The Boston Pride continued their torrid streak by defeating the New York Riveters 5-1 Sunday on Father-Daughter night at Warrior Ice Arena in Boston. Pride goaltender Lauren Slebodnick made her season debut, after missing most of last season due to an injury. Riveters’ first-liner Amanda Kessel was scratched once again after sustaining an injury earlier this season, while forward Janine Weber was back in the lineup.
In the first period, the Pride quickly assumed control of the game’s momentum, but Riveters netminder Sojung Shin held on, turning away all 17 shots sent her way and nullifying a power play opportunity for their opponent. The Riveters were finally rewarded for their defensive discipline at 17:12 of the first period when Janine Weber connected on a cross-crease pass with Bray Ketchum, beating Slebodnick and putting the Riveters ahead 1-0. For the first time this season, the Pride found themselves in an unusual place – in a scoring hole at the end of the first period.
However, the Pride’s mantra of not feeling discouraged in the face of adversity once again resounded in the locker room in the first intermission, and the team returned to the ice for the second period looking to even the score. At 3:09, the Pride did just that, after Zoe Hickel undressed the Riveters defense with some sharp stickhandling and buried her first goal of the season.
The Riveters were soon handed another opportunity to regain their lead after Kacey Bellamy was sent to the penalty box for a boarding minor. Nevertheless, the Pride’s penalty killing unit decided to take matters into their own hands. Capitalizing on a Riveters turnover in the Pride end, Meghan Duggan set up rookie Alex Carpenter with a breakaway opportunity that resulted in the Pride’s first shorthanded goal of the season at 10:25 of the second period.
Carpenter’s father, Bobby, who played once played for the NHL’s Boston Bruins, was unable to make it to Father-Daughter night, but it was still a special moment for his daughter. “I know he wishes he could be here – I’m sure he is watching at my brother’s game at BU,” said Carpenter. “It is definitely pretty special to score in the same building of the team that your dad played for.”
It seemed that the second period curse that has been befalling the Pride’s opponents this year set in once again. Defenseman Blake Bolden fired a shot from the point, with recently-named NWHL Player of the Week Amanda Pelkey redirecting the shot into the back of the net at 17:52, putting the Pride up 3-1. In four games this season, The Pride have managed to record a total of 12 goals in the second period alone.
The Pride were not finished yet, looking to draw additional blood for the remaining 20 minutes of the game. At 7:01 of the third period, Brianna Decker outmaneuvered the Riveters’ defense with a sensational backhanded shot, registering her third goal of the season. The game was officially sealed for the Pride when Alex Carpenter set up defenseman Gigi Marvin with her first goal of the season with 31.9 seconds left in the game.
Pride Head Coach Bobby Jay emphasized the importance of his team’s depth and the fact that five separate players scored goals in last night’s contest. “I think it’s huge on so many different levels,” said Jay. “The players and coaches respect everyone’s role in the team to see some of our foot soldiers get rewarded offensively… It takes a lot of pressure off of [Briana] Decker, Zoe [Hickel], Amanda [Pelkey], [Alex] Carpenter, and [Jillian] Dempsey.”
The Pride and Riveters now take a break as select players put aside their NWHL allegiances for a few weeks to represent Team USA and Canada in the Four Nation’s Cup in Finland.
Both teams are back in action on November 12th. The Riveters travel to Buffalo take on the Beauts at the HarborCenter, while the Pride host the Connecticut Whale at Warrior Ice Arena.
