LOWELL, Mass.– PWHL Minnesota and PWHL Boston faced off Wednesday night at a sold out Tsongas Center, (Attendance of 6,309) for a winner-take-all game five of the PWHL Finals. The two teams were playing to be crowned the first winner of the inaugural Walter Cup.
Liz Schepers got the scoring started for Minnesota in the first with a tap-in on a Sydney Brodt shot. Schepers tally would stand as the game-winning goal. Michela Cava scored her fourth of the series adding to Minnesotas lead. With the Boston net empty, Kendall Coyne-Schofield would send a shot down the ice and into the empty net. Nicole Hensley backstopped Minnesota to the 3-0 win, recording 17 saves. This was Hensley’s second shutout of this series. Mellissa Channel, who lead all scorers in the game, assisted on all three of the Minnesota goals. Aerin Frankel stopped 41 of 44 shots in the loss to Minnesota.
With a playoff leading five goals and tied for first with eight points, Taylor Heise was voted the first ever Ilana Kloss MVP Award recipient. Heise was the first draft pick in the inaugural PWHL draft. Minnesota Captain, Kendall Coyne-Schofield was the first player to lift the Walter Cup.
The three stars from game five were 1. Nicole Hensley 2. Kendall Coyne-Schofield 3. Aerin Frankel
Minnesota’s Championship celebration will be held Friday May 31st at Xcel Energy Center from 5:00-7:00pm.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Hannah Carpenter, who was there to capture the action.
