The Metropolitan Riveters are coming off of an exciting overtime win against the Minnesota Whitecaps who went on to lose two in a row to the Boston Pride, a team that has already beaten the Rivs once this season.
The Pride currently sits at 5-0, having beaten every team except the Connecticut Whale but considering their last-place standing, it’s not a stretch to assume they would beat them as well.
This will be a tough match for the Riveters, but all things considered, so was going to Minnesota to face the Whitecaps, and they were able to come away from that with a win. If they can ride that momentum into Boston, a team they were able to keep up with in their first matchup of the season, they might just have a shot.
Pride Looking Unstoppable
Lovisa Selander is rocking a .954 save percentage headed into this Riveters series, with no signs of dropping that number at all. It’s an intimidating weekend for the Metropolitan team trying to pull away from the Beauts and Whale for a third-place spot in the standings.
Boston also claims the NWHL’s points leader and all-time goals record holder Jillian Dempsey. Along with McKenna Brand, who already has nine points as well, this team looks deadly and it’s going to be a long weekend for the Riveters’ defense.
In fact, Pride players claim most of the top spots in every single offensive category. They are just a team you can not let up against even for a few minutes in a game. The Pride is vastly outshooting all of their opponents, so Riveters’ starting goalie, Sam Walther, will have to be in her best form this weekend.
Players To Watch
Rebecca Morse: Morse has really had a breakout beginning to the season, collecting three points already from the blue line. She is currently the only player on the Riveters with a positive goal differential which is impressive considering how many goals the Riveters have given up so far this season.
Kendall Cornine: This is no surprise, and there really isn’t much explanation here. Cornine seems to always be a part of big plays for the Riveters, plays smart in face-offs, and isn’t typically contributing to detrimental Riveters penalties, which makes her a huge asset on the ice.
Madison Packer: Another name that obviously shows up here often and will continue to do so. However, this week, I’m highlighting Packer for her defensive ability, which will be vital against Boston. Not only is the Rivs’ captain leading the team in shots on goal, but also in takeaways and blocked shots.
Predictions
It’s going to be extremely tough to go into Boston and beat a dialed-in Selander. Like I said before the Riveters’ first game, if you score on her, you aren’t going to do it too many times in a game. Regardless, I think the Riveters can come away with one in a low scoring, low penalty game 2-1 the first day. Ultimately, I predict they will fall 4-2 to the Pride on Sunday.
The Riveters are just at the beginning of a long series of road games, so if they can at least split most of their series’ like they did last weekend, they will be in pretty good shape for their home game-heavy last half of the season.
The first game will be streamed on the NWHL Twitch channel at 6:30 pm on Saturday and the second game will be streamed at 2:30 pm on Sunday.