The PWHL offseason is officially into the “dog days of summer,” with many areas feeling the heat during these summer months. Things have quieted down, and some players will still sign contracts here and there, but overall, we’ll have to wait a bit before things start to ramp up again.
They plan to announce names and logos in August, so fans have something to look forward to soon. Until then, we’ll continue to look back at the inaugural season with grade reports for each player on PWHL Minnesota. We started with Maddie Rooney, and now it’s time for her goaltending partner, Nicole Hensley. Hensley was the main starter for PWHL Minnesota, and we’ll begin with her regular-season performance.
Hensley Leads Way
Hensley started the season with three straight wins and, like Rooney, hit some bumps along the way, including a losing streak to start the postseason. She played four more games than Rooney and finished the regular season with a record of 7-6-1 with one shutout. She had a save percentage (SV%) of .919 and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.19.
Hensley has a lot of range and can quickly get from side to side to make the stop. She also communicates with her teammates so they know where to be and when, so they give her every chance to make the save. However, she made sure not to do too much and allowed her teammates like Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne-Schofield, and Michela Cava to control the play when necessary.
When the team struggled, she was one of the reasons they were able to pull it back together, but when she had trouble, so did they. Goaltenders can make or break a team, and lucky for PWHL Minnesota, they had two stellar goalies all season. Hensley led the way most of the season, and when she had trouble, Rooney was there to have her back and vice versa. Having a tandem that is also best friends makes a strong combination. Like her goaltending partner Rooney, she earned an A for the regular season.
Hensley Carries in Postseason
Hensley looked strong in the regular season, but she found another level in the postseason. It took her a while to find it, but when they put her in during the Walter Cup Final, she helped carry the team. She played in five games, one in the first round and four in the final, including their Walter Cup-clinching game. Hensley allowed six goals during that time but had an amazing .945 (SV%) and an even better 1.06 (GAA).
Putting up those kind of numbers is hard during the regular season and even harder during the postseason. It was a smaller number of games than a typical postseason, but regardless, it was still difficult, and Hensley shined. What was even more impressive is that she succeeded in shutting out PWHL Boston not just once but twice in the postseason, and shutouts are quite rare in the postseason.
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If this grade was based just on her first game of the postseason, it would be pretty rough. However, she bounced back in a big way, and there’s no way she gets anything other than an A. It’s hard for goaltenders to stay in a good spot mentally, and it can be even harder to overcome that after a tough loss, and she did just that multiple times throughout the season.
Hensley Earns her Grade
Both goaltenders from PWHL Minnesota experienced some ups and downs but overcame them to bring home the Walter Cup. They kept their heads up when things got tough and supported each other. Hensley did well through the regular season, and even during the losing streak, she kept trying and didn’t get down, so she earned her A there.
In the postseason, she truly shined and showed what turning her game around is like. She started off with a loss and, in turn, was taken out of the net, but then when she was given another chance after Rooney’s loss, she stepped up, won, and earned her A.
With an A for the regular season and an A for the postseason, she clearly earned an A for her overall grade. Without her and Rooney’s play, they wouldn’t have been able to make it as far as they did. The whole team found a way to win, but the goaltending gave them the boost they needed, and hopefully, Hensley can carry that game into next season as well.
