PWHL Ottawa’s world champs return home to star in win over Minnesota

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Ottawa 4, Minnesota 0

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The four PWHL Ottawa players who helped Canada win the world championships less than a week ago brought the golden touch home with them on Saturday night.

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Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Ashton Bell and Emily Clark each had a starring role as Ottawa defeated Minnesota 4-0 at TD Place in its first game back from the three-plus week break.

Jenner had a hat trick, Bell scored once and Clark chipped in with an assist and her usual solid two-way play.

But in front of 8,110 rambunctious fans, Maschmeyer shone the brightest.

She was absolutely brilliant in stopping 35 shots for her second shutout of the season, with 13 of her saves coming in a third period that featured Ottawa surviving a 5-on-3 shorthanded situation.

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While a regulation-time victory would have moved Minnesota into a first-place tie with Toronto, the victory might have been the biggest of the season for Ottawa.

It moved coach Carla MacLeod’s team back into the final playoff spot, two points ahead of Boston, which had temporarily grabbed fourth place with a 2-1 win over New York earlier in the day.

Ottawa has a game in hand on Boston, with the two teams squaring off in a huge tilt Wednesday at 7 p.m. at TD Place.

Maschmeyer kept Ottawa in the game through the first 10 minutes.

She made a nice stop off a Kelly Panneck attempt from the doorstep, then stoned Denisa Krizova on a breakaway.

Shortly after that, she made a great blocker save off a speeding Kendall Coyne Schofield from the bottom of the left faceoff circle, then helped Ottawa survive the first power play of the game when Emma Buckles went off for tripping.

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Ottawa finally registered its first shot on goal, by Clark, at the 10:07 mark of the first. At that point, Maschmeyer had been tested eight times.

But it was the home team that took a 1-0 lead into the first period, thanks to a fumble by Minnesota goalie Nicole Hensley.

With the puck shot in behind her net, Hensley left her crease to prevent it from rimming around the boards. She was unable to corral it, however, and the puck went off her stick blade and squirted out between her skates in front of net, where Jenner was cruising.

The Ottawa captain had to be thinking ‘thank you very much’ as she turned the gift of a clear shot at an empty net into her sixth goal of the season.

The generosity of the visitors didn’t stop there.

In the fourth minute of the second period, Minnesota defender Maggie Flaherty crashed into the boards when she went behind the net to fetch the puck. Clark pounced on it and immediately sent a pass out front to Jenner, who one-timed a shot behind Hensley.

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Ottawa made it 3-0 later in the second period off a 2-on-1 break when Tereza Vanisova slipped a pass under Flaherty’s stick to Bell, who quickly fired the puck in the open side.

Jenner scored her third with 4:21 left, after a strong forecheck by Tereza Vanisova and a pretty pass from Darryl Watts, to start a downpour of hats onto the ice.

Of the 22 shots on goal Ottawa had in the game, 12 came from Bell (five), Jenner (four) and Clark (three).

dbrennan@postmedia.com

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