It may have been Super Bowl Sunday in most of the United States, but in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the Xcel Energy Center, it was Game 7 of the Rivalry Series between the United States and Canada. Each team comprised players from all six Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) teams. Of the six PWHL teams, PWHL Minnesota led the way with the most players on Team USA with eight.
The game started fast-paced for both sides before Team Canada jumped to an early lead. They held a 1-0 lead throughout the first before adding to it in the second period. Despite some strong chances, Team USA struggled to convert, and Team Canada climbed to a 3-0 lead before Team USA finally got on the board to make it 3-1. However, just as they got some hope, Team Canada stepped up and made it 4-1 to end the period.
In the third period, Team USA came out and had chances but couldn’t score even on a 6-on-3 attempt. They had strong efforts, but Team Canada capitalized with Natalie Spooner leading the way and took the series on US soil. Hopefully, Team USA will learn from this experience and be ready for the April 2024 Women’s World Championship.
Rivalry Series Catch-Up
One of the reasons the Rivalry Series was brought about was to give the women a chance to skate to get ready for tournaments like the World Championship because there wasn’t a league they all consistently played in at the time. This season has been different with the PWHL; these women now have the chance to skate daily. With the Rivalry Series games spanning a few months, the rosters changed slightly depending on who was available. November and December featured some college players, while February was all PWHL.
This season, the Rivalry Series started back in November 2023 with a game in Arizona on Wednesday, Nov. 8, and another game in California on Saturday, Nov. 11. Then the teams had a couple of weeks off before picking up again in December with two games in Ontario on Thursday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 16. They had the holidays off along with the month of January before playing their final three games in February.
Two of those three were held on Wednesday, Feb. 7, and Friday, Feb. 9, in Saskatchewan before heading to Minnesota for their final game on Sunday, Feb. 11. Team USA jumped out to an early three-games-to-nothing lead before Team Canada came storming back to tie the series up at three games a piece and carried the momentum into the final game that led to both their game and series win.
“Disappointing anywhere, especially on home soil, especially for Grace (Zumwinkle) and I; this is where we play professionally, so I’m sure we’ll see a lot of these fans on Wednesday, but I think any time you put on that red, white, and blue you gotta execute and be better. Doesn’t matter if it’s here or there or anywhere in the world,” Kendall Coyne Schofield said regarding how disappointing both the loss of the game and the series were.
Team USA Special Teams Problems
The game started pretty equal, but Team USA got into penalty trouble early and struggled to get back into it. They took four penalties, but it felt like many more, especially after Team Canada scored on not just one but two of those man advantages. The penalty kill wasn’t all bad news, however, as Team USA’s Grace Zumwinkle found a way to score on a goalie mishap while shorthanded, giving them a glimmer of hope.
“I guess so, I was just trying to forecheck her and maybe create some chaos, and I got a lucky bounce, so I’ll take it,” Zumwinkle said after being asked during a postgame press conference if she knew Team Canada goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens likes to make plays away from the net that led to Zumwinkle’s lone goal for the US.
Their penalty kill struggled, and their power play unfortunately couldn’t convert despite having a 6-on-3 to start the third. They had five power plays throughout the game at crucial points where they could’ve climbed back in but couldn’t score. They also had issues turning the puck over and missing chances on their power plays. The shots they did have were strong, but they couldn’t find that sweet spot to force it in the net.
Team USA Needed Shots
Every team can always shoot the puck more. While Team USA was ahead in the shots on goal total, it wasn’t enough, especially when they were facing a goaltender of Desbiens’s caliber, who showcased her abilities a few weeks ago against PWHL Minnesota. It was also difficult to get any shots through, with Team Canada blocking nearly everything.
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They were aggressive and tried to set things up, but they got caught in one of the biggest problems for every team: passing too much or looking for that perfect pass. However, taking more time in this situation made sense since there were so many blocks, and Desbiens was so strong in the net. Had Team USA thrown everything possible at the net every time they entered the zone, they maybe could’ve scored more.
PWHL Resumes
The PWHL had quite a break while the NHL All-Star Break and the Rivalry Series were going on, but they’ll get back to playing this week. Unfortunately, PWHL Minnesota may be down one of their best skaters, Taylor Heise, who was injured during the first period of Game 7 of the Rivalry Series. That was obviously a huge loss for Team USA, but it will also be hard for PWHL Minnesota, depending on whether she has to miss time.
“I can’t imagine how disappointed she was to not be able to continue in tonight’s game and certainly would’ve had a factor in our special teams. Everything is shuffled at that point, we were limited already with our depth that taking out the 1C is tough especially when you’re down in the special teams department,” said Team USA head coach John Wroblewski about Heise’s impact.
Hopefully, Heise will heal quickly and be able to help her team win some more games as the PWHL season continues, with PWHL Minnesota playing at home on Wednesday, Feb. 14, against PWHL Ottawa. Their earlier meet-up was close, with PWHL Minnesota coming out on top 3-2 in overtime, and with both teams suffering a loss coming into this game, they’ll want to get back into the winning circle.
