PWHL Boston Didn’t Expect To Stay Undefeated In Postseason Run

LOWELL, Mass. — PWHL Boston suffered its first postseason loss in Game 2 of the Walter Cup Final when PWHL Minnesota defeated Boston, 3-0, on Tuesday night.

Minnesota didn’t necessarily outplay Boston through the 60 minutes of the contest, but the franchise did capitalize on a couple of Boston miscues.

“I thought it was a great game,” Boston head coach Courtney Kessel told reporters following the loss. “They capitalized, we didn’t. You can’t come into a championship thinking you’re just going to sweep. So, we’re ready for a battle, and that’s what we saw (on Tuesday).”

Boston trailed Minnesota 2-0 at the end of the first period but never lost sight of the comebacks they mounted in the first round against PWHL Montreal.

“I thought we battled to the end,” Kessel said. “I think we saw at the end of our (regular) season that we were fighting to get into the playoffs, and we’re fighting every second, and we’re gonna continue to see that out of our group.”

With the best-of-five series tied at 1-1, Kessel isn’t ready to change the mindset of her team as the series shifts to Minnesota.

“I don’t think that we ever think that we’re just going to sweep through the playoffs,” she said. “I think that’s very unrealistic. If that’s our mentality, then we’re most likely not going to be successful.

“It could be a reset, just a reminder that we face adversity all season. Here we are again. It’s 1-1, and this is what everybody looks forward to … good hockey in the playoffs.”

The PWHL Walter Cup Final heads to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday, respectively. If the two clubs split the games at Xcel Energy Center, Game 5 would return to Tsongas Center on May 29 to decide the winner of the inaugural PWHL championship.