The Boston Pride Sweep The New York Riveters.

Pride advance to first Isobel Cup Finals

The Boston Pride earned a sweep over the New York Riveters to advance to the Isobel Cup Finals in Newark, NJ. The Pride and the Riveters series was indicative of how the two teams finished the season. The Pride came into the series riding a seven game win streak where they averaged five goals per game. The Riveters had just one win in 2016 and struggled to put pucks on net espcially from the blue line.

Game 1 finished with a 6-0 Pride win and saw the Pride outshoot the Riveters 58-17. Brittany Ott was great in net, recording her second shutout of the season and the first of the NWHL Playoffs, just minutes before Connecticut’s Jaimie Leonoff matched the effort against the Beauts. The Pride got scoring from 5 different players with a 2 goal effort from Brianna Decker. Jenny Scrivens played the whole game for the Riveters with rumors that Nana Fujimoto was sick and unable to play. Game 1 set the tone for the series, or lack thereof a series. The first place Pride were just too dominant as the season concluded and the last place Riveters have holes to fill in the offseason.

Game 2 was very similar for the Pride, scoring seven goals including Hilary Knight punching in an empty netter late in the game for a hat trick. Conversely, the Riveters showed great fight, scoring 4 goals and keeping the game from getting out of hand. The Pride took advantage of 52 shots on goal, chasing the starter Fujimoto from the contest, then continuing the barrage on Scrivens. New York got scoring from 4 different players, which shows good signs for the offense next year. Looking ahead to the Isobel Cup Finals, the Pride still have pieces of their game to work on. The Riveters scored all 4 goals while on the Power Play. The Pride had 8 different penalties and allowed goals on 4 of them, this is a flaw that needs to be fixed, or the Beauts will take advantage.

The Pride will play the Buffalo Beauts who took game three over the Connecticut Whale. The Isobel Cup Finals will be in Newark NJ. March 11-13th, 2016

Follow Kyle Wescott on Twitter @MHSWescott