It took all of 3 minutes, 58 seconds for Taylor Heise to score her first PWHL goal. And she wasn’t the only former Gophers standout to score.
Heise, the No. 1 overall pick in the PWHL’s inaugural draft, got Minnesota started and Grace Zumwinkle scored a third-period goal to help the team close out a 3-2 win over Boston in the new franchise’s first-ever game in the PWHL’s first-ever season on Wednesday in Boston.
Heise beat Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel on a breakaway in the first period with a nice shot to the upper-left corner of the net for an early 1-0 Minnesota lead.
THE FIRST OVERALL PICK TAYLOR HEISE GETS THE FIRST EVER PWHL MINNESOTA GOAL!#PWHL pic.twitter.com/yC5WVEuTqx
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 4, 2024
Just under four minutes later, Sophia Kunin scored off an assist from Brittyn Fleming to double the Minnesota lead at 7:54 in the first period.
Boston finally got a shot past Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley in the second period when Teresa Schafazhl scored 7 minutes, 59 seconds into the frame, but Zumwinkle quickly had an answer for Minnesota, scoring just 55 seconds later.
Hensley, who’s manned the net for Team USA the last two Olympics, including the gold-medal run in 2018, stopped 33 of the 35 shots she faced for Minnesota.
Frankel stopped 13 of 16 for Boston, which outshot Minnesota 35-16.
Boston’s second goal came 17 minutes, 20 seconds into the third period as Megan Keller got Boston within a goal, but that was as close as it would get.
Minnesota returns to action on Saturday for its home debut at Xcel Energy Center. Puck drop is slated for 2:30 p.m.
