PWHL Finals Game Two: Dominance

The first ever PWHL Finals started with a back and forth Game One on Sunday, with Minnesota's team scoring first, but Boston's team ending up with the victory by a score of 4-3. Similar to the Semifinals, the Finals is played under a best-of-five format, and in those situations, losing Game One really puts a team's back against the wall. Game Two was Minnesota's chance to strike back in response to their Game One loss, or face having to win three straight the rest of the way. I say this even though Minnesota already pulled off one reverse sweep in the Semifinals.

It was Nicole Hensley in net for Minnesota against Aerin Frankel for Boston, and the first period of this one was a bit more tame than we saw in Game One. It really did look like we'd get a scoreless opening frame, until Michaela Cava did something about it. Similar to Game One, Cava scored first in Game Two, with both Finals goals being her first of this year's playoff run. Less than two minutes later, Sophie Jaques (who was traded from Boston to Minnesota in a deal that included Susanna Tapani) made it 2-0 in Minnesota's favor. A tripping call on Tapani gave Minnesota the game's first power play, but it was killed off.

The second period saw Boston get on the board, or so they thought. The replay showed that Hensley covered the puck long enough to get a whistle, and a flick of the puck resulted a goal for Boston, but it was deemed that a stoppage should have happened, and no goal was awarded. Boston received a pair of power plays in the frame, but neither were successful. Minnesota still led 2-0 after 40 minutes, and the score was holding up for a good bit of the 3rd period. Frankel was pulled for the extra attacker, but that only allowed Jaques to pick up her second goal of the game to ice it.

Minnesota won, 3-0, handing Boston their first loss of this year's playoffs; Boston had swept their Semifinal series and won Game One of the Finals. Most importantly, the best-of-five Finals is now at 1-1, turning the affair into a two-out-of-three series, with the next two games in Minnesota. The shots on goal were tied at seven in the first period, 6-5 in Minnesota's favor in the second period, and 10-8 Minnesota in the third period. Nicole Hensley stopped all 20 Boston shots for the first-ever PWHL Finals shutout. She received the game's second star, while the first star went to Sophie Jaques, who had two goals.

Game Two was absolutely amazing. Game One had a back-and-forth feel; the two teams traded control and momentum until Boston ended up regaining the lead and never looking back. Regarding Game Two, it was a defensive battle that was won by Minnesota. Nicole Hensley was not surrendering her net to anyone in a Boston uniform, and that allowed Minnesota to hand Boston their first loss of this year's playoffs.

Game Three is Friday in Minnesota. It's a pivotal Game Three with the series at 1-1. The winner will move one win away from capturing the Walter Cup, and for Minnesota, they could earn the chance to capture the Cup on their home ice. However, if Boston takes Game Three, then they will force Minnesota to need to win at home to get a trip back to Boston for the deciding Game Five. This inaugural PWHL season has been amazing as hell, and this year's Finals serve as the grand finale of what has been a very epic campaign in women's hockey!