BOSTON — There is just something about Boston going against Montreal in hockey that breeds a good rivalry. The Bruins and the Canadiens have been going at it for a century, and now the Boston and Montreal teams in the Pro Women’s Hockey League are getting in on the fun.
It took PWHL Boston and PWHL Montreal less than a year to get their own rivalry into high gear, thanks to a lot of extra hockey between the two sides. During the regular season, two of their four matchups went to overtime. Both sides won an overtime game over each other, as they split the regular-season set, 2-2.
Now Boston and Montreal are going to battle in the first-ever PWHL postseason, and once again fans are being treated to some extra hockey. And nothing is better than overtime hockey in the playoffs.
Boston won the first two games of the series in Montreal, both by a score of 2-1. And as you likely guessed, both games went to overtime.
Susanna Tapani won Game 1 for Boston after over 14 minutes of overtime last Thursday, and Sunday’s Game 2 in Montreal went even longer. Boston took a 2-0 series lead when Taylor Wenczkowski scored 11:44 into the third overtime period, ending Game 2 after 111 minutes and 44 seconds of action. It’s the longest game in PWHL history.
“It was a battle to the end and we knew we were bringing that into the playoffs,” said Boston head coach Courtney Kessel. “It’s playoff hockey so anything can happen.”
Boston can win the series with a Game 3 victory on Tuesday night at Tsongas Arena in Lowell. While the two teams have enjoyed building their rivalry, Boston would like to send Montreal home with a win and punch their ticket to the first-ever PWHL Final in the process.
But they’re well aware that it will not be easy Tuesday night.
“No one is going to give the other team an inch because we both want it so badly,” said Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel.
“We know they’ll battle and they don’t give up,” said Kessel. “We want to come out and play fast and physical, do the things we’ve been doing well. We’ve got to get momentum quick in games — that’s a big thing.”
Frankel has done an incredible job at keeping momentum from going to Montreal’s side. If you thought Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was having himself a postseason run, Frankel has been even better. She made 53 saves in Boston’s Game 1 win, and then stopped a new PWHL-high 56 shots in Game 2.
All those extra minutes didn’t get to Frankel or her teammates, and they’re fired up and ready for Game 3 — even if it requires another overtime period or three.
“I’ve felt like our team had a lot of energy even in those late overtimes,” said forward Hannah Brandt, who had five goals and five assists for Boston during the regular season. “Physically you get tired but we’ve prepared for this all year. We brought so much energy as a team that it helps keep the legs going.”
“This is what we played the whole year for. This is where adrenaline and excitement takes over when your legs are a little bit tired and heavy,” said Frankel. “We’re prepared for this and I think we’ve shown that we’re willing to go to lengths to get the wins.”
After two grind-’em-out games in Montreal to start the playoff series, Boston is happy to have a chance to end things in front of their home fans on Tuesday.
“Fans have done a tremendous job of jumping on board with us,” said Kessel. “We’ve come a long way since our first home game. It feels like home now.”
