OTTAWA, ON (April 24, 2024) – Emerance Maschmeyer made 30 saves and Kateřina Mrázová scored twice in the shootout as Ottawa won 3-2 against Boston on Wednesday at The Arena at TD Place.
Ottawa entered the game just two points ahead of Boston in the PWHL standings for the fourth and final playoff position. With the shootout victory, Ottawa now sits three points ahead of Boston with three games remaining— Boston has two games left on the schedule.
The win is a season-high four straight for Ottawa — who has also won five of their last six — with Maschmeyer in net for every game in that span.
Ottawa outscored Boston in the shootout 2-1, with Mrázová converting on her team’s first and last attempts to seal the victory. Hannah Brandt, who also shot twice for Boston, scored on her first opportunity but was turned away by Maschmeyer on her second attempt.
Mrázova’s first tally in the shootout came by way of a backhand shot that she put top shelf over Aerin Frankel’s shoulder. She utilized a silky deke which she tucked five-hole on her second shot.
The game headed to extra time after Ottawa’s Gabbie Hughes tied the game 2-2 at 11:14 of the final frame.
Forward Emily Clark took a cross-ice pass from Savannah Harmon and carried it into the Boston zone where she made a quick move to the inside and then sent the puck across the net to a driving Hughes. Hughes tapped the puck into the open side to tie the game with her eighth marker of the season.
Ottawa was pressing late, but Frankel stood tall in the Boston net, making several saves in the final minutes, sending the game to overtime.
Frankel continued her strong play in the extra frame, making point blank saves and turning away three separate players skating in alone.
Not to be outdone, Maschmeyer stopped Susanna Tapani on a breakaway chance at the other end.
The victory was Ottawa’s first in extra time this season. They entered the game 0-6 in games that had gone to overtime or shootout.
With playoff implications, Boston came out strong and opened the scoring early, just 1:30 into the game. Brandt won an offensive zone draw and skilfully tucked the puck between her opponent’s skates before sending a pass to captain Hilary Knight, who got a stick on it as she drove the net. The puck squeaked past Maschmeyer and crossed the line for Knight’s fifth goal of the season.
Ottawa tied it up at 7:43 of the frame on the powerplay after Daryl Watts sent the puck cross-crease, deflecting off of teammate Natalie Snodgrass’ stick and finding captain Brianne Jenner at the back door. Jenner made no mistake as she quickly brought the puck from forehand to backhand and tucked it into the net for her ninth goal of the season and sixth in the last four games.
Playing in her hometown, Boston’s Jamie Lee Rattray gave her team a lead with 58 seconds remaining in the first on a spectacular individual effort. The forward stopped an Ottawa clearing attempt on the boards and then drove to the net, making a move to her backhand as she slid the puck five-hole for her third goal of the season and second vs. Ottawa.
Maschmeyer continued to battle for her team in the scoreless second period, as she made several big saves, including an athletic pad stop to rob Megan Keller on the breakaway.
With her ninth win of the season, Maschmeyer now sits second among all PWHL goaltenders in the category, four behind Toronto’s Kristen Campbell. Frankel made 22 saves in the loss.
Up next, the two teams continue their battle towards the fourth and final playoff spot as both teams hit the ice on Saturday. First, at 12:30 p.m. ET, Ottawa hosts Montréal, who clinched a playoff position Wednesday evening. Then, at 2 p.m. ET, Boston looks to keep their postseason chances alive when they take on Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center.
Postgame Quotes:
Ottawa forward Kateřina Mrázová on the shootout: “It was really exciting in a big game like this. I didn’t know I was going to shoot twice. I found out a little bit before I went. I think it’s better to find out later. Go for it. Trust your instincts.”
Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod: “Some nights, you’re not playing your best hockey. You’re not feeling your best. That was actually one of our nights. We talked about it. This time of year, you’ve got to find a way to win. We have been talking about playing playoff style hockey for the last seven or eight games. I’m really proud of our group. We didn’t get frustrated. We realized that we were going to get our scoring chances when we would get them. Obviously, we found a way to win tonight.”
Notes:
- Attendance: 7,686 – The Arena at TD Place, Ottawa, ON.
- Three Stars: 1) Kateřina Mrázová 2) Emerance Maschmeyer 3) Jamie Lee Rattray
- Shots ended 32-24 in favour of Boston— They led the shot total in every regulation period (15-9/6-4/8-5) but Ottawa had the edge in overtime (6-3).
- Ottawa has won four of the six games they have been outshot this season.
- Rattray led all players with six shots on goal — Ottawa’s Emily Clark and Hayley Scamurra finished second with five shots apiece.
- Ottawa was 1/3 on the powerplay — Boston was 0/3.
- Ashton Bell (OTT) led all skaters with 31:36 time-on ice – Megan Keller led Boston skaters with 30:01 TOI.
- Rattray, Hilary Knight and Hannah Brandt all finished with a game-best plus-two rating.
- Mrázová is now a perfect 3/3 in shootout attempts this season, tied with Grace Zumwinkle (MIN) for the league-lead.
- Maschmeyer leads the league with five victories of 30 saves or more.
- Brianne Jenner has 13 points (7G, 6A) in her last seven games — She’s currently on a four-game point streak and has scored in all four games.
- Emily Clark extends her point streak to six games (2G, 4A), tying her for the longest point streak by any PWHL player this season.
- Daryl Watts extends her point streak to four games (4G, 2A).
- Ottawa extends their season-best winning streak to four games —They’ve also collected 16 of a possible 21 points in their last seven games played (four regulation wins, one shootout win, two shootout losses).
- Ottawa ends a six-game extra-point winless drought that consisted of four overtime and two shootout losses – This was Ottawa’s first one-goal victory of the season.
- The game was Ottawa’s Pride celebration — Several local 2SLGBTQ+ groups were in attendance, including Ottawa Pride Hockey.
- Boston wins the season series 9-6 in points with wins in three of five games played.
- Ottawa (8-1-6-6) holds onto fourth place and now has 32 points on the season — They are three ahead of fifth-place Boston, and three behind third-place Minnesota.
- Boston (6-4-3-9) remains in fifth place with 29 points — They are three points behind Ottawa for the fourth and final playoff position.
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