Knight scores 1st PWHL goal to sink Minnesota in OT as Boston earns 1st home win

Captain Hilary Knight carried the puck into the attacking zone in the 3-on-3 overtime period and fired a wrist shot that found a way through the pads of Maddie Rooney to allow Boston to pull out a 4-3 win over visiting Minnesota Saturday, becoming the fifth team in the fledgling Professional Women’s Hockey League to win on home ice.

Boston took a 3-1 lead after the first period but was blanked by Rooney over the final two periods of regulation. Minnesota got a late goal in the second period to halve its deficit and, after pulling the goalkeeper for the final two minutes of the third period, Kendall Coyne Schofield poked home a carom for the tying goal with 53 seconds left.

Despite a well-earned reputation as a goal scorer, Knight came into the game without having scored a goal. The captain of the gold medal-winning U.S. women’s world championship team finished with a goal and an assist, her first points in six games.

Boston got off to a fast start. Kaleigh Fratkin got the first goal on a slap shot from the point at the 5:35 mark of the first period. Taylor Girard took a pass from Shiann Darkangelo and beat Rooney on her stick side less than a minute later. Brittyn Fleming took a pass from behind the Boston goal and one-timed it past Emma Söderberg to halve the Minnesota deficit, but Alina Muller scored on a wrist shot from the slot less than two minutes later to make it 3-1 after a period.

Boston killed a pair of third period penalties, its fourth penalty kill of the game, but Minnesota pulled Rooney for a 6-on-5 advantage and Schofield tied the game.

Söderberg (2-1) got the win in goal, stopping 16 of the 19 shots she faced.

Rooney made 11 saves on 15 shots and took the overtime loss to go with a win and a shootout loss in three games for Minnesota.

The full schedule of PWHL games airing on CBC Sports this season is available here.

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