The Minnesota Whitecaps stick it to the Boston Pride 2-0 in St. Paul.
St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Whitecaps welcomed fans back to the Tria Rink in downtown St. Paul on Saturday evening for the first time in two years due to the effects of COVID-19. In a tightly-contested game, the Whitecaps came out victorious with a 2-0 win over the league-leading Boston Pride. The standing-room only crowd were excited to be back at the Tria Rink and they showed their love for the Minnesota ladies throughout the game.
After a scoreless first period in which Boston outshot Minnesota 18-9, Whitecaps forward Alex Woken was called for a 5:00 major penalty for elbowing in the second period. Her victim went down like a heap and to be honest, I think it was a bit of a flop, but nevertheless, Boston had a big opportunity to open the scoring in the game. However, it was the Whitecaps that scored first as All-Star forward, Jonna Curtis, broke away and tallied an unassisted short-handed goal to put the home team on the board. Nearly three minutes into the major penalty, Boston found itself down 1-0 and was then assessed a two-minute minor penalty for tripping, which essentially made it a 4-on-4 game for the remainder of Woken’s major penalty.
More game coverage in a little bit, but first, some information on the Minnesota Whitecaps and the Premier Hockey Federation. Seeing as this was my first Whitecaps game, I was pretty excited to see the women’s professional team representing Minnesota and the Tria Rink, which is also the practice facility for the Minnesota Wild. If you haven’t been to the Tria Rink before, it is located in downtown St. Paul and is on the fifth floor of Treasure Island Center. Yes, you’re really five floors up from ground-level.
The rink itself provides an intimate hockey experience for fans and allows kids to interact with the players as they enter and exit the ice. There were multiple young girl’s hockey teams from around the state that were in attendance and they no doubt found some inspiration from the Whitecaps and Pride teams. The game was high energy, there were many speedy players, big body checks and great plays!!
Intermission is over, back to the game. The second period ended with the Whitecaps up 1-0. The third period was more of the same, aggressive forecheck by the Whitecaps, great penalty kills and the play in net by Whitecaps goalie, Amanda Leveille, was absolutely on-point. She turned away 36 shots by Boston in the game, including breakaways, in-close shots, and sprawling, stretched-out robberies that were just amazing. The Pride could only skate away, shaking their heads. Jonna Curtis added an empty-net goal in the last minute-plus of the game to ice it for the Whitecaps.
The Whitecaps, perhaps, could feel the energy from the passionate fans in attendance tonight. They are now 1-2 on the season and meet the Pride again tomorrow at Tria Rink. The puck drops at 2pm. If you are a hockey fan, and especially if you have young daughters who play hockey, I would highly recommend that you bring them to a Whitecaps game. Seats and parking are super-reasonably-priced, you can buy Whitecaps gear at the game and they have a great concessions stand to boot. I will be attending more Whitecaps games myself this season, so more coverage to come!! Great game today, ladies!!! Let’s get another tomorrow. Go Whitecaps!!!
The Morning Skate 