PWHL Ottawa fell 3-2 in overtime to first-place PWHL Minnesota at TD Place Arena Jan. 18, kicking off a three-game homestand and extending Ottawa’s season-opening point streak to three games.
Despite taking an early 2-0 lead in the first period, Ottawa failed to score again whilst Minnesota scored twice unanswered in regulation and again to take the game in overtime.
The clash between the two teams promised fireworks, as they came into the night with the two best goal differentials and the first and second-best goals-per-game averages in the PWHL.
Coming off a decisive victory in Toronto, Ottawa was looking to ride their momentum through this game. However, they were unable to contain Minnesota’s high-flying offence and achieve their first home win.
“Minnesota’s got off to a great start this year,” Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod said. “They’re the team that everyone’s chasing.”
It was hardly four minutes into the opening period when Ottawa first round pick and defender Savannah Harmon deftly placed the puck over Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley’s right shoulder on the short side to open the scoring. The goal was intelligently set up by forward Emily Clark, with the secondary assist belonging to forward Gabbie Hughes.
It wasn’t long until Ottawa increased their lead to two as forward Lexie Adzija cleaned up the rebound from defender Jincy Roese’s point shot, demonstrating the prowess of Ottawa’s league-leading power play.
“[Hensley] knows it’s a long game, we gotta stay focused,” said Minnesota head coach Ken Klee after the game.
Despite the rough start, Minnesota came out for blood after the first intermission. Finnish forward Susanna Tapani wired home her first of the season on the power play just three minutes into the second period, assisted by forward Taylor Heise and defender Lee Stecklein.
Minutes later, Tapani took a trip to the sin bin for what could’ve been a momentum swing back in Ottawa’s favour.
However, forward Grace Zumwinkle, the league’s top goal-scorer, capitalized on a poor defensive lapse by Ottawa defender Amanda Boulier by burning past her and beating Ottawa goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer on a short-side backhanded beauty.
This shorthanded goal demonstrated the PWHL’s unique “jailbreak rule,” where a power play ends if the shorthanded team scores a goal, which released Tapani and ended Ottawa’s advantage. This was the third instance where this rule has come into effect in the PWHL’s young season.
Throughout the rest of regulation, goaltending tightened up but there was no shortage of opportunities.
At the end of the second, Ottawa forward Daryl Watts made a drive for the Minnesota net where she finessed her way around Hensley but couldn’t beat the post.
In the third frame, Heise had an opportunity off a rebound which had Maschmeyer sprawling on the ice, but Heise failed to hit the net.
Later, Hensley was caught completely out of her net but managed a miraculous stick save.
With two strong teams who had yet to lose in regulation, the game was destined for overtime to decide a winner.
The extra frame was quickly decided by Tapani’s second marker of the game, assisted by Zumwinkle. Maschmeyer was caught off guard as Tapani’s shot ricocheted off the stick of Ottawa’s Roese, which sent the puck on an awkward trajectory and over Maschmeyer’s shoulder into the back of the net.
“Sometimes you don’t get the puck luck,” Maschmeyer said.
On offence, Zumwinkle now has five goals in five games after her shorthanded tally, as well as an assist she picked up in overtime. Tapani’s confident two-goal performance was certainly a huge factor in the victory.
“We knew we were gonna come back and score those goals,” Tapani said. “Goals is nothing.”
Despite falling to their first-place opponent, Ottawa looked like Minnesota’s toughest competition so far this season. Through the first frame, Ottawa was downright dominant.
A bright spot was Roese, who picked up an assist in the loss but was also solid and reliable defensively throughout.
However, Ottawa found some difficulty on the breakout, often being confined to their own zone by Minnesota’s relentless forecheck. This often caused turnovers in the defensive end. To counter, Ottawa was feisty in the offensive zone and drew several penalties to deliver valuable power play chances.
There were certainly some unlucky bounces for Ottawa, like Watts’ near miss in the third which could have changed the game’s outcome. Nonetheless, Ottawa proved they are worthy competition for the best team in the league.
Looking ahead, Ottawa plays back-to-back home games next week. They face PWHL Toronto Jan. 23 and Boston Jan. 24.
The second game of the back-to-back could see the debut of Ottawa backup goaltender Sandra Abstreiter, but MacLeod refused to show her cards.
“I don’t know, I’ll go get the dart board out and just see what dart sits,” MacLeod joked.
Fans continue to show unconditional support for the new franchise as Ottawa still looks for their first win at home after suffering two tough overtime losses on home ice. The announced attendance was 5,609 fans.
“We love playing here,” Maschmeyer said. “Our fans are incredible.”
With files from Janson Duench.
Featured image by Andrea Cardin/Freestyle Photography/PWHL.
