes and 25 seconds into overtime.
When Tapani was asked what she felt about scoring the game-winning goal for her team in Game 1 of the Walter Cup playoffs, she said, “Relief.”
Looking Forward
PWHL Boston and PWHL Montreal will meet again for Game 2 of the Walter Cup Semifinals on Saturday, May 11 at 7 p.m. EST at Place Bell in Montreal, Quebec. The game will be streaming on YouTube on the channel @ThePWHLOfficial and the Women’s Sports Network. Boston currently leads the series 1-0.
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About the Author
River Caraballo (she/they) is a hockey writer for Total Apex Sports. Despite being based in Connecticut, she is a big fan of the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild. They host a weekly podcast and radio show, Round the Rink, where they discuss hockey from the NHL to the PWHL and college hockey. You can follow River on Twitter/X to keep up with her sports content.
