The NWHL’s expansion team has done it: The Minnesota Whitecaps are Isobel Cup champions.
On Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out home crowd, defenceman Lee Stecklein scored 48 seconds into overtime to give the Whitecaps a 2-1 victory over the No. 1-seeded Buffalo Beauts, putting an exclamation mark on Minnesota’s inaugural season in the NWHL.
Stecklein, a Minnesotan and the game’s MVP, wired a shot from the point that deflected off a Beauts stick and in, and then she threw her arms up and launched herself into the air while the crowd at TRIA Rink in Saint Paul, Minn., went bananas.
Minnesota entered the game the slight underdogs, ranked No. 2 in the league through the regular season, and up against a Beauts team that has appeared in every Isobel Cup final in history. But Sunday belonged to the State of Hockey.
Here are five things we learned from the 2019 Isobel Cup final:
AMANDA LEVEILLE DOES IT AGAIN
The Whitecaps goalie was the story of the game: In 2017, Leveille led the Beauts to the Isobel Cup. In 2019, she was a big part of the reason Buffalo couldn’t win its second in franchise history.
On Sunday, the 24-year-old from Kingston, Ont., nearly shut down the most potent offence in the league. The Beauts scored a whopping 57 goals in the 16-game regular season, but could only beat Leveille once on Sunday, on a shot from defenceman Emily Pfalzer to open scoring in the first period.
THE STATE OF HOCKEY, INDEED
Leave it to Minnesota to enter the NWHL and immediately win the championship.
Everything went right for the Whitecaps this season. They sold out every game, including their semifinal, in record time. They’re also the first-ever NWHL-owned team to record a profit.
While Buffalo was supposed to host the Isobel Cup final, due to bad weather in Minnesota that saw the Whitecaps’ semifinal postponed (it took place on Friday, against the Metropolitan Riveters), the Beauts agreed to travel to Saint Paul for Sunday’s final, setting the stage for a historic win at home.
Minnesota made good on that home ice advantage. The stands were packed, and plenty of kids were in attendance, remaining in the arena long after the game-winning goal was scored, as the champions skated around the ice hoisting the Isobel Cup over their heads.
SZABADOS ON THE SHELF
The Beauts goalie — who minded the net for Canada in the last three Olympic gold medal games — didn’t play on Sunday due to a lower-body injury.
Szabados joined the NWHL this season and was the league’s biggest off-season acquisition. Normally this would be an enormous game-changer, and you have to think Szabados would have gotten the start for the Beauts thanks to her skill and big-game experience. But luckily, the Beauts have a ridiculous tandem between the pipes — the NWHL’s best. Nicole Hensley, who also plays for Team USA and won Olympic gold last year, was the only goalie in the league to put up better numbers than Szabados during the regular season. (By a hair, at least: A 1.49 GAA compared to Szabados’ 1.50).
Hensley was spectacular on Sunday, seeing 29 shots, and didn’t have much chance on either goal.
WHAT A RUN FOR KENDALL COYNE-SCHOFIELD
Coyne-Schofield is on a roll. She won Olympic gold last year, she wowed with her speed in the NHL All-Star Game in January and she has now won her first-ever professional title. The NWHL rookie assisted on the opening goal for the Whitecaps, and had a team-leading five shots in regulation.
Coyne-Schofield’s speed was on display in the final, and she had a couple good chances, including late in the third period.
She’ll look to win yet another championship next month, when Team USA attempts to defend its world championship title.
MENKE’S MOMENT
While Stecklein’s goal was the winner, the goal of the game came from Whitecaps forward, Amy Menke.
A little more than a minute after Pfalzer had scored to make it 1-0 for Buffalo, Menke tore down the right wing and ripped a wrist shot — short side, top shelf — over Hensley’s left shoulder. The crowd went berserk, and Menke launched herself into the glass.
Menke, 23, had four goals and 10 points in 15 games with Minnesota this year in regular season. She’s from the State of Hockey, too. And now, she and the rest of the Whitecaps are Isobel Cup champions.
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