Hannah Brandt and Hilary Knight each scored shootout goals and Aerin Frankel saved four of the five shots she faced as Boston beat Ottawa in a shootout, 2-1, in front of the largest crowd to watch a professional women’s hockey game in the United States Saturday night in Detroit.
The game was part of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s “takeover weekend”, with Ottawa and Boston playing on the Detroit Red Wings’ home ice with an announced crowd of 13,736, surpassing the 13,316 that watched Minnesota win its home opener against Montreal Jan. 6.
Montreal and Toronto hold the Canadian record when a sellout crowd of 19,285 watched the Battle on Bay Street between Toronto and Montreal at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto Feb. 16, and those teams meet Sunday in Pittsburgh on the home ice of the Penguins.
Boston (4-4-2-7) and Ottawa came into Saturday’s game tied for the fourth and final playoff spot with seven games remaining in the regular season. Both teams approached the contest as if were itself a playoff contest. Knight scored just three minutes into the game to give Boston a 1-0 lead, but Ottawa answered at the 15:20 mark when Emily Clark fired a shut just under the crossbar to beat Frankel on a power play. Neither team scored again in regulation or in the five-minute overtime.
Ottawa (5-0-6-6) had two shots clang off the crossbar early in the game and Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner had an open shot over a sprawled Frankel clank off the upright in the final half-minute of overtime.
Neither team scored in the first round of penalty shots, but Kateřina Mrázová scored for Ottawa in the second and Brandt answered to make it 1-1. Frankel denied Savannah Harmon in the third round and Knight put Boston in front. Frankel turned away shots from Jenner and Natalie Snodgrass to earn the win.
Ottawa’s Emerance Maschmeyer and Frankel turned in brilliant work in goal. Both had 25 saves on 26 shots on goal.
Ottawa has not won a game that has gone beyond regulation this season. It lost four of its first seven games in overtime and has now lost two of its last three in a shootout.
Boston’s Loren Gabel went down with a shoulder injury in the second period when she was checked from behind the Ottawa goal by Aneta Tejralová and her shoulder was driven into the boards. She collapsed in obvious pain and was treated on the ice before being helped to the locker room by two trainers and did not return.
Michigan resident and youth women’s hockey coach Manon Rhéaume, the first woman to play in an NHL game when she played in goal for Tampa Bay during the 1992 pre-season, dropped the ceremonial first puck for the game.