With the fifth and final game of the inaugural Walter Cup Finals between Boston and Minnesota on the horizon, here are four things to watch for in Boston’s quest for the Championship.
Goaltender Aerin Frankel backs Boston with stellar performances in the playoffs
Aerin Frankel has had impressive performances in the playoffs and boasts a .953 save percentage in the postseason. She’s allowed 12 goals on 245 shots by Boston’s opponents between the two series and held a .929 save percentage in the regular season. No stranger to playoff hockey, the 25-year-old played for Northeastern University on a team that won the Hockey East Championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament in all five years she was on the team.
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“It starts with our goaltending,” Boston coach Courtney Kessel said. “It starts with [Frankel] and just her ability to stay calm through all these ups and downs, her ability to keep us in games and win games for us. That’s what you want heading into the championship. If you have a hot goalie, you can win.”
Boston’s strong penalty kill contrasts its abysmal power-play
Boston has been nothing short of excellent when it comes to killing penalties. Players, like assistant captain and defender Megan Keller, make block after block on the kill to hold Minnesota to zero goals with the player advantage so far in this series.
A major fault of the Boston team, though, is its performance on the power-play. Boston has gone 0-for-16 in the playoffs with the advantage. Boston scored its most recent power play goal over a month ago on April 27, in a 2-1 win over Minnesota in the regular season. Boston will need to find a way to score on the power play in Game 5 for a much-needed edge over Minnesota to win the Walter Cup.
“Our hope is that at some point our power play can put a puck in the back of the net,” Kessel said.
Top liners fuel Boston’s offense with consistent scoring
In Game 4, forward Alina Müller was the overtime hero when she scored Boston’s game-winning goal in double overtime to extend Boston’s season to Game 5. Müller scored Boston’s sole goal in Game 3, a 4-1 loss. Her linemate, Susanna Tapani, scored two overtime goals in Boston’s semifinal round series against Montréal, and had one in Boston’s 4-3 Game 1 win over Minnesota. Beyond the two of them, the depth ends outside of another forward, Taylor Wenczkowski who’s had a pair in the playoffs.
All eyes will be on Boston’s stars to produce goals early to set the team up for success in the winner-takes-all match. But Boston’s ability to produce will continue to be tested as Minnesota’s defense has succeeded in minimizing Boston chances and preventing quality goal opportunities.
Boston powered through regular season following international break with undefeated record
Before the league’s international break – during which many Boston players played in the IIHF Women’s World Championships – Boston found itself with just eight wins, and in fifth in the playoff picture.
The team looked completely different after the break, going undefeated with five wins and a shutout loss.
“We brought in Kelly Babstock and Lexie Adzija right before break and the energy those two bring off the ice is something really special,” Kessel said. “I knew we had a special group here. I knew it was going to click at some point. It was frustrating for sure at points, but I think the culture we’ve created and what we’ve surrounded these players with is love and it’s family and that’s how you get success.”
Boston put more pressure on its opponents in games and applied more physicality in the final six games of the season and in the regular season finale, the team was rewarded with a playoff spot from a thrilling 4-3 win over Montréal.
While the team’s overall physicality has decreased in the most recent two games of the series, Boston will need to bring some of it back in Game 5 for more chances at winning neutral zone pucks and more puck time.
Game 5 will end with a team becoming champions on Wednesday evening, but it will start when Boston and Minnesota face off with a 7 p.m. puck drop at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.
