After a day off and a night full of off-ice drama, the NWHL was back for their third day of bubble action. Day three saw the two undefeated teams, Minnesota and Metropolitan, face off in the first game and the second game had the Toronto Six looking for their first win against Boston.
Minnesota Whitecaps 1 – Metropolitan Riveters 0
Minnesota and Metropolitan went into the first game of the day looking to remain undefeated. Sonjia Shelly started in net for the Riveters and Amanda Leveille for the Whitecaps. Both goalies had played fantastic tournaments so far and this game was no different. Neither disappointed in the first period, with each goaltender stopping all the shots that came their way. The two undefeated teams went into the second period dead-locked at zero.
The second period was not much different than the first. The two teams went back and forth, exchanging scoring opportunities and suffering from some unfortunate giveaways. With the third period looming and the two teams still tied at 0, it was clear that the final frame would be critical for both sides.
The majority of the third period did not solve anything. The Whitecaps and the Riveters were still going back and forth, each getting close to sneaking one past the goaltender at the other end. With only minutes left in the period Metro fell into some penalty issues which lead to the Whitecaps slipping one past Shelly in the dying minutes. Whitecaps forward, Haley Mack, scored on a 5 on 3 powerplay with only 10 seconds left in the game to solidify the win and the two points.
To say that the first game of the night was a goalie battle would be an understatement. Minnesota took control of first place in the standings dropping the Riveters down to second place with 4 points. The Riveters take on the Buffalo Beauts on Wednesday night at 8:30pm and the Whitecaps will look to continue their winning streak against Connecticut on Thursday at 8:30pm. Both games will be streamed on Twitch.
Toronto Six 2 – Boston Pride 1
The NWHL’s newest addition, the Toronto Six, headed into the second game of the day 0-2 and looking for their franchise’s first win. Boston was coming off a 5-1 victory against the Buffalo Beauts and were looking to hand the Six their third straight lost but Toronto was not going to let that happen.
The first period started off relatively uneventful with Toronto outshooting the Pride, 13 to 6. With the game going back and forth, Toronto’s Brooke Boquist found herself in the penalty box for slashing penalty at the 10:20. A minute later, the Pride’s Christina Putigna slipped one past Chuli off of a feed from Taylor Turnquist and McKenna Brand.
The second period was relatively uneventful, with Toronto outshooting the Pride, once again but unable to slip one past Boston’s Lovisa Selander. Like the past few games, Toronto has outshot their opponents but have struggled to slip one past the opposing goaltender. Toronto trailed for the remainder of the third until well into the third.
3:31 into the third, Toronto’s Boquist scored after a feed from Lindsay Eastwood and Taylor Woods on the powerplay after Boston’s Lauren Kelly took a tripping penalty, 1:47 into the third. The Six were on a high after scoring and tying up the game and were able to put a second one up on the board. Mikyla Grant-Mentis slipped one past the Pride’s Selander not long after the Six’s first goal. The Six was able to hold onto to the lead for the rest of the third period and secure their first franchise win.
The Six had finally captured their first win in franchise history with an impressive 2-1 victory, gaining them plenty of attention on Twitter from hockey fans. The win put Toronto in third place with a solid 3 points, just one point ahead of the Whales. Toronto is back in action on Thursday when they face off against Buffalo and the Boston Pride look to bounce back against the Whales on Wednesday.
Despite a rocky Monday night off the ice, the NWHL bounced back with an exciting night of hockey. The NWHL is back on Wednesday night when the Boston Pride takes on Connecticut in the first game of the night at 5:30pm and the Riveters take on the Beauts in the second game of the night. All NWHL games are streamed live on Twitch for free so you never will have to miss out on the action. Be sure to come back to Unbenched every day for a roundup of the previous night’s action.
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