With four wins in its first five games, Minnesota looked very much like the class of the six-team Professional Women's Hockey League, and was at or near the top of the standings for most of the season.
There are currently two games left in the regular season and Minnesota is playing for the playoffs.
Needing one more point to qualify for the postseason, Minnesota was stunned by Boston's late surge and trailed 2-1 in front of a crowd of 9,977 at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday. I was defeated. Minnesota has lost three games in a row.
Former Gophers standout Hannah Blount scored Boston's winning goal with less than three seconds left, keeping the team's playoff hopes alive.
Montreal defeated Ottawa on Saturday to move into first place with 41 points, three points behind Toronto. Minnesota remains in third place with 35 points, three points ahead of Ottawa and Boston.
Minnesota has finished the regular season with two games, Wednesday against Toronto and Saturday against New York, but still needs one point to secure a playoff spot.
Minnesota coach Ken Clay called Saturday's result “heartbreaking.”
Despite outscoring Boston 24-12 through two periods, Minnesota only held a 1-0 lead until the final 20 minutes.
Boston then completely edged out Minnesota for third place. Boston, which had 18 shots on Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley, tied it with a power-play goal with 1:42 left, followed by Blount's heroics in the final seconds.
“We're just trying to figure out a way to lose a hockey game right now,” Clay said. We had many chances to take the lead and extend our lead. We were the better team in two periods, but we found a way to lose it in the last second. ”
Unsurprisingly, Hensley said after the game that the Minnesota locker room was “pretty quiet.” “It’s pretty frustrating when you’re so close to getting the points you need and you don’t get them,” she said. “We need some guys in the locker room to step up, including me.”
Minnesota had plenty of quality scoring chances throughout the first two periods, but the problem that has plagued Minnesota for much of the season resurfaced: an inability to finish.
Minnesota outscored Boston 24-12 in the first two periods, but Kelly Panek's goal at 18:50 of the second period was the only point.
“Easier said than done,” Klee said. “They're trying. They look great and they want to score.”
Hensley said: “All you have to do is get the right work done and done at the right time.”
Boston completed the comeback with a third goal. Minnesota responded by playing most of the period right after.
“I think our mindset has changed,” Hensley said. “We went from just pushing and trying to score to being like, ‘Okay, we’ve got it, let’s hang in there.’ We got some not-so-nice penalties and got pushed back a little bit.
“That gave them a little more momentum. Those are going to pay a price in the playoffs and at the end of the season. It's important to power through and not grip the stick too hard.”
Blount's winner was the result of Boston's great play and Minnesota's poor defense. After a Minnesota dump-in, a stretch pass to Hilary Knight gave Boston the puck at Minnesota's blue line.
Knight then made a quick pass to Blount, who was streaking in the middle of the ice, and Blount slipped alone over Hensley.
“There's no reason to beat three of our forwards with one pass,” Clay said. “And (Knight) played well. And Hannah was obviously flying. But you can't beat us with just one pass, and you certainly can't get out of there.”
Minnesota was put in a less-than-comfortable position with two games remaining, but they still had a chance to turn things around.
“We have a lot of leaders who played in the world championship gold medal game, the Olympic gold medal game, the collegiate national championship game,” Hensley said. “We have a lot of players who have played in a lot of important games and reached the top.
“People know how to do that. Again, it's about believing in our group and sticking to what's made us good all year long.”
