Minnesota outshot Boston 44-17, and rolled to a 3-0 win at Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts Wednesday night in a deciding Game 5 of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Championship Finals. Minnesota becomes the first champion in the inaugural season of the current six team league.
Liz Schepers second period goal is all Minnesota would need, and goaltender Nichole Hensley earned her second shutout of the Finals in the victory. Hensley played the final four games of the series, and stopped 87 of 89 shots. Michela Cava added a third period wraparound tally, and Kendall Coyne put a bow on it with an empty netter. Taylor Heise assisted on the marker by Cava for her eighth postseason point, earning her the playoff MVP. Minnesota outshot Boston 35-10 over the final two periods in bringing home the inaugural Walter Cup.
Boston got 42 saves from former Northeastern standout netminder Aerin Frankel in the loss. Boston finished 17-15 (12-12 in the regular season), beating Montreal in a three game sweep in the semifinals. They forced a Game 5 with Minnesota by winning Game 4 on the road 1-0 in double overtime. Minnesota (18-16) also went 12-12 in the regular year, and had to battle past Toronto in five games before facing Boston.
Boston joined the PWHL on August 29, 2023. Danielle Marmer, a former scout and player development assistant with the Boston Bruins, was named the first General Manager in franchise history. On September 15, they named Courtney Kessel (associate head coach at Boston University) as their inaugural bench boss. Boston signed United States players Frankel, Hillary Knight, and Megan Keller to three year contacts and their first selection in the PWHL Draft they selected Swiss forward Alina Muller with the third overall pick.
