Columnists
Frosty Finish
The Minnesota Frost have struggled with offensive production and are in danger of missing the playoffs.
ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Frost put a season-high 17 shots on goal in the first period. The goal column? Nothing. They had a five-minute major power play early in the second period. Still nothing. They trailed 1-0 in the third period and went on the penalty kill in the final two minutes of the game before allowing an empty-net goal. Shutout complete.
The Frost returned from the multi-week international break for the IIHF Women’s World Championship by falling 2-0 to the New York Sirens on Sunday in front of 6,472 fans for Fan Appreciation Day at Xcel Energy Center. They outshot the Sirens 33-21 but still couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the net.
“We’ve got to score, and we just didn’t do that today,” said Frost forward Taylor Heise.
The result has the Frost in danger of missing the playoffs and not getting a shot to defend its Walter Cup Championship. The way they ended up with the result wasn’t necessarily new for the Frost this season. It’s not the first game where the Frost have generated chances but had trouble finishing plays to score goals.
“It’s tough,” said Frost coach Ken Klee. “We had a great first period, and we had 20 shots. We probably had 30 attempts. You look at our shot attempts today, they were outrageous how many good looks we had.
“We’ve just got to find a way to bank one in, put one in, you know, hit off someone’s shin pad, do something. Today we couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Frost forward Liz Schepers get sandwiched in between Sirens goaltender Corinne Schroder and defender Micah Zandee-Hart on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)
Credit goes to New York goaltender, Corinne Schroeder, who made 33 saves for back-to-back shutouts riding a 128:33 scoreless streak. Klee noted how Schroeder “gobbled up rebounds when they were lying around.”
“It was tight, but we’ve got to find a way to score a goal. We just have to. We practiced hard the last few days, and we looked sharp and we were scoring goals in practice like crazy.”
Scoring goals in games has been another story for the Frost, at times, and it’s led to a similar late-season stumble.
Late-season, goal-scoring struggles
It was well-documented how Minnesota struggled down the stretch last season, going 0-5 after the international break and backing into a playoff spot at the last minute. The Frost have faltered in the latter part of this season, too. They’re 2-1-1-5 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in their last nine games (since Feb. 23); that’s five regulation losses, including a three-game losing streak sandwiched in the middle while the Frost earned just nine points in the standings over those nine games. It’s three points for a regulation win, two points for overtime/shootout wins and one point for an overtime/shootout loss.
It’s put the Frost into a situation where they need to win their final two regular-season games, plus get a little help, if they’re going to make the playoffs. It’s a similar spot to the inaugural season for the defending Walter Cup Champions.
“We would love to not be in that position,” Heise said. “Maybe next year we’ll find a way to not do that.”
Goal scoring has been a big culprit. The Frost scored only four total goals during the three-game losing skid from March 11-March 26. They’ve scored 18 total goals in the last nine games, scoring more than two goals in a game just twice with a pair of five-goal efforts.
For the season, the Frost have scored one goal or been shutout in seven games – with five of those seven coming in the last nine games. Not surprisingly when scoring just once, or not at all, the Frost are 0-0-1-6. Klee was asked about his team scoring just one goal after a 4-1 loss to Montreal on March 26.
Frost defender Sophie Jaques winds up for one of her four shots on goal against New York during the April 27, 2025 game. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)
“It’s tough,” Klee said. “We’re trying to score more than one, that’s for sure. These guys are playing their hearts out and trying to get pucks to the net. We have to find a way. Just find a way to get it done.
“At the end of the day it’s about points. We’ve got to figure out how to score some points.”
Unfortunately for the Frost, they have not been able to figure it out consistently enough over the final third of its schedule.
Just two regulation wins in the last nine games is quite the contrast to how the Frost started the season, when they rattled off wins and found themselves near the top of the PWHL standings. Minnesota had a good December, going 3-1-1-1 and scoring 22 goals across their first six games. The success continued into early January, pushing their record to 4-3-1-2 with 32 goals scored in the first 10 games, or the first third of the season. The Frost scored four-or-more goals five times in 10 games to start the 2024-25 season.
Finishing their chances was something the Frost were doing more of early on. After a 5-2 win over Ottawa on Dec. 19, Klee said his team was playing the right way and generating chances.
“It’s just about finishing,” Klee said after that game. “I think that’s something we’ve been making an emphasis on in practice, and all summer. How do we figure out ways to score more goals?”
Frost rookie forward Brooke McQuigge saw her six-game point streak come to an end with the 2-0 loss to New York on April 27. Her streak was one shy of the PWHL record. McQuigge scored two goals and five assists during those six games. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)
The Frost are again close to thinking about that same concept over a summer that could start sooner rather than later.
Outside looking in
They have two road games remaining in the regular season. They face Ottawa on Wednesday night and then play in Boston on Saturday. All three teams are still competing for the final two playoff spots available; Montreal and Toronto have clinched, while sixth-place New York is out.
Headed into this week with two games left for all six teams, the Frost need to win both of their games, with at least one win in regulation (three points). They also need help from other teams. The Frost have 38 points in fifth place. As of Tuesday afternoon, they’re four points behind the fourth-place Ottawa Charge, which can clinch its spot with at least one point against the Frost on Wednesday. Boston is in third with 44 points and one game remaining, against Minnesota.
Taylor Heise has eight goals and 21 points in 27 games this season compared to four goals and 13 points in 19 games during the 2024 regular season as a PWHL rookie. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)
After Sunday’s game, the Frost weren’t looking to make any big adjustments to their game to try make up for the lack of goal scoring. They were happy with their chances and shots-on-goal margin.
“Obviously it didn’t work tonight, but we just have to believe it’s going in,” said defender Lee Stecklein. “And that’s sometimes half the battle.
“We just have to stick to what we’re doing and stick to what we know we can do.”
Anytime his team starts a game by putting close to 20 shots on goal in a period, Klee said he likes their chances. Regardless of the latest outcome against New York, he added that the Frost were still going to need a win in Ottawa, then repeat the same effort in Boston this week.
“Really, our mindset doesn’t change,” Klee said. “It takes it out of our hands a little bit. We need a little help now.
“Still, we’ve got to go in, same thing. We’ve got to win games.”
