PWHL Minnesota’s Top Line Dominates in Win vs. New York

On a day when many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were in full swing, a lot of green was worn, including PWHL Minnesota head coach Ken Klee’s green tie. PWHL Minnesota was home in St. Paul to take on PWHL New York on Saturday, March 16, a much cooler day than when they last played earlier in the week. PWHL Minnesota was coming off a win over PWHL Boston, while PWHL New York was coming off a 3-2 loss to PWHL Boston, too.

PWHL Minnesota got the jump in shots right away, as they typically do, and they were rewarded towards the halfway mark of the first. They scored back-to-back goals a minute and three seconds apart to take a commanding two-goal lead. They held it through the rest of the first and looked to add to it in the second. 

They added a third goal near the halfway point of the second and took control of the game until late in the period. PWHL New York erased Maddie Rooney’s shutout on a power play goal with just a couple of minutes left in the second to climb back within two goals. However, that’s when PWHL Minnesota put the pedal to the medal and added two more goals to take the win 5-1. Their top line led the way again, and that’s where we’ll start.

PWHL Minnesota Has Contributions From All Over the Roster

The top line of Michela Cava, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Taylor Heise has been on fire since being matched together, and that continued against PWHL New York. Cava scored in her second consecutive game, giving her team the lead. That line is electric on the ice and always seems to have big chances to score. 

However, they weren’t the only line to contribute a goal. The second line also got in on the action, with the team’s leading scorer, Grace Zumwinkle, tallying her ninth goal of the season to extend her team’s lead to two. Not to feel left out, the third line also added their own goal, with Claire Butorac sneaking one in. 

The top line continued to be a powerhouse, adding two more goals in the third to take a 5-1 lead. Cava scored her second of the game on a nice set-up pass by Heise, and seconds later, their linemate Coyne Schofield scored one of her own. It was a team effort, and that was needed to get past PWHL New York.

Head coach Ken Klee talked about everyone contributing and its importance in the post-game press conference, “We have a lot of different players on different days contributing, and it’s a lot of fun, and they’re all super happy for each…