PWHL Finals championship preview: Top players, storylines in Minnesota vs. Boston Game 5

BOSTON, Mass. — The first-ever PWHL championship is going to be decided by the final game of the season.

Minnesota got here with a huge comeback series win against Toronto, the No. 1 team that chose to play against Minnesota in the semifinals. Boston, meanwhile, played its way into a playoff spot with a hot streak at the end of the season and swept No. 2 Montreal in the first round in three straight overtime games.

The first four games of the PWHL Finals have been unique in their own ways. A high-scoring Game 1 win in Boston. Minnesota won the next two games to put Boston on the brink. Then Minnesota thought it won the Walter Cup in Game 4, but after Sophie Jaques’ goal was called back, Boston’s Alina Müller scored to keep the season alive.

It’s a fitting end to an entertaining and successful inaugural season for the PWHL. The goal of a unified North American pro league was always to have — a place for players, yes — the kind of parity and depth of talent the PWHL has this year. And now the “underdog” third and fourth teams are playing as many games as possible to hoist the Walter Cup.

GO DEEPER

What to know about the Walter Cup, women’s hockey’s newest counterpart to the Stanley Cup

Minnesota, according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, is the slight favorite with a 52 percent chance of winning, compared to Boston’s 48 percent odds. In the finals series preview, I wrote this should be a close, and entertaining matchup. And that’s exactly what we’ve gotten.

Now it all comes down to Game 5 at 7 p.m. ET at the — sold-out — Tsongas Center on Wednesday night.

Here are the top players and storylines to watch heading into the championship game.

The goalie battle

There was a lot more offense early in the finals — Game 1 was the highest scoring of the postseason — considering how little there was in the semifinals. Aerin Frankel allowed eight goals in the first three games of the series, double the four she yielded in the first round against Montreal, despite facing fewer shots.

Maddie Rooney allowed four goals in Game 1 after three straight wins — and two shutouts — against Toronto, which paved the way for Nicole Hensley’s return to the starter’s crease. She stopped 38 of 39 shots she faced in back-to-back wins, including a shutout in Game 2.

“We have two great goalies,” said Minnesota coach Ken Klee after Game 2. “Obviously, Maddie got hot in the first round, so it was tough to take her out. But we knew we could go back to Nicole at any point and she would be ready to go and she obviously played fantastic for us tonight.”

Game 4 showed us that Frankel and Hensley are capable of locking it down with a trophy on the line. Both starters combined for 51 saves heading into double overtime and it took over an hour and a half of gameplay (98:36) for anyone to officially score.

Frankel, specifically, has been the story for Boston. Her five playoff wins lead all goalies in the postseason. Her .953 save percentage is second behind only Toronto’s Kristen Campbell. Frankel, a finalist for goalie of the year, has made 245 saves over seven playoff games, the most of any goalie.

“She’s the best goalie in this league, in the world,” said Müller.

A monster save early on from @aerinfrankel__ earns save of the game honors 🧱

PWHL Boston x @BreadFinancial pic.twitter.com/gfpfam46kI

— x – PWHL Boston (@PWHL_Boston) May 27, 2024

Minnesota will need to test — and try to beat — Frankel early. They also need to do a better job getting to the net, taking away her eyes, and jumping on rebounds — Frankel gave up some juicy ones in Game 4. Still, it seems like the longer the game goes scoreless — or stays close — the better Frankel gets. In seven playoff games, Frankel has only been scored on once in the third period. And in the seven overtime periods she’s played in, Frankel has yet to allow a goal against.

“She’s the Green Monster,” said Boston coach Courtney Kessel. “It starts with Franks, and just her ability to stay calm through these ups and downs, her ability to keep us in games and win games for us. That’s what you want heading the championship: If you have a hot goalie, you can win.”

All eyes on the blockbuster

It would have been a great story if Jaques — the Boston draft pick who was traded to Minnesota in February — scored the championship-clinching goal. But Jaques and Susanna Tapani — the centerpiece of the return to Boston in the deal — are already main characters of the playoffs. That they’re even facing off in the finals is perfect theater.

SOPHIE JAQUES…GAME WINNER. Minnesota is first @thepwhlofficial champion….goal under review!!! This should be no goal.. pic.twitter.com/L5q2msgFFd

— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) May 27, 2024

Tapani scored two game-winning goals in the semifinals to get Boston to the finals and leads the team in points (4) and goals (3). Tapani is an all-situations center that has been eating minutes for Boston. Her 40:50 in Game 4 led the team in time on ice — only Minnesota defender Lee Stecklein played more in the game.

While Jaques has been excellent for Minnesota, driving play on her own D-pair now that she’s adjusted to the pro game. Having Stecklein and Jaques on their own pairs gives Minnesota a solid top-four with a shutdown pair (Stecklein and Natalie Buchbinder) and one that can drive offense (Jaques and Mellissa Channell).

Jaques scored two goals — including an empty-netter — in Minnesota’s 3-0 Game 2 win and sits third in playoff scoring behind Taylor Heise and Michela Cava. In the regular season, her game took off after the trade with 10 points in 15 games with Minnesota and zero in her first seven games with Boston.

“All the players and coaching staff have been great at welcoming me in, and I feel like I’ve been put in a position that plays to my strengths and has allowed me to succeed,” Jaques said after Game 2.

“It’s great to see (Jaques) doing well … I think her poise with the puck and the way she moves it has been great,” said Kessel while adding: “The trade worked out for both of us.”

It’s easy to imagine both Jaques and Tapani being major players in Game 5.

Minnesota player to watch: Taylor Heise

If Minnesota wins the Walter Cup, Heise is going to get a lot of playoff MVP votes.

She was clutch in the semifinals, scoring two goals, including the game-winner in Game 5 against Toronto. And Minnesota GM Natalie Darwitz said Heise’s value to the comeback went beyond that production.

“If we’re going to pinpoint one thing that has happened between Game 2 and Game 3 against Toronto, it’s Taylor’s demeanor,” Darwitz told The Athletic last week. “With our backs against the wall, it was, ‘Ladies, hop on my back and let’s go.’ And you can see that in her walking into the rink. You can see that in her practice play. You can see that just in her eyes.”

In Game 1 against Boston, Heise made a great no-look, behind-the-back pass to her linemate Cava and scored two goals in the loss. In Game 3, she scored less than one minute after puck drop to give Minnesota an early lead they would not relinquish.

Taylor Heise is definitely back. It’s 2-1 Minnesota in the second period. pic.twitter.com/HHQpMxbnu7

— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) May 19, 2024

In the finals, Heise has three goals and five points in four games. Her five goals and seven points over the entire postseason lead the league in both categories.

“Big-time players play in big-time moments,” Darwitz said. “This is what Taylor does.”

Other than her individual production, Heise’s chemistry with Cava and captain Kendall Coyne Schofield has been excellent. The line has combined for six goals and 12 points in the finals.

If Boston wants to win, it’s going to need to contain Heise and her linemates — something they did well in Game 4 with a lot of physicality — and some lucky no-calls from the refs if I’m being honest — and a strong forecheck to take away time and space.

Does Heise have another series-winner coming? We’ll find out on Wednesday night.

Boston player to watch: Alina Müller

Before Game 4 of the series, Kessel was asked about the player to watch heading into the pivotal match. The answer was easy: Müller.

“She’s just a tremendous 200-foot hockey player that can put the puck in the back of the net,” the Boston coach said.

Müller put that skill set on display with her series-saving goal in Game 4, forcing a turnover at the top of the offensive zone before picking a corner on Hensley.

Alina Muller scores off a turnover to give Boston the win to a chorus of boos from Minnesota fans pic.twitter.com/hTEtTyj3fn

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 27, 2024

The third-overall pick in the inaugural draft has had previous success in Boston scoring 254 points in 159 games and being a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award in all five seasons she played at Northeastern. She’s already 14th all-time in scoring at the Olympics — second among non-North American players — despite only being 26 years old.

Müller led Boston in scoring this season and was announced as a finalist for the league’s Rookie of the Year award. Her line with Tapani and Theresa Schafzahl has been consistently impactful in the playoffs and that should be no different in the finals.

The Hilary Knight factor

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Hilary Knight ahead of the game. She has not yet registered a point in the playoffs, but has been playing big minutes, including over 39 minutes in Game 4, and is going to be a critical player in Game 5.

Knight didn’t have an overly productive regular season — six goals and 11 points in 14 games — but it’s odd to see her not net at least one goal through seven playoff games. She’s put 26 shots on goal in the postseason — 11 in the finals — so it’s not for lack of effort. And there’s value she’s bringing outside of production — I’ve seen her block several big shots at critical moments throughout the postseason, though those haven’t been publicly tracked.

Can Game 5 be the breakthrough? Knight has found ways to come up in the biggest moments throughout her career, especially in a single-game championship format. The final game of the season would be a pretty good time for her first goal.

“It’s not a secret when the big games come Hilary Knight is always going to be an X-factor,” said Boston defender Megan Keller. “I’ve been a part of a few where she’s had a trick or a game-winning goal. I know that makes the rest of this group so confident to have her as our leader and know that she’s going to step up in these big games.”

(Photo of action in Game 4 of the PWHL Finals between Minnesota and Boston: Nick Wosika / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)