Boston rallies past Montreal in OT to complete sweep, reach PWHL finals

LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — Susanna Tapani scored her second overtime winner of the series to help Boston rally past Montreal 3-2 on Tuesday night and advance to the Professional Women’s Hockey League championship series.

Boston, which swept Montreal in the best-of-five series, will play for the inaugural Walter Cup against either Minnesota or Toronto.

Boston has won five consecutive games, while Montreal ended the season on a four-game losing streak.

Tapani’s game-winning goal came just 62 seconds into the extra period. Alina Müller cut back to the middle of the ice for a shot that bounced off the pad of Ann-Renée Desbiens and Tapani was left open at the back door for an easy tap in.

Tapani also won Game 1 on Thursday when she pounced on a loose puck in the blue paint for the first overtime goal in PWHL playoff history.

Five of the seven games between the two teams this season went to overtime, including the longest game in PWHL history at over 111 minutes on Saturday that Taylor Wenczkowski clinched in triple overtime.

Aerin Frankel, who set a PWHL saves record for a second straight game with a 56-save performance on Saturday, kept Boston in Game 3 after falling behind 2-0 in the second period. She finished with 32 saves.