The Boston Pride weren't able to push their series against the Minnesota Whitecaps to a decisive winner-take-all contest, falling 4-1 in Game 2 of the Isobel Cup Playoffs at The Bentley Arena on Saturday night.
The Whitecaps move on to the championship, sweeping the best-of-three series, 2-0.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Boston quickly snagged the game's momentum, however, that wouldn't last very long, nor would it return.
It began in the first period when forward Taylor Wenczkowski put the Pride on the board at 6:19 to try and swing the pendulum Boston's way. However, that didn't even last two minutes when the Whitecaps offense responded with back-to-back unanswered goals that evidently served as the game-deciders.
The Pride failed to respond in the final two periods, despite an impressive response performance from goalie Corinne Schroeder through two periods. The Boston University product did her part to keep the contest close, holding the Whitecaps scoreless for the final two periods, which positioned some late-game heroics that never came.
To make matters worse, the Whitecaps added several cherries on top. With the season on the line, the Pride came up short on 18 third-period shot attempts at providing the equalizer when it mattered the most. Meanwhile, the Whitecaps scored twice to close the door on Boston for good.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Whitecaps goalie Amanda Leville shook off a game-opening Pride score with ease. Leville kept Boston off the net, saving 47 total shots on goal.
-- Wenczkowski provided the Pride with their only goal, scoring with three Minnesota defenders guarding the net.
-- Whitecaps forward Brittyn Fleming netted what proved to be the game-decider, scoring in the first period to put Minnesota ahead from a 1-1 tie.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps punch their ticket to a shot at the promised land. They'll play in the championship final on March 26. For now, Minnesota awaits the winner of the Connecticut Whale-Toronto Six semifinal series.
