With under two minutes left in overtime, Chicago came flying in on a two-on-nothing breakaway, but Gray slid post-to-post and kicked out her left pad for a highlight-reel diving save that kept Boston’s championship hopes alive.

“[That save] definitely helped me be more confident for the shootout,” Gray said. “I saw it out of the corner of my eye, and I said, ‘I think they’re going to make a pass.’ I’m sure I looked nervous before, but when I’m taking shots, I’m like, ‘I know how to do this.’ During the shootout, I just tried to come out far and take away their angles.”

After a back-and-forth start filled with missed chances and stellar goaltending on both ends, Chicago finally broke through.

With just under two minutes remaining in the second period and on the power play, Chicago’s Elise Fontana fired a shot into traffic that caused chaos in front of the net. Quinn Wigmore was there to poke the puck past Gray, capitalizing on a crowded crease and giving Chicago the opening goal.

That tally came at the end of a momentum-building stretch for Chicago, who had back-to-back power plays late in the period. 

Chicago nearly doubled its lead in the third when it found the back of the net just over a minute into the period — but officials waved off the goal because the net was offset. The Mission’s momentum stalled further when they were immediately hit with a hooking penalty, giving Boston a power play chance to respond.

Chicago kept pressing. With just under 10 minutes to play in regulation, forward Katherine Jessup broke free on a clean breakaway and fired a shot that clanged off the post.

The Eagles continued to generate pressure in the third period, and their persistence paid off with under four minutes left in regulation when Margaret Chudzinski redirected a pass from Joelle Burns out front, tying the game at 1-1 and sending the Boston bench into a frenzy.

“I told them to keep fighting,” Boston head coach Michael Burns said. “We did it the day before when we were down against the Minnesota Lakers. We tied it with maybe six minutes left or so, so that was the message. We’ve been here before. We’ve done it, and we have strength and we're fast, and we put a lot of pressure on other teams.”

Neither side found the net in a frantic, back-and-forth overtime.

“It’s a hard way to end the game in a shootout when both teams are playing so well,” Burns said. “We only do shootouts in tournaments, and it’s really difficult for the players because they’re so nervous. I try to think of which kids give me the best chance to score and hope our goalie makes the saves, and our goalie was awesome.”

As the final shot thudded into her glove, Gray flung her arms in the air and was immediately mobbed by her teammates.

“I feel so happy,” Ling said. “Coach told us to play our hardest for our team because all of us are a family, and we needed to play for each other more than individually.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.