Another thrilling day of NWHL action in Lake Placid is in the books.
Once again the Whale are proving to be formidable, more than they have at any point in league history, while the Pride are still trying to find their footing.
Metropolitan was originally scheduled to play Buffalo but that game was postponed due to medical protocols, and it’s still to be determined whether that game will be made up.
The Six followed up on their win on Wednesday night with another strong night of 49 shots against the Beauts, earning their second win in franchise history.
Connecticut (2-1-0) 4, Boston (1-2-0) 1
Goals
CON: Emma Vlasic, Tori Howran, Alyssa Wohlfieler, Katelynn Russ
BOS: McKenna Brand
Key takeaway: The Whale are for real: If anyone wasn’t certain yet, the Connecticut Whale came to play. That seemed clear when they competed hard to earn the win against Buffalo on Saturday before falling one goal short to the Riveters on Sunday.
But it was a bit different on Wednesday night when they took the ice against the Boston Pride, their own white whale, so to speak.
The Pride have represented dominance in the league. They lost just one time all last year, and they toppled the Whale in the semifinal to get to the Isobel Cup that never was.
It had to feel pretty good to show the first two games weren’t a fluke — no pun intended (ok yes pun intended) — and show up against the hypothetical best team in the league like that.
Player of the game — Emma Vlasic: The Whale veteran contributed to all four goals on Wednesday night, scoring once and adding four assists.
Vlasic, who also worked to a .542 faceoff percentage thus far in the bubble, hadn’t tallied a point yet heading into the contest with Boston.
Alyssa Wohlfieler, who wasn’t re-signed by the Pride in the offseason, also had to feel pretty good notching a goal and an assist in the victory against her old club.
What’s next: Connecticut is scheduled to face Minnesota on Thursday night pending league schedule changes.
The Pride will sit on Thursday and use the rest coupled with the off day on Friday before facing the Riveters on Saturday, schedule pending.
Toronto (2-1-1) 4, Buffalo (0-3-0) 2
Goals
TOR: Brooke Boquist, Taylor Woods, Emily Fluke Megan Quinn
BUF: Autumn MacDougall (2)
Key takeaway: Toronto isn’t going anywhere: Following their hallmark first franchise win against the Pride on Wednesday night, the Six didn’t expect to have to play on Thursday, too.
Originally scheduled for a night off, they were called in once the Riveters were unfit to play.
Anyone watching wouldn’t have known the Six had no idea they were going to hit the ice on Wednesday morning.
Behind an onslaught of 49 shots, Toronto was led by an even distribution of offence from Taylor Woods, Megan Quinn and Brooke Boquist, while Mikayla Grant-Mentis found the scoresheet yet again with a goal of her own.
Player of the game — Autumn MacDougall: MacDougall was a bit unheralded in the hockey world, becoming the first Canadian USports player to be drafted into the NWHL this past June.
She’s showed some spunk all tournament this far but scored twice to lead a struggling Buffalo offence on Wednesday night.
Prior to the contest with the Six — a team they weren’t even scheduled to play — the Beauts had scored just twice in their past two games combined.
The rookie doubled that output.
What’s next: The schedule gets a bit messier from here as the league deals with potential rescheduling pending the Riveters Covid test results.
The Beauts supposedly are supposed to face the Riveters instead of Toronto, so if all goes well, that is essentially just a switch.
Toronto is slated to face a red-hot Connecticut club on Saturday.
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