Toronto picks Minnesota as PWHL semifinal opponent, Montreal faces Boston – Winnipeg Free Press

Toronto announced Minnesota as its semifinal opponent in the Professional Women's Hockey League on Monday night, ending contention for the other three playoff teams.

Minnesota begins preparations for Tuesday's flight to Toronto for the first two games of the best-of-five semifinals at the Coca-Cola Coliseum on Wednesday and Friday.

“Given that it happened about 30 minutes ago, we're all trying to find dog sitters, baby sitters, get our passports and figure out what time our morning flight is,” Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said at a media conference.

In its first season, the PWHL introduced an unconventional playoff hockey game in which the regular season winner had a choice between the third and fourth seeds for their opponent in the semifinals.

Toronto announced its decision 24 hours after the buzzer sounded in Sunday's 5-2 win over Ottawa that eliminated Minnesota in the Final Four.

The nod to fourth-seeded Minnesota means No. 2 Montreal will face third-seeded Boston in the other semifinal Thursday at Place Bell in Laval, Que. Higher seeds receive home ice advantage for games one, two and five of each series.

The winners of the semi-finals advance to the top five of the Walter Cup. New York and Ottawa finished just outside the playoffs in the six-team league.

Toronto (13-4-0-7) came out on top with five days left in the regular season, giving general manager Gina Kingsbury, head coach Troy Ryan and the players time to think about their decisions going forward.

“The process started a long time ago when we knew the rules, and when we got the first place, we started talking about hypotheticals about who we could choose from,” Kingsbury said.

“There is no easy opponent in this league, so we looked at it from different angles. We talked to the leadership team, we leaned on our athletes, we knew what they felt and how they felt against all the opponents we had to choose from.

“I looked at the analytics and the numbers, how we've played against these teams all season. You also want to see how fresh the teams are and where they are at this point in the season. Are they healthy? Did they get hit? Travel has come into play. What does it look like? Where do we feel comfortable traveling?”

Kingsbury gave the players a strong voice in the decision, Ryan said.

“I think he's done a really good job with these conversations to get a group of leaders together and get their input,” he said. “He took it to a big group, athletes, just to get their thoughts on things.

“The list that Gina just mentioned, they're all things covered. The most difficult thing is which of the factors weighs the most.”

Montreal (10-3-5-6) finished second ahead of Boston and Minnesota with identical 8-3-4-9 records. Boston came out on top in the tiebreaker.

Toronto, which has won four games in the postseason, has chosen American clubs in the opposite direction. Minnesota entered the playoffs on a five-game losing streak.

The club has not won since the international break at the World Cup. Toronto's 5-2 overtime rout of Ottawa in Sunday's finale not only dashed Ottawa's postseason hopes, it left Minnesota players waiting to see their season continue.

“It's a new season. Everyone starts with a clean slate. Every team, every player and we are looking forward to going to Toronto with a clean slate,” said Coyne Schofield

And Boston has won four of five games in its regular season.

Toronto is 2-1-0-1 against Minnesota, including a 4-1 win in its last game on May 1 in Minnesota. Toronto is 3-0-0-2 against Boston, including a 2-1 loss in their last meeting on April 18.

“If they picked us, I would go into the laundry room and start packing my bags,” Boston head coach Courtney Kessel said.

“It's part of being a professional sport now. Anything can happen. A little twist (Toronto) had 24 hours to make a decision and waited until the last second to keep the suspense high for everyone.”

Montreal went 1-1-1-1 against Boston, which ended its regular season with a 4-3 win over Montreal on Saturday. Toronto's announcement at 7:30 a.m. ET Monday prompted the three remaining playoff teams to begin game planning.

“I was really driving when the news came out,” Montreal head coach Corey Chevery said. “This element brings a dynamic that is inconsistent with teams being picked or not.

“I don't think the league needs more fire between the teams. Every game feels like a Game 7, but that certainly adds fuel to the fire, I'm sure.

This Canadian Press report was first published on May 6, 2024.