SAINT PAUL, MN (March 13, 2024) – Kendall Coyne Schofield had a goal and an assist, and Nicole Hensley stopped all 20 shots she faced as Minnesota topped Boston 4-0 on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center.
The shutout was Hensley’s first in the PWHL which catapults her team into a tie for first place in the league standings, alongside both Montréal and Toronto.
Coyne Schofield got her team on the board first with her fifth goal of the season scored at 18:12 of the opening frame.
Defender Natalie Buchbinder pinched in the offensive zone, intercepting a clearing attempt at the hash marks before putting the puck down low to Taylor Heise in the corner. Heise then made a no-look pass to Coyne Schofield out front, who snapped the puck under Boston starter Aerin Frankel’s blocker to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota’s captain recorded her second point of the night—an assist— on Michela Cava’s second goal of the year.
After receiving a pass from Coyne Schofield, Sophie Jaques took a shot from the point, which was partially blocked, deflecting into the end boards. Cava was parked in the right place, just behind the goal line to Frankel’s left, and quickly put the puck on net. The puck went off Frankel’s left pad and into the net, doubling Minnesota’s lead to 2-0.
Despite a final score of 4-0, Boston was within two goals until the 14:43 mark of the third period when Grace Zumwinkle got on the board with her eighth tally of the campaign.
With Boston attempting to make it a one goal game, they found themselves shorthanded—and Minnesota was able to capitalize.
Zumwinkle took a one-timer from the left hash marks after getting a feed from Maggie Flaherty who was at the far point. The shot went through Frankel’s pads to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead. Kelly Pannek also recorded an assist on the play.
Boston pulled Frankel with 4:22 remaining in the game. Despite sustained pressure—including more than a minute of puck possession in the offensive zone—Boston iced the puck and were forced to temporarily put their goaltender back in the net. Frankel once again made her way to the bench with 2:37 left in the match but it was Heise, with her second point of the evening, who iced the game for her team.
Heise got an unassisted goal, blocking a Boston shot then immediately firing the puck down the ice and into the open cage, which made the game 4-0 at 17:57 of the final frame.
Frankel made 20 saves in the loss.
Up next, Minnesota continues their homestand when they host New York on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. ET. Later that evening, Boston looks to rebound against Ottawa as the two teams face-off at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit as part of PWHL Takeover Weekend.
Postgame Quotes:
Nicole Hensley on tonight’s game: “It’s a good bounce-back from the last time we played this team. They’re very good and have some good offensive weapons. We played really well defensively tonight so that’s something we can take away from this going forward. We also did a great job tonight of putting pucks on the net and making it hard on Aerin (Frankel). She’s a great goaltender so you have to work really hard to score goals.”
Michela Cava on her goal: “I had a chance to do a wrap around on my first shift and when I came back to the bench Maddie (Rooney) told me I should have wrapped it. The next time I went below the goal line I just kind of put it on the net, so I have to give her (Rooney) some credit for the goal.”
Minnesota head coach Ken Klee on adding Cava to his top line: “I thought they had good chemistry. They hadn’t played together but I watch Michela every day in practice. She doesn’t have a lot of points but she makes good plays every night, so if I can get Taylor (Heise) and Kendall (Coyne Schofield) a player that can get them the puck – they’re going to have chances, and I thought they did, and obviously it was a couple of really nice plays.”
Boston forward Jamie Lee Rattray: “I think we did a lot of good things, but we still have to find ways to score. You can’t win a hockey game if you don’t score goals. I think we have to find different ways to get pucks in the net. Whether that’s being a little more gritty, or things like that. We just have to find that extra little layer or step to get some more goals and create more offense.“
Boston head coach Courtney Kessel on her team’s loss: “We simply didn’t do enough things right on the ice to put pucks in the net and score points. We need to play complete games going forward and show up while we’re on the road. There were low shots on goal for both teams, but we have to find ways to score.”
NOTES:
- Attendance: 4,669 — Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN.
- Three Stars: 1) Nicole Hensley 2) Kendall Coyne Schofield 3) Michela Cava
- Shots ended 24-20 in favor of Minnesota — Boston had the edge in the first period, outshooting the home team 7-5, but Minnesota led in the second 6-5, and in the third 13-8.
- Coyne Schofield and Taylor Heise led all players with four shots each — Grace Zumwinkle, Megan Keller (BOS), and Shiann Darkangelo (BOS) finished with three shots apiece.
- Minnesota was 1/2 on the powerplay — Boston was 0/1.
- Zumwinkle’s third period goal was her first on the advantage this season and was the fourth powerplay goal Minnesota has scored this season on 41 opportunities.
- Hensley’s six wins ranks second in the PWHL behind Kristen Campbell (TOR) with 11.
- Hensley lowered her goals-against-average to 1.79 which ranks second overall.
- Zumwinkle (1G, 4A) and Kelly Pannek (1G, 3A) extended their point streaks to four games.
- Pannek now has ten assists on the year which puts her into a tie for most in the league with Alina Müller (BOS) and Alex Carpenter (NY) — She also sits in a four-way tie for sixth in the points category with 12.
- Zumwinkle moves to second place in PWHL goal scoring with eight goals, tied with Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) and Carpenter — She’s now fourth in league scoring with 14 points.
- Coyne Schofield records her second multi-point game of the season — She had a two-assist game on February 27 against Toronto.
- Coyne Schofield is now tied for tenth in PWHL scoring with three other players, each with 11 points.
- Heise had her first multi-point game since her three-point effort against Toronto on January 10 — Tonight’s game was her third since returning from LTIR.
- Coyne Schofield and Cava both recorded plus-3 ratings.
- Sophie Jaques recorded an assist against her former team and now has five points in eight games for Minnesota since being traded from Boston.
- Three straight wins for Minnesota ties their longest streak of the season.
- Minnesota has now won eight of nine games when they score the first goal.
- Minnesota scored a goal in all three periods for just the third time this season.
- This was Minnesota’s first time scoring four goals in regulation this season – Four goals marks Minnesota’s largest margin of victory in a single game.
- Minnesota is tied with Toronto with three shutout victories this season – This was the first time Boston has been shut out in a game this season.
- Minnesota takes the lead in the head-to-head season series 7-5 in points through four games.
- Minnesota (7-3-3-4) now has 30 points on the season in 17 games played which puts them in a three-way tie for first place with Toronto and Montréal — Toronto has a game in hand on both teams and holds the tiebreaker with eight regulation wins.
- Boston (4-3-2-7) remains tied with Ottawa for fourth place with 20 points — Each team has played 16 games – Ottawa holds the current tiebreaker with five regulation wins.
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