The PWHL broke down walls for women’s hockey worldwide in its inaugural season, a special first year that culminated with Minnesota PWHL lifting the Walter Cup as champions on Wednesday night.
Minnesota captured the championship after shutting out Boston 3-0 in Game 5 of the best-of-five final series. Liz Schepers, Michela Cava, and Kendall Coyne Schofield all got on the board in the shutout clincher. Nicole Hensley stopped all 17 of Boston’s shots.
As time expired on the clock inside a sold-out Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, Minnesota players jumped off their bench and swarmed Hensley in celebration.
Coyne Schofield, Minnesota’s captain, was presented the Cup and became the first to ever raise it as she skated over and had her teammates all touch the trophy before taking her personal victory lap.
The three-time US Olympian and former NHL All-Star Skills Competition participant scored the game-sealing empty netter with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.
Coyne Schofield later had her son Drew join the team’s team photo with the cup. Drew wasn’t in the best of moods as his champion mom sat him in the bowl of the trophy.
The on-ice celebrations later transitioned to the team’s locker room where many a bottle of champagne was sacrificed.
The championship dream almost slipped away from Minnesota before their Game 5 win as they seemingly had scored the Cup-winning goal in double overtime of Game 4. Sophie Jaques laced a shot past her former teammate Aerin Frankel in the Boston net causing Minnesota to rush the ice in celebration.
But, the goal’s primary assist proved problematic. Taylor Heise, the eventual inaugural Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP, sent a pass to an open Jaques on a last-minute cross in front of Frankel. During her pass attempt, Heise lost her balance and fell into Boston’s netminder, ultimately nullifying the big goal.
Minnesota had to collect their belongings which were strewn all over the ice and lined back up to continue the contest. A minute and 10 seconds later, Boston’s Alina Muller did the unthinkable, beating Hensley to send the series back to Boston for one more game.
“To have something so good taken away like that, we knew we had to have it,” Heise told the StarTribune. “That feeling, it’s like drugs. You want it back.”
The inaugural season of the PWHL paved the way for what is hoped to be a bigger and better second year. Average attendance for PWHL games sat at 5,488, which gives the league adequate reasoning to expand the season from 24 games to 30 next year. On January 6, the most attended game drew 13,316 fans and by April the new record sat at 21,105.
The league’s six teams are currently without logos and nicknames, but PWHL Advisory board member Stan Kasten stated that the teams will be fully branded sometime this summer.
Toronto will search for a new place to call home over the summer, as they begin to outgrow Mattamy Atheltic Centre, which seats just 2,600. Other teams will also look to solidify their home arenas, as New York played their home outings in three different states.
There was no shortage of excitement and attention for women’s hockey this season as the PWHL continues to trailblaze and break down barriers. The successful launch has cities vying to be the next to house a team in the league.
Ted Leonsis, owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals proclaimed his desire to bring a professional women’s hockey team to DC back in early April.
