Hannah Brandt kept Boston’s playoff plans alive Saturday afternoon in Minnesota.
The Vadnais Heights, Minn., native scored the game-winning goal with 2.7 seconds left in regulation, as Boston topped Minnesota, 2-1, in Professional Women’s Hockey League action.
Playing in front of a crowd of 9,977 at the Xcel Energy Center, Brandt took a centering pass from captain Hillary Knight and beat goalie Nicole Hensley high glove side.
Boston (7-4-3-9, 32 points) is tied with Ottawa (8-1-6-7, 32 points) for the fourth and final playoff spot.
“We never give up,” said Brandt. “We’re still fighting. Obviously, the odds are still stacked against us. All we can do is take care of business and we did that tonight. We live to fight another day, and will have a meaningful game next Saturday.”
Boston has one game remaining, with three points left to play for. They’ll host Montreal next Saturday at the Tsongas Center. Ottawa, which lost to Montreal 2-0 in regulation Saturday, still has two games remaining with as many as six points on the line. Teams are awarded three points for a regulation win, two points for an OT or shootout win, and one point for an OT loss.
Minnesota outshot Boston 12-6 in the first and second periods with goalie Emma Söderberg (31 saves) holding the fort. The Swedish netminder stayed calm under pressure. She remained on top of her game in period two, denying Michela Cava with a stellar stick save.
Kelly Pannek provided the spark Minnesota was looking for. The two-time Olympic medalist pounced on a Cava rebound, shoveling a backhander past Söderberg with 1:30 left in the second period.
But Boston bounced back with Alina Müller leading the charge. The Northeastern product scored the game-tying tally just 1:42 into the third period. Boston’s leading scorer rifled a bullet past Hensley (28 saves) off a great setup by defenseman Megan Keller. It was Müller’s fourth goal to go along with her team-leading 15 points.
Boston crowded Hensley’s crease in the closing seconds. Defenseman Emily Brown unloaded a shot that was blocked, leading to a partial breakaway for Minnesota sniper Taylor Heise. Brown swatted the puck away, leading to Boston’s winning goal.
Although she was at the end of her shift, Brandt knew what was at stake.
“I think I was a little tired,” said Brandt. “(Hensley) knew what I was going to do, but it went in and I’m very thankful. I didn’t know how much time was left. I knew it wasn’t much and when I looked up and (the clock) said 0:00, I was a little nervous, but I’m thankful that it counted and we’re still alive.”
