Metropolitan Riveters Fall in Opener
By JJ Pavlick 11/6/22
There have been some changes made in the league this season, there are now 7 teams including the new Montreal Force. Teams will play 24 games (12 Home/12 Away), 4 games against each opponent. Points will be awarded as follows: 3 pts for a regulation win, 2 points for a overtime/ shootout win, 1 point for a Overtime/Shootout loss. The league will now follow most IIHF Rules instead of the previous US Hockey rules they followed last season. For those new to following the Riveters this team is young and they’ve added some fresh faces with international experience. They’ve brought in defender Minttu Tuominen who will wear #15, she has been to 4 Olympics and 9 world championships for Finland. She will bring a strong defensive game to the team along with great experience. The team also went out and got Forward Amanda Pelkey she played in the inaugural NWHL season for Boston, she’s won Gold in 2016 & 2017 at the World Championships and won Gold in 2018 for team USA at the Olympics. She played for the US U-18 team and won Gold in 2009 & 2011. She is a gritty player and a proven goal scorer who should help this young team in the tough times of the season.
While the Riveters lost to the Boston Pride in the season opener there were positives to take from the game. They held the high-power offensive team to just 2 goals on the road and were in the game the entire time. Boston scored their first goal of the game off a bad rebound that goalie Rachel McQuigge will want back. It was an error she didn’t make the rest of the game and it can also be attributed to playing with new faces on defense who she is still getting use to on kick outs and rebound placement. The goal was scored just 2:20 seconds into the young season. Boston captain Jillian Dempsey found the rebound and just slotted it home past McQuigge. It came off a faceoff win by the captain and was assisted by Meghara McManus and Kali Flanagan. After the goal the Riveters would settle in and start attacking the Boston goal with some pace. The team didn’t back down from the league leading Boston Pride and ended the 1st period being outshot 17-10.
The second period saw the Riveters come out shooting trying to find the tying goal, but Goalie Corrine Schroeder was on her game and was not letting anything past her tonight. Boston took advantage of a defensive lapse 5:20 into the second period. The pride found Loren Gabel who was breaking into the attacking zone just barely onside. She took the tape-to-tape pass and went in 2 on 1 with Elizabeth Giguere who went five hole on McQuigge for the 2nd goal of the game. Kaleigh Fratkin was also awarded an assist on the goal as her pass led to the break on goal. The team won’t say die attitude showed up in response to the goal and the team shored up defensively the rest of the period while getting some shots on goal to try and decrease Boston’s lead. The shots on goal stood 33 – 18 for Boston after two periods of play.
The third period saw no goals for either side but was perhaps the best period of play by the young Riveters team. It was a great sign of what this team can do on the defensive side and showed the upside of their offense. While they didn’t find the back of the net the puck movement was solid and created some solid chances for the team. Look for the team to take the momentum they built in the third into their home opener on November 19th against Toronto at 1 PM ET. The game ended with a shot advantage of +20 finishing the game outshot the Riveters 47-27. Schroeder finished the game making 27 saves and standing tall on both powerplays. Boston improves to 2-0-0 taking 1st place over Toronto by a +4-goal diff. Metropolitan is 0-1-0 at the start of the young season. The schedule is tough for the young team to start the season, but they showed they can play with the big experienced teams in the league.