PWHL Boston wins 4-3 over Minnesota in Game 1 of Walter Cup Final

Well, so much for a low-scoring, tight-checking final.

After a pair of first-round series that didn’t see a game produce more than five goals, Boston and Minnesota provided plenty of offense in Game 1 of their Walter Cup Final, with Boston taking this one 4-3.

Boston defender Jess Healey scored with 2:35 to go in the second period, when she fired a Russ Tyler-like knucklepuck from the point, a shot that must have been wearing prescription glasses and found its way past Minnesota netminder Maddie Rooney to give Boston the go-ahead goal.

The 27-year-old Healey scored just one goal in 22 regular-season games, but on Sunday night, she found the back of the net.

The goal capped off a highly-entertaining second period, where Boston and Minnesota scored five total goals in a span of 4:35. After a first period that saw Michela Cava and Susanna Tapani score, the teams began the second tied 1-1 when Taylor Heise, fresh off the two-goal effort in Game 5 vs. Toronto on Friday, scored her third playoff goal eight minutes into the frame, giving Minnesota a 2-1 lead.

Boston responded nearly five minutes later when Taylor Wenczkowski scored her second of the postseason, tying it at two.

Fans would see three goals in the next 2:14, when Boston’s Hannah Brandt scored her first of the playoffs, followed by Heise getting her second of the game with a backdoor one-timer.

Fifteen seconds after Heise tied it, Healey scored the game winner in front of a crowd of 4,508 at Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.

Boston netminder Aerin Frankel made 30 saves to get the victory. Even after allowing three goals Sunday night — she only allowed three goals against Montreal in the first round — her save percentage is still all-world, improving to .961 and her goals-against-average is 1.37.

Boston Head Coach Courtney Kessel was proud of her team’s effort and their ability to generate offense.

“I think we’ve seen all year across the league that these are tremendous goalies,” Kessel told reporters after the game. “You’re going to have to battle and find those rebounds, and it’s not going to be pretty. So, luckily, we did that tonight.”

As for Minnesota Head Coach Ken Klee, whose team played in a number of low-scoring affairs with Toronto in the previous round, Game 1 vs. Boston had a bit of a different feel.

“It was definitely a different feel for us,” Klee said after the game. “But we had a lot of looks, a lot of chances, and these (players) played tremendously and had some unbelievable goals.

“Hockey games, and series, are always going to take on their own identity,” Klee continued. “Now we know what this (series) is going to be like.”

Boston takes a 1-0 lead into Game 2 this Tuesday in Boston. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT.

Check out Daily Faceoff’s PWHL section for our coverage on the Walter Cup Playoffs