Minnesota looks to lock up third place in final game for both teams
ELMONT, NY (May 4, 2024) – The final weekend of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) regular-season features a pair of Saturday afternoon games, including New York against Minnesota, at 1:00 p.m. ET at UBS Arena.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in the United States can watch the game live on MSG/MSGHD, and on Bally Sports North/San Diego/SoCal/Sun, the Bally Sports app on mobile and tablet devices (including iOS and Android), ballysports.com when authenticated using pay-TV credentials, and on Bally Sports+, the standalone streaming subscription service available from Bally Sports. The game will also stream live on the league’s YouTube channel. Jamie Hersch will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst David Starman.
CHASING THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Minnesota can clinch a playoff spot and third place in the overall standings with one point in today’s game against New York. Should New York win in regulation, Minnesota could still secure a playoff berth if Boston does not beat Montréal in regulation in their afternoon game.
If Minnesota loses to New York in regulation, Boston can clinch a playoff spot with a regulation win by virtue of having more overtime wins than Minnesota in a 35-point tiebreak scenario.
Ottawa can clinch a playoff spot if Montréal beats Boston in regulation by virtue of having more regulation wins than Boston in a 32-point tiebreak scenario.
Toronto has clinched first place and have earned the opportunity to select their semi-final opponent between the third and fourth-place teams, once the final standings are confirmed. Montréal has clinched home ice advantage and will have their semi-final opponent determined following Toronto’s selection.
New York has been eliminated from playoff contention and have earned the first overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft.
FAN APPRECIATION
Today’s game at UBS Arena will celebrate the support of PWHL New York fans throughout the inaugural season. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a replica of the team’s commemorative inaugural season banner. Prizes will be awarded to lucky fans throughout the game, including seat upgrades to the front row. Following the game will be a special ‘Teal Takeaway’ ceremony where the team will welcome 20 of their most dedicated supporters and guests onto the ice, where they will each be presented a signed jersey from one of the players. Today’s Bench Buddies are from the 43 Oak Foundation – an organization based on the educational development of young athletes who are either minorities or underprivileged through the sport of ice hockey.
SETTING THE STAGE
It’s the end of the regular-season road for these two teams who will be the first to wrap up their inaugural season schedules across the league. Minnesota (8-4-3-8) enters the action in third place with 35 points and a fifth straight opportunity to a clinch a playoff berth. The only team standing in their way is New York (4-4-3-12), in sixth place with 23 points and the opportunity to play spoiler. Minnesota was the league’s hottest team before the International Break with a season-high five straight wins but have dropped a season-high four straight games upon their return. The two most recent losses of their skid include a 2-1 loss to Boston at home last Saturday, where they surrendered the winning goal with under three seconds, and a 4-1 loss in Toronto on Wednesday where they gave up four unanswered goals. During Minnesota’s win streak the team averaged 3.6 goals-per-game, with the average dropping to 1.25 in their last four. New York has managed just one win since the break, and it came in dramatic fashion against Ottawa on Tuesday at Prudential Center, where the team erased a 2-0 deficit with four goals in the second period on the way to a 4-3 win. The victory secured the first overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft. It was only New York’s third win on home ice this season where they’ve collected a league-low nine points in 11 games. Two of those wins and four of those points were accumulated in five games at UBS Arena where the team has played at home the most. Minnesota ranks fifth in road efficiency with five wins and 14 points in 11 games away from home. Today’s game features New York’s potent powerplay against a Minnesota penalty kill that ranks sixth. Minnesota leads the league in shots for and fewest shots against, while New York averages the fewest shots for and the most against.
THE SEASON SERIES THROUGH FOUR GAMES
Minnesota won three of the first four games against New York and lead the season series 9-3 in points. The road team won the first three games, including New York with a 3-2 overtime victory at Xcel Energy Center on Jan. 14, Minnesota with a 2-1 overtime victory at Bridgeport’s Total Mortgage Arena on Jan. 28, and Minnesota’s 2-0 victory at UBS Arena on Mar. 3. Minnesota won the most recent game 5-1 at home on Mar. 16. The five goals are a season-high for Minnesota and the four-goal difference is tied for New York’s most lopsided loss. In that contest, Michela Cava scored twice for Minnesota, with both Kendall Coyne Schofield and Grace Zumwinkle producing a goal and an assist apiece, and Taylor Heise contributing two assists. New York’s Ella Shelton leads the season series with five points, including a goal and four assists, followed by Minnesota’s Kelly Pannek with four points, including two goals and two assists. Nicole Hensley started the second game of the series and stopped 33 of 34 shots in the win.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York’s Alex Carpenter is tied for second in league scoring with 22 points, amassing eight goals and 14 assists in 23 games. She has two assists in her last two games and ranks second overall in the category. Teammate Ella Shelton leads all defenders in scoring with 18 points in 23 games, including six goals, which leads the position, along with 12 assist. She hits the ice riding a three-game point streak following a three-point performance with a goal and two assists against Ottawa. Jade Downie-Landry (7G, 5A) scored on Tuesday and is tied for third in New York scoring with Jessie Eldridge (7G, 5A) and Abby Roque (5G ,7A). Defender Brooke Hobson (1G, 3A) has recorded all four of her points this season in a current three-game streak. Minnesota is led offensively by rookie Grace Zumwinkle (10G, 7A) with 17 points in 22 games. She ranks second among first-year pros in total points and leads the way in goals. Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield (6G, 10A) has 16 points, followed by Kelly Pannek (4G, 10A) with 14 points, and Taylor Heise (4G, 9A) with 13 points. Sophie Jaques (2G, 8A) leads all rookie defenders in scoring with 10 points.
POST BETWEEN-THE-PIPES
New York goaltender Lindsey Post will make her first start of the season in the team’s finale. She made her PWHL debut last Sunday in third period relief and stopped all five shots she faced in 14:31 of action. The 30-year-old from Chelsea, QC, spent the last four seasons playing overseas in the SDHL and was the league’s Goaltender of the Year in 2020. New York is the only team so far this season to put their third goaltender into game action.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We’re motivated to play our best hockey. Obviously, we are not in the situation we had hoped to be in, and we’re not happy about that. But we want to give our best effort for ourselves, each other, and the fans.” – Micah Zandee-Hart, New York
“I was proud of how our team bounced back from a 2-0 deficit versus Ottawa. It would have been easy to cash in our chips after that first period and call it a season but our players, deciding to strive for a more positive fate, fought and earned the win that night. I have always been impressed by our group’s resilience and I feel that we’ve become a tough team to play against. I’m proud of our players and I’m looking forward to watching them play their best game of the season versus Minnesota.” – Howie Draper, New York
“This is the reality of professional sports. You grind through an entire season and get to one game that can determine your fate. I’m excited for the opportunity our team has, we control our destiny. This is a game where all the hard-work, practice and sacrifice they have made all year gets to pay off.” – Ken Klee, Minnesota
QUICK HITS
Minnesota (+3) is third in goal differential and New York (-17) ranks sixth…Minnesota (2.26) is fourth in goals-per-game average and New York (2.09) ranks fifth…Minnesota (2.13) allows the second fewest goals-per-game and New York (2.83) allows the most on average…Minnesota has scored first in 12 of their games and won nine of them, New York has scored first in seven of their games and won five…Scoring by period for Minnesota is 17-20-11 and for New York 8-18-18…Minnesota has played in 14 one-goal games with seven wins, and New York in 13 with six wins…Minnesota (+105) is first in shot differential and New York (-140) ranks sixth…Minnesota (30.61) is first in shots-per-game average and New York (27.65) ranks sixth…Minnesota (26.04) allows the fewest shots-per-game and New York (33.70) allows the most on average…Minnesota has outshot its opponents 15 times, New York has outshot its opponent four times…New York (7.00) averages the most penalty minutes per game and Minnesota (5.30) averages the fewest…New York (16/74) is second in powerplay efficiency at 21.6%…Minnesota (5/57) ranks fifth on the PP at 8.8%…New York (58/66) is second in penalty kill efficiency at 87.9%…Minnesota (40/57) ranks sixth on the PK at 70.2%…Alex Carpenter (NY) is tied for second in the league in scoring with 22 points…Ella Shelton (NY) leads the league in scoring among defenders with 18 points…Grace Zumwinkle (MIN) is second in rookie scoring with 17 points…Zumwinkle is tied for second in goals with 10…Carpenter is second in assists with 14…Carpenter leads the league with nine powerplay points followed by Shelton with eight…Zumwinkle is tied for the league-lead with four game winning goals and three shootout goals…Abby Roque (NY) is second in the league with 31 penalty minutes…Kendall Coyne Schofield is second in the league with a plus-12 rating…Zumwinkle is third in the league with 92 shots on goal…Carpenter is fourth in the league with 85 shots…Roque (197/324) leads New York with a face-off percentage of 60.8%…Carpenter (59.0%) leads the team with 410 draws…Kelly Pannek (222/414) leads Minnesota in face-offs and with a win-rate of 53.6%…Nicole Hensley (MIN) has won seven of her 13 starts with one shutout and a 1.98 GAA that ranks third and a .926 SV% that is tied for fourth…Lindsey Post (NY) will make her first PWHL start.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
NEW YORK:
Carpenter | Roque | Giguère
Aurard | Woods | Eldridge
Labelle | Downie-Landry | Levis
Vespa | Saulnier | Norcross
Packer
Hobson | Shelton
Zandee-Hart | Bourbonnais
Fällman | Baker
Post | Schroeder
Scratches: Levy, Zafuto
MINNESOTA:
Coyne Schofield | Heise | Cava
Křížová | Pannek | Zumwinkle
Brodt | Fleming | Kunin
DeGeorge | Schepers | Butorac
Bryant
Stecklein | Jaques
Channell | Buchbinder
Greco | Flaherty
Hensley | Rooney
Scratches: Kremer, Leveille
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Béatrice Fortin (Longueuil, QC) and Alex Lepkowski (West Seneca, NY).
Linespersons: Laura Gutauskas (Woolwich, ON) and Greg Offerman (Madison, WI).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_newyork and @pwhl_minnesota.