Pride Stop Six Again in Semifinals
March 28, 2022 - Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)
Boston Pride News Release
For the second straight season the Boston Pride have eliminated the higher ranked Toronto Six in the Isobel Cup semifinals, this time by a 5-1 score on Sunday afternoon at AdventHealth Center Ice near Tampa Bay, Florida.
Last year's result was a 6-2 decision in Boston over the expansion unit that paved the way for the franchise's second Isobel Cup title. Toronto finished their first full PHF season in second place with a 2021-22 campaign that included 16 wins and a perfect record on home ice.
Three goals in a span of 2:14 over the last half of the first period did all the offensive damage the defending champions needed to punch their ticket to Monday's final where they'll face the Connecticut Whale.
"I think we carried over the emotion from our game against Buffalo and brought that to Toronto," said Pride head coach Paul Mara. "I think when we play with heart and passion and focus, there's not a better team in this league. We're not done. We're here for one thing and that's to win an Isobel Cup and we're excited for that challenge tomorrow night."
Christina Putigna opened the scoring with her second goal and third point in two games on the power play at 15:39, taking advantage of a puck deflected her way. Kali Flanagan scored a sensational goal on an end-to-end rush for her second snipe of the postseason at 16:07. She picked up her second point of the game at 17:53 when Kayla Friesen capitalized on a rebound for the commanding 3-0 lead.
"I think our team always breeds our own energy out there," Mara said. "Scoring three goals right off the bat there was a big push for us. Nerves always kick in. It's an elimination game, people are nervous. The first 10 minutes I don't think is the way we play all the time but the final 10 minutes of that first period was great."
Putigna's goal boosted an offense that was deadly for the second straight game, having scored six times against Buffalo to open Friday's preliminary round.
"I love getting the first goal," she said. "It ignited the bench which was awesome. I think it lit a fire under our butts and then we just rolled from there. It's nice that we're scoring a lot of goals too, we haven't done that this season so it's nice to get those points up on the board."
The Six cut the deficit to 3-1 heading into the intermission on a power play goal by Breanne Wilson-Bennett in the final minute. Evelina Raselli found the back of the net for just her second career PHF goal in the second period, then Taylor Wenczkowski got her second goal of the playoffs midway through the third period. It was another power play marker for Boston who has now converted on five of their eight opportunities after ranking last in the PHF throughout the year.
"It's awesome to be able to help the team win," said Wenczkowski. "Scoring goals is fun but the little things, too, go a long way. I think just the confidence is the biggest piece that we needed all season and now we're rolling and feeling pretty good about it."
Katie Burt stopped 18 of 19 shots faced for her second playoff win and even contributed an assist on Flanagan's goal which marked the first helper by a Pride goaltender since Season 1. Toronto's Elaine Chuli, who set a PHF record with 16 consecutive wins in a season following a pair of overtime triumphs against Boston two weeks earlier, turned aside 23 shots in defeat.
"Hockey is a game of mistakes and whoever can make fewer will win the game," said Six captain Shiann Darkangelo. "They put in that many goals that quick but I don't think we ever gave up hope that we could do the exact same thing.
"I think a lot still has to soak in but I'm proud of this group," she said. "Our coaches, everybody in the locker room, even higher up, everyone has put their heart and soul into this team so we can't ask for anything else when that happens. Obviously it's not the outcome we wanted but I love everyone in the locker room and on our staff and I'm grateful for that."
Darkangelo, who won an Isobel Cup in 2017 with Buffalo, had accounted for six of the team's 17 career playoff games heading into Sunday. A total of 11 players were part of last season's loss to Boston, whereas the Pride entered the 2022 postseason with 69 games of playoff experience and 16 championships.
"I think the lack of experience playing in big games likes this affected us and Boston took advantage of it and got the breaks when they needed it and that was the difference," said Six head coach Mark Joslin. "If I'm fortunate to be a part of this group again next year I'm excited about who is coming back. Obviously we've got some unfinished business and we're all pretty sad but I'm sure we'll be pretty hungry to get going and get what we want."
The 16 titles on the Pride are owned by 14 members from last season's group including captain Jillian Dempsey who was also part of the team's inaugural season win.
"One huge thing for our team is depth," Mara said. "We can put any player out there, any line out there, D combination at any time of the game, any circumstance and we're confident they'll get the job done. We're really confident that our depth will take us through and get us the win tomorrow."
Boston beat Connecticut just once this season by a 4-3 score in overtime in their first encounter on November 13. The Whale won the rematch 3-1 then swept their second series February 5-6 by scores of 3-2 and 6-1. This will be their third playoff meeting all-time with the Pride winning 8-2 in the 2017 semifinal and 5-1 in the 2020 semis.
"Definitely want to win," Wenczkowski said. "It will be a good battle tomorrow. We're pretty confident and trust each other on and off the ice so I think that's the biggest thing that's going to help our success."
The Isobel Cup Championship Final takes place Monday night at 9:00 p.m. ET live on ESPN2 and TSN2. Fans can catch a special pre-game show beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and TSN2.
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Premier Hockey Federation Stories from March 28, 2022
- Isobel Cup Final Features Boston and Connecticut - PHF
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- Whale Swim over Whitecaps for First Semifinal Win - Connecticut Whale
- Dick's Sporting Goods Returns to Support PHF and 2022 Isobel Cup - PHF
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
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