Boston goalie Corrine Schroeder made 48 saves as Boston beat Connecticut for the third in four games this season with a 5-2 win Sunday in Boston.
The defending Isobel Cup champion Boston Pride played like a championship squad Sunday in their Premier Hockey Federation contest against the visiting Connecticut Whale.
The PHF’s leading scorer Loren Gabel had two goals and an assist while goalie Corrine Schroeder made 48 saves to lead the Pride to a 5-2 victory in Boston at Warrior Arena.
The Pride (14-2-1) looked like a team ready to defend their championship. Schroeder was outstanding in net as she won her league-leading 13th game of the season, beating the Whale for the third time this season.
Offensively, Boston plays with speed that few teams can match giving them opportunities that others can’t generate. And defensively, Boston seldom gives up a good shot on net. Their sticks are down on the ice making passes difficult, which stifled the Whale offense for much of the game.
Schoreder did stop 48 shots, the third time this season she has stopped at least 48 shots. Some saves were outstanding but many were easily grabbed.
Connecticut (8-7-2) made defensive mistakes that the Pride capitalized on. In the second period, the Whale were pressing offensively but the Pride made a pass out of the Connecticut zone leading to a breakaway and a goal from Gabel to give Boston a 3-1 lead.
Four minutes later, the Whale were on the power play and lost track of Boston’s Jillian Dempsey, who was all alone in front of the net to score and give the Pride a commanding 4-1 lead.
It was a tough weekend for the Whale, who dropped a 2-1 decision in a shootout to Metropolitan on Friday night.
Boston took a 2-0 lead on goals from Gabel and Taylor House before Alyssa Wohlfeiler scored off an assist from Allie Munroe with 3:14 left in the first period to cut the lead to 2-1. Munroe leads the Whale with 13 assists.
The Pride led 4-1 after two periods and added a fifth goal early in the third period on a score from Élizabeth Giguère off an assist from Gabel, who has scored a league-leading 17 goals. She leads the PHF with 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points.
Connecticut added a second goal with 4:37 left in the game when Caitlin Lonergan popped in a rebound off the pads of Schroeder. Shannon Turner had the initial shot for the Whale.
Connecticut has next weekend off before returning to action on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the International Skating Center in Simsbury when they host the Toronto Six beginning at 7 p.m. Game two of the two-game series will be Sunday, Feb. 19, at noon in Simsbury.
Boston 5, Connecticut 2
At Boston
Connecticut (8-7-2) 1 0 1 — 2
Boston (14-2-1) 2 2 1 — 5
First period
Boston 1, Loren Gabel (Élizabeth Giguère), 3:20; Boston 2, Taylor House (Christina Putigna), 13:06; Connecticut 1, Alyssa Wohlfeiler (Allie Munroe), 17:14; Penalties — none
Second period
Boston 3, Loren Gabel (Olivia Zafuto), 4:25; Boston 4, Jillian Dempsey (Loren Gabel), 10:47 (pp); Penalties — Hannah Bates (CT) hooking, 10:19; Kali Flanagan (B) interference, 13:23; Kaleigh Fratkin (B) high sticking, 14:29; Melissa Samoskevich (CT), hooking, 18:28
Third period
Boston 5, Élizabeth Giguère (Loren Gabel), 3:49, Connecticut 2, Caitrin Lonergan (Taylor Girard, Kennedy Marchment), 15:23; Penalties – none
Saves : Connecticut – Abbie Ives (L, 6-4) 28 saves; Boston – Corrine Schroeder (W 13-1-1) 48 saves; Shots: Connecticut 50 (12-19-19), Boston 33 (10-12-11); Power plays – Connecticut 0-2, Boston 1-2
