Boston blanks high-scoring Connecticut in opener, 4-0

Connecticut’s Alyssa Wohlfeiler had a team-high six shots in the Whale’s 4-0 loss to Boston Saturday night.

A year ago, the Connecticut Whale scored a team-record 74 goals and gave up a franchise-low 44 goals as the squad went 15-3-2 in 20 games. The Whale went to the Isobel Cup championship for the first time before falling to the Boston Pride.

Eight months later, expectations are high for the Whale to contend for the league championship this winter.

Defending champion Boston showed Saturday night that they will not be shoved off their throne anytime soon. The Pride scored three goals in the third period, including two in a span of 10 seconds, to beat the Connecticut Whale, 4-0 in the season-opening Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) game for both teams at Warrior Arena in Boston.

Pride goalie Corinne Schroeder made 36 saves to earn the shutout. Elizabeth Giguère had the game-winning goal on a blistering shot with 2:35 left in the second period along with one assist. Loren Gabel had a pair of goals for the Pride while Allie Thunstrom had a goal.

Connecticut goalie Abbie Ives, who had 37 saves, kept her team in the game until the Pride exploded with three goals in the third period.

The Whale were shutout for the first time since dropping a 7-0 decision to Minnesota in the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020-21 when the team played just four games. Connecticut wasn’t shutout at all a year ago.

Boston raised their championship banner in the minutes before the game and dominated the early stages of the contest.

The Pride dominated the early minutes in the second period with Giguère scoring a hard shot into the corner of the net with just 2:35 gone in the period for a 1-0 lead.

Midway in the period, Connecticut began to create some opportunities and had a pair of short-handed opportunities, but Kennedy Marchment and Katerina Mrazova couldn’t convert on their chances.

Later in the period, Marchment stole a pass at center ice and drove to the net on a breakaway but Schroeder was up to the task with the stop.

In the third period, Boston made it 2-0 when Gabel scored with 8:55 left in the game on a rebound of a shot from Giguère that bounced off Ives pad. Ten seconds later, after Marchment took a shot on net, Boston’s Christine Putigna made a long pass to Thunstrom, who drove to the net and got a goal past Ives for a 3-0 lead.

Less than a minute later, Gabel scored her second goal on the power play for a 4-0 lead.

Taylor Wenczkowski had a pair of assists in the game for the Pride.

Connecticut, which plays their first games in their new home at the International Skating Center in Simsbury on Dec. 9, returns to the ice on Saturday, Nov. 19 when they host the Buffalo Beauts at the Milford Ice Arena in the first game of a two-game weekend series. The Whale will also host the Beauts on Nov. 20 in Milford.

Boston 4, Connecticut 0
At Boston
Connecticut (0-1)           0  0  0  — 0
Boston (1-0)                    0  1  3  — 4
Second period
Boston 1, Elizabeth Giguere (Taylor Wenczkowski), 2:35
Third period
Boston 2, Loren Gabel (Giguere), 11:14; Boston 3, Allie Thunstrom (Christine Putigna), 11:24; Boston 4, Gabel (Kali Flanagan, Wenczkowski) (pp), 12:10
Shots: Boston 41 (11-19-11), Connecticut 36 (9-16-11)
Power play: Connecticut 0-1, Boston 1-5
Goalie: Connecticut, Abbie Ives (L 0-1), 41 shots, 37 saves; Boston, Corinne Schroeder (W, 1-0) 36 shots, 36 saves

PHF standings

Points: Three points for a win in regulation, two points for an OT or shootout win; one point for loss in OT or shootout