Butorac scores in double-OT, PWHL Minnesota wins 1-0 to force Game 5 vs. Toronto

It took over 80 minutes for PWHL Minnesota and Toronto to see the first goal of their Game 4 matchup Wednesday, but for the home team and the near 3,000 fans at Xcel Energy Center, it was worth the wait.

Claire Butorac, the rookie forward out of Minnesota State who scored just one goal through 21 regular season games, took a between-the-legs feed from Liz Schepers in front of the net, putting it past Toronto goaltender Kristen Campbell to give Minnesota the victory.

Much like Game 3, which Minnesota won 2-0 thanks to goals from Maggie Flaherty and Denisa Krizova, dominated play for most of the game, outshooting Toronto 29-19 through four-plus periods of hockey, including a third period where Minnesota outshot Toronto 14-2 in a desperate attempt to secure the victory before sudden death.

Following the game, Butorac told Bally Sports North that this Minnesota squad has been able to handle adversity all season.

“This has been our group all year,” Butorac said. “Even from the start in Utica, we’ve been down in games and come back. It goes to show how much we care about each other and really want to win these games.”

Minnesota netminder Maddie Rooney stopped 19 shots to earn her second-consecutive shutout, and has not allowed a goal in 144:28.

Campbell provided a strong performance for the fourth-straight game, stopping 28 of 29 shots, but the team in front of her wasn’t able to generate any offense.

The series-deciding Game 5 takes place Friday night in Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. CT.