PWHL Minnesota avoided elimination in Game 3 against PWHL Toronto, and they were looking to do it again in Game 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, May 15. The lineups stayed the same except PWHL Toronto being without their star Natalie Spooner who was injured in Game 3 after a collision with Grace Zumwinkle.
Things started with a little more of a jump for both teams and once again, there was end-to-end action. Despite a lot of chances, including a slap shot that just trickled wide off PWHL Toronto’s Kristen Campbell’s pads, the period remained scoreless. It was the same story throughout the second period: each team had chances, but both goaltenders held strong and kept it scoreless.
In the final period, PWHL Minnesota had more chances, but the game remained scoreless, requiring overtime to decide it. Even that wasn’t enough. They had to go to a second overtime, and that’s where things ended, with Claire Butorac knocking in the game-winner to extend her team’s playoff lives. While Butorac got the goal, their goaltender Maddie Rooney played outstanding, and that’s where we’ll start.
PWHL Minnesota’s Rooney on Fire
Just when you thought Rooney couldn’t get any better than she was in Game 3, she took it up a step for Game 4. She was everywhere she needed to be, and every time PWHL Toronto tried to trick her and wrap it around, she was ready at the post to prevent the goal. She stood tall throughout regulation and overtime. PWHL Toronto got some good snipes in, but she was ready for them.
However, some pucks didn’t even reach her as her defense played a very disciplined game and blocked many shots. They communicated well and made sure someone was covering any open players. The big difference was they made sure to keep someone high at all times to prevent PWHL Toronto from cherry-picking like they did in the first game of the series. Her defense kept as much of the play as they could to the outside and helped prevent many shots.
“She’s really, just a calm kid; she comes to the rink every day with a smile on her face, she’s a pro, she goes about her business, makes sure she’s ready mentally, goes on has a smile on her face, and that’s what I see as a coach. I mean these guys (gesturing to his players on either side of him), can comment more on the room, how she is but what I see as a coach is a very calm confident kid, she doesn’t get too rattled. The other day her car broke down on the way to the game and she just like called Nicole ‘hey can you pick me up?’ ‘yeah, no problem, I’ll pick ya up.” There was no major thing…” head coach Ken Klee said when asked about Rooney’s performance.
PWHL Minnesota’s Interesting Special Teams
PWHL Minnesota’s power play has been quiet for most of the season, but their penalty kill has stepped up in the last few games, and it made a difference in this game. They had to kill off two penalties, with one being a partial 4-on-4, but they did it well. They cleared pucks when they had the chance and didn’t panic when they couldn’t get it out of their zone. They stayed structured and disciplined, and it worked in their favor.
Their power play is still struggling to find the net, but they returned to the basics of winning the faceoff and getting the shot. It didn’t result in any goals, but it did lead to some chances they needed. Eventually, the more chances they create for themselves, the more the puck will go in the net.
PWHL Minnesota has Grit
For a team that could’ve easily given up and allowed PWHL Toronto to take the sweep and move on, PWHL Minnesota dug deep and found the gritty side they’ve shown off and on all season. They fought hard in all the board battles and didn’t allow PWHL Toronto room to move along the boards.
Related: PWHL Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle Earns Rookie of the Year Nomination
PWHL Minnesota tried to let go of the pretty plays and got back to the basic, gritty play, and it started to give them more chances. They got in the crease, got their sticks on as many pucks as possible, and did what needed to be done.
“I mean, it was great when you get your season on the line, and you’re back at home; that’s a good feeling. You can take it as pressure or you can take it as ‘hey we play well at home, we’ve played well at home all year’. I think breaking through in Game 3 was good for our just mental confidence and being excited to play hockey and knowing that we can win games and then tonight, I thought I loved our first period, I loved our third period, the second they took it to us a little bit which you’re going to expect right? I mean, they’re a good team; they’ve been a good team all year…” Klee said about their overall effort.
PWHL Minnesota Earns Game 5
After being down two games to none and on the brink of elimination, PWHL Minnesota found their game and has been getting progressively better in each game, starting with Game 2. It’s no surprise these are, for the most part, single-goal games, as they both play tight defense and have great goaltenders. Hopefully, PWHL Minnesota can continue to improve their game and come out with a win in Toronto on Friday.
