A bumpy road: How Minnesota coped with the PWHL's new playoff rule

TORONTO - Any new rule is bound to have unintended consequences when it is first implemented. In its inaugural season, the PWHL allowed the first-place team to select its semifinal playoff opponent instead of hewing strictly to the standings. Regular-season champion Toronto had 24 hours to decide, and then the unintended consequences began.

Toronto's choose-your-own-adventure became a series of misadventures for Minnesota, the team Toronto selected for the best-of-five series.

After learning they'd been picked, Minnesota players had less than nine hours' notice to pack their belongings and report to the team facility for a travel day that did not go as planned.

"We didn't get our gear to practice," captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said. Because of the late notice, Minnesota had to split into two travel groups. The players and coaches went on one plane with their personal luggage, while the support staff took the hockey equipment on a different flight with a layover in Chicago.

That flight was delayed for three hours on the runway before ultimately getting canceled. It was nearly 11 p.m. before the trainers and staff arrived in Toronto with the hockey equipment and team medical supplies.

Toronto decisively won Game 1 4-0 on Wednesday, extending Minnesota's current losing streak to six games.

Toronto players practiced Tuesday, fine-tuning adjustments to their breakouts, entries, and power play. Unaware of the Minnesota mayhem, Toronto coach Troy Ryan said after the practice, "It's just tough to travel. I don't know the exact details of their travel right now, but hopefully it's difficult on them."

Without gear, Minnesota's schedule switched to team walks, shopping at Toronto's Eaton Centre, and watching the NHL playoffs. The chaos came at an inopportune time as the team struggles to reset after a fall from grace.

Minnesota was the hottest team to start the season, winning four of its first five games and losing the other in overtime. The club rode a five-game winning streak into the extended break for the women's world championships in late March. When the PWHL resumed in April, Minnesota lost the final five games of the season. The team only clinched a spot in the playoffs after Ottawa's loss to Toronto on Sunday.

"It's a new season," Minnesota coach Ken Klee said of the playoff reset. "It's a mental grind."

To him, the travel couldn't help but feel part of the gamesmanship. "If I was them, I'd pick the team with the hardest travel, and we definitely had the hardest travel," he said. "We were planes, trains, and automobiles."

New experiences

The choose-your-opponent rule isn't the only new aspect of these playoffs for most of the women on each team's roster. Until now, women's hockey has largely been played tournament-style. For a majority of players, this is their first five-game series.

"We've never really played in a five-game series as women hockey players. … To be able to feel what that feels like will be pretty fun," Toronto's Natalie Spooner said.

With the potential for 10 playoff games if each series runs its full length – the regular season itself was only 24 games - athletes are focused on maintaining their health. "Recovery's going to be a big part," Toronto's Jocelyne Larocque said. "Taking care of my body, making sure I'm getting enough rest, eating enough, drinking enough."

It's not just physical toughness that's crucial; mental strength will be necessary to go the distance. "I think these first two games are key," said Klee, who spent 14 seasons as a player in the NHL, two of them for the Maple Leafs. "For us to get a split and have a chance to finish at home is huge. It's game by game. I've played in fives and I've played in sevens - it's the first team to get three wins. You've just got to keep your focus on that, looking for one win at a time.

"It's definitely something new for them where you're going to see that same sweater lining up against you, not only shift after shift but even game after game. That's where the real rivalry goes. You learn a healthy hatred but also a fun, competitive match."

Game 2 in the series is Friday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

A rivalry grows

The choose-your-own-opponent rule could also lay the groundwork for rivalries among these nascent franchises.

"I'm always one of the most competitive people that I've met, so for me it's a shot at our character and the way that we play," Taylor Heise said about Toronto picking Minnesota instead of Boston. She admitted that it was no surprise considering Minnesota's recent five-game slump, although it still ignited her competitive spirit.

Many of the Toronto players also felt the decision was obvious. "The deciding factor might have come down to how they're doing right now," Larocque said. "There's not a lot of time between the end of the season and playoffs. Boston's been on a bit of an upswing and Minnesota not so much. It helped make our decision."

That decision might have also been impacted by Minnesota's power play, which was one of the worst in the league during the regular season with an 8.2% success rate.

Some players felt that because Minnesota was such a clear choice, the new rule was less exciting than it could have been. "I think that in years to come there might be more surprises, but I think it adds another layer for the fans to watch in different levels of competition. It adds another level of tension and competition in our game," Toronto's Emma Maltais said.

Maltais isn't too concerned about fueling Minnesota's competitive fire. "I think that earning the place to be first, I don't think it should come with negatives," she said. "At the end of the day, we did select them, but we'd have to play the game the way we'd always play either way."

Future adjustments

Minnesota is now focused on the adjustments necessary to snap its losing streak. But next year, the players hope the league will tweak its choose-your-opponent rule to allow the selected team to make proper travel arrangements.

"You can't ask a team to travel in six hours and then they can't even get all on the same flight, much less all the equipment," Klee said. "Those are just logistical things that we need to operate as a top-class league and make sure everyone has travel that is arranged, their gear comes with them."

Coyne Schofield had to scramble for help with her dogs. She was told to report to the team facility at 5 a.m., but most dog boarders don't open until 6 a.m. Teammate Lee Stecklein came up with a solution - her dad would pick up Coyne Schofield's dogs and drive them around until the boarder opened. It worked, but only because of the goodwill of teammates and family.

"I think the team that receives the information, they need 24 hours to process, digest," Coyne Schofield said. "It's not a matter of trying to get an advantage: It's more so planning for life. You're going to be on the road for five days. People have kids, dogs, families, husbands, wives, whatever the situation may be. It was definitely a tough turnaround and definitely something to adjust in the future."

Jolene Latimer is a feature writer at theScore.