“Because I didn’t see her come off the ice,” Heise said. “I hopped the bench, and Grace (Zumwinkle) is great with puck possession. She came around, dished it to me up high. I kind of gave a shot fake, was hoping I’d get someone to bite.”

Heise took her shot, with teammate Brooke McQuigge screening the goaltender, and ended up with the winning goal with four minutes left in overtime. She picked a perfect time to score her first goal of the playoffs, helping to secure a 4-3 Frost victory over Toronto in front of 3,107 fans Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Minnesota won the series and advances to the Walter Cup Finals.

The goal celebration brought Taylor Heise to her knees after scoring her first goal of the playoffs with four minutes left in overtime against Toronto on Wednesday night. Britta Curl-Salemme skates over to greet her. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Heise celebrated her winning goal by throwing her arms in the air, then a quick pound on the glass before dropping to her knees and coasting toward center ice as her Frost teammates poured off the bench for the celebratory mob.

“I don’t really know what I was doing, to be honest with you,” Heise said. “Obviously the relief of how hard we worked. In an elimination game, it’s really hard to end a team’s season, especially one that’s been doing so well.”

Her goal means Minnesota will have a shot to repeat as Walter Cup Champions. After dropping Game 1 in Toronto, the Frost won the next three games in the best-of-five series to give them a 3-1 series victory and reach the Walter Cup Finals in back-to-back seasons. Last year’s runner-up, the Boston Fleet, didn’t make the playoffs this year.

“It’s just a testament to the group,” said Minnesota coach Ken Klee. “We have a young group, but we also have a veteran group.”

The Frost await the winner of the Ottawa/Montreal series. As the lowest seed, Minnesota will start the Finals on the road.

Though this semifinal series didn’t go the distance like last year, Minnesota once again upset higher-seed Toronto in the PWHL semifinals. Last year, No. 4 Minnesota overcame a 0-2 series deficit to beat top-seed Toronto.

Winners on home ice
Wednesday, the Frost capitalized on a chance to clinch a series on home ice for the first time. Minnesota, which is now 3-0 in playoff series with a 9-5 record, won two Game 5s on the road last season. The Frost won Game 4 in overtime, sticking to its pattern; both Game 4s for Minnesota last season needed double overtime to decide a winner.

The Frost also trailed all night until Heise’s series-clinching goal. Toronto took a 2-0 lead about halfway through the second period in a game that started out with very few shots on goal. The Frost weren’t as sharp as they have been, making a few uncharacteristic mistakes, Klee said.

The Minnesota Frost are 2-for-2 in making the Walter Cup Finals. They beat Toronto in the semifinals in 2024 and 2025 to get there. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“But at the end of the day, found a way to win,” Klee said. “That’s the biggest thing. Playoffs, you’ve got to find ways to win every night. And a big credit to our squad for doing that.”

The Frost squad got contributions from some of their leaders on the top two lines, too. Kendall Coyne Schofield scored a pair of momentum-swinging goals, including the tying goal that helped send the game to overtime.

That 2-0 lead didn’t last long for the Sceptres. Just 14 seconds, in fact. It was a shot from Heise through traffic, one of her game-high six shots on goal in the game, and it was initially announced as her goal before it was later changed to Coyne Schofield’s first tally of the playoffs, as she was parked in front of the net and deflected the puck.

The Frost weren’t done, tying the game with 1 minute, 12 seconds left in the second period as Kelly Pannek tipped down a McQuigge shot in front of the crease for her first goal of the playoffs.

Toronto was back in front by a goal just 58 seconds into the third period on a shot from Emma Maltais. But Coyne Schofield had a great backdoor effort on a rebound to tie the game 3-3 with 8:33 remaining in regulation.

“I don’t think we were quite as happy with our first and second (periods),” Heise said. “Obviously when you get scored on first, it’s hard. But I think for us, we came back with a vengeance and a fire in the second and the third.”

Kendall Coyne Schofield had her first career playoff multi-goal game with a pair of goals for the Frost in Game 4. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The Frost kept the environment loose in the locker room at intermission following the end of regulation. The mentality was “’someone put the puck in the net; we don’t care who it is,’” Heise said.

“Just keeping it light and realizing we’re here for a reason, and we love the game,” Heise said. “That’s why it’s fun, is when we go out there and have fun, you can tell it’s a better game.”

In overtime, Toronto pressured and had scoring chances as it looked to extend its season. Though they led throughout, Renata Fast said she never felt like the game slipped away.

“I thought it was a tight game that whole way through,” Fast said. “Even when we were up 2-0, it was still a tight game. I thought we competed hard the entire game and had our looks and had our chances.

“It just didn’t go our way.”

Despite recording six shots on goal, one off her season-high, Heise said she also probably missed the net three times leading up to the eventual winner. She was fueled by the belief her teammates had in her when she returned to the bench.

“I had three or four people tapping me on the back saying, ‘you got this, you practice for this, you do all the things that you do, get out there and shoot the puck with pride and focus,’” Heise said. “I think the last one, just waited it out a little bit.”

Goalie swaps and scoring depth
Both teams switched starters in net from Game 3 to Game 4. Nicole Hensley, who made 34 saves in the Game 1 loss, tapped in for Maddie Rooney, who won two games but gave up five goals on 23 shots in Game 3. Though they’ve been a tandem, Toronto also swapped in Carly Jackson (CJ) for Kristen Campbell, who allowed 12 goals on 49 shots over games 2 and 3.

“Putting CJ in goal for that game is, to some extent, potentially putting her in a real tough situation,” said Toronto coach Troy Ryan. “I thought CJ really answered the call and gave us an opportunity to win.”

Nicole Hensley makes a sprawling pad save to keep the game alive. She made 26 saves in the victory Wednesday. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Wednesday, Hensley stopped 26 shots and Jackson made 22 saves in her second career PWHL game. This game also was the first in PWHL history without any penalties called, so the goaltenders didn’t have to face the opponent’s potent power play.

No matter who’s in the net, the Frost continued to show their scoring depth in the series. In four games, Minnesota had 11 players score at least one goal and 15 players with at least one point. Heise leads the Frost with seven points in the playoffs, including a team-high six assists. Michela Cava scored three goals and five points; she also forced a turnover that led to the Frost’s first goal Wednesday. Coyne Schofield recorded four points in the series.

Three of the top-10 Frost scoring leaders are on the blue line, too. Lee Stecklein had her five-game point streak snapped when she didn’t get on the scoresheet in Game 4, but she’s been the hottest player at the end of the regular season and the playoffs, scoring three goals and three assists in the series. Sophie Jaques also hasn’t been shy about sending the puck toward the net or setting up her teammates. She assisted on the last tying and winning goals Wednesday, bringing her scoring numbers to four assists along with her two goals. It was also her third-straight multi-point game, a new career-high.

Jaques’ D partner, Mellissa Channell-Watkins, also had an assist in Game 4, bringing her point streak to three games with a goal and three assists.

Minnesota Frost forward Brooke McQuigge reacts with a smile after seeing Taylor Heise’s shot get past Toronto goaltender Carly Jackson in overtime. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“I think it took everybody tonight, as it did this entire series,” Coyne Schofield said. “And that’s what it’s going to take moving forward.”

The Frost will enjoy a few extra days of rest at home before hitting the road again for the Finals. Should Toronto have prevailed in Game 4, the Frost were set to head back to Toronto at 7 a.m. Thursday for the winner-take-all Game 5.

There’s certainly relief that it wasn’t necessary.

“We’ve been on the road quite a bit this season,” Coyne Schofield said. “So, I think just that mental reset as much as a physical reset to be here for a couple days is going to help us.

“Our mindset, we can’t relax, we can’t let off the gas. We’re still in playoff mode. But to take advantage of this time that we’ve earned and to reset and refocus and wait to see what’s next.”

What’s next, Minnesota hopes, is winning another Walter Cup Championship.

Gallery: PWHL Semifinals Game 4, Sceptres vs. Frost

The post Winning Frost Warning appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

After dropping Game 1 in the PWHL semifinals to the Toronto Sceptres 3-2, the Frost won Games 2 and 3 behind a barrage of goal scoring, winning 5-3 and then 7-5 in front of an announced crowd of 3,917 fans Sunday evening at Xcel Energy Center.

That Game 3 final score is more common to see in a tennis set rather than a typical low-scoring playoff hockey game.

“I think it’s a fan’s dream and a coach’s nightmare, a 7-5 playoff game,” said Frost coach Ken Klee. “But you know what? We found a way to win, and that’s the most important thing.”

Frost coach Ken Klee said he hadn’t “really been apart of a game like that before,” of Sunday’s Game 3 with a 7-5 final score, in favor of Minnesota. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Indeed, the victory puts the Frost in a good position, up 2-1 in the best-of-five series. The teams will meet for Game 4 at 6 p.m. Wednesday in St. Paul, with the Frost having an opportunity to close out the series by upsetting Toronto for a second consecutive year.

The Frost, which struggled to score goals at times down the stretch, have pumped in 25 goals over their last five games since they were shut out 2-0 by last-place New York in the Frost’s last regular-season home game on April 27. That offensive production has helped Minnesota win four of their last five games, including two must-wins on the road to help make the playoffs, followed by back-to-back wins against Toronto, the second-place team in the six-team PWHL standings.

Highest-scoring PWHL game ever
Their latest offensive outburst turned into a race to the finish as Toronto and Minnesota were part of the highest-scoring game in PWHL history in Game 3. Minnesota got out to a quick 3-0 lead by the 7:48 mark of the first period, before Toronto even had a shot on goal, causing Toronto coach Troy Ryan to call timeout and settle things down.

Frost fourth-line center Liz Schepers got in alone with goaltender Kristen Campbell and didn’t miss, scoring just 2 minutes, 33 seconds into the game. Schepers had just two goals in 27 games in the regular season, but she was also a catalyst for Minnesota’s playoff run last year, scoring a goal and four assists in 10 playoff games. “Playoff Liz,” as teammate Michela Cava called her.

Frost forward Liz Schepers skates in alone toward the Toronto goal before scoring the first goal of the game in Sunday’s first period of Game 3. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Klee praised Schepers’ great habits, adding that she does a lot of things well but “doesn’t always get rewarded for it.”

“I think any time you get to the postseason, you want to turn it up a notch,” Schepers said. “Our whole team has done a really great job of that. Obviously, we came in, it felt like our playoffs started with three games left in the regular season, and we continually got better and dialed it up a little bit more.

“So, it’s great to contribute, and it takes everybody to win at this time of year. Happy to be a part of that.”

After Schepers got the scoring started Sunday, rookie Brooke McQuigge scored the first of her two goals for a 2-0 lead, and then the Frost’s hottest-scoring player lately, defender Lee Stecklein, scored her third goal of the playoffs for her sixth goal in her last five PWHL games. Stecklein scored her three regular-season goals in the last two games of the season.

Depth shows on the scoresheet
Though the Frost led the entire game, Toronto kept pace and got within a goal twice, trailing 3-2 and 5-4. But then Cava, who’s won four consecutive hockey championships in four different leagues, scored back-to-back goals two minutes apart in the third period to help put the lead out of reach. The Sceptres gave Cava plenty of space to walk through the slot and fire a backhander into the net, while her second tally was a power-play goal on the backdoor on a feed from Stecklein.

The Frost went 2-for-4 on the power play Sunday and scored seven goals on 24 shots. Toronto scored its five goals on 23 shots against goalie Maddie Rooney. Not a lot of shots on net, but still a high-scoring game.

“Some broken plays,” Ryan said. “A lot of people directed pucks to the net and getting sticks on them. I think on both sides, I think both goaltenders would probably like a couple of them back.”

Brooke McQuigge fought through Toronto players in front to score one of her two goals in Game 3. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

A total of 21 players had points in the game, with 11 registering multi-point efforts. Defender Sophie Jaques had a goal and assist for the second consecutive game, while blue-liner Mellissa Channell-Watkins had two assists. Kendall Coyne Schofield had a game-high 5 shots on goal along with two assists. Taylor Heise had three assists, including a great drop-pass to Stecklein on her goal. For the Sceptres, Blayre Turnbull, Kali Flanagan and Daryl Watts each had a goal and an assist.

“I think obviously it was a good offensive game for both teams,” Cava said. “I think it’s just about cleaning up little things.

“We all know that five goals against is not the way we wanted the game to go. I think we’ll really clean that up and just continue to score goals.”

Floodgates open for Frost, on similar path to last year
Ever since getting shut out a couple of weeks ago, scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for Minnesota. First, it was a 3-0 victory in Ottawa. Then, the Frost showed up for its highest-scoring game of the season, netting eight goals in Boston for a 8-1 win that helped secure the final playoff spot.

They’ve gotten scoring from multiple forward lines and defensive pairings. It’s that depth that is one of their strengths, Klee said.

“We try to rely on it when we need to,” Klee said. “We’re trying to be the best team. We’re not trying to be the best player or individual. It’s something we kind of preach from day one. And we know it worked for us last year, so we’re trying as best as we can to keep it going.”

Michela Cava scored the last two Frost goals of the game, which turned out to be the game-winners. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The Frost have followed a similar path to last year’s run to the postseason and playoff series, even though the team acknowledges this is not the way they’d like to draw it up. In 2024, Minnesota lost its final five regulation-season games, got help to make the playoffs as the 4-seed, then were shut out twice in Toronto before getting a reverse sweep. Then they beat Boston in five games to win the Walter Cup.

This season, the Frost returned from the international break in late April needing points and wins to make the playoffs. Goal scoring was tougher to come by. But they’ve come up clutch when it matters most. Minnesota has a belief and confidence within its locker room, no matter how difficult the road to victory may seem. That’s a theme carried over from last season.

“I just think the experience we have in this room from last year, from previous teams we’re all coming from, we’ve had a lot of success and fortunate to lean on that,” Schepers said. “Our leaders do a great job of keeping everybody focused on the main thing, which is playing our brand of hockey. Because we see the success that we have when we do that.”

Added Cava: “We play and we don’t quit. We knew during the season that we were really fast and a really skilled team. Obviously, we lost that a few times throughout the year. But going into the playoffs and those last two games, we knew that we had another level. And you could really see everybody just embrace that and just play with the physicality that other teams don’t want to play with.”

Lee Stecklein (left) and Taylor Heise (middle) skate back toward the Frost bench to celebrate Stecklein’s goal which made it a 3-0 game early in the first period on Sunday. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Turning to Game 4, Klee said he expects Toronto’s best game as the Sceptres try to keep their season alive. Minnesota will attempt to end a playoff series before reaching the winner-take-all Game 5. But even when their backs are against the wall, the Frost find a way. Going back to last season’s playoffs, Minnesota is 6-0 in must-win, elimination games.

It’ll be about keeping the spirits high on the bench, Cava said, with Schepers adding that it’s also important to not get too high with the highs or too low with the lows.

“This league is too good,” Schepers said. “All the teams are too tight to think you’re in the clear in any way. So, keeping our foot on the gas for sure going into this elimination game, we know it’s going to be the toughest one.”

Gallery: PWHL Semifinals Game 3, Sceptres vs. Frost

The post Icy Hot appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

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 gets sandwiched in between Sirens goaltender Corinne Schroeder 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 11-26. 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.”

Gallery: Sirens vs. Frost

The post Frosty Finish appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

While the Victoire celebrated a victory, the Frost were left to lament a season-long, three-game losing streak in regulation, with one game left before the multi-week international break in April.

The loss also came in the middle of a stretch in which the Frost goal scoring had dried up. Across a seven-game period ending with the loss to Montreal on March 26, the Frost scored 13 goals, with five of those coming in a 5-0 victory over Ottawa on March 7. The Frost scored only one goal a game in four of the seven contests, and they had a record of 1-1-1-4 (W-OTW-OTL-L).

“It’s tough,” said Frost coach Ken Klee. “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.”

Update: The Frost found a way.

The goal-scoring floodgates opened right from puck drop of the Frost’s game against the Toronto Sceptres on Sunday. First, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Taylor Heise combined for a two-on-one goal off the rush just 1 minute, 1 second into the game for a 1-0 lead. It was Heise’s seventh goal of the season.

Britta Curl-Salemme is left alone in front, and she puts the puck in the net for a 2-0 Frost lead less than two minutes into the game against Toronto. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Before two minutes of game time elapsed, the Frost doubled their lead with a rebound goal from Britta Curl-Salemme. Those first two tallies were record-setting goals as the fastest two goals to open a game by a team in PWHL history, coming in a 1:43 span.

That set the tone for an eventual 5-2 Frost victory. It helped the Frost avoid a four-game skid headed into the break, and it also prevented them from seeing another team celebrate a playoff berth on Minnesota’s home ice for the second time in a week.

Fast-start Sunday
After the game, Heise stated the obvious, that a team will do better if it scores two goals right away. But she added that the Frost came out with a lot of speed.

“Up and down the lineup, I was really impressed with the way that we just continued to hound them,” Heise said. “I think they (Toronto) did a lot of dumping and chasing, which they’re not a team that likes to do that. And then you got Nic (Nicole Hensley) back there who made 57 crazy saves. It was great.”

She exaggerates, of course. Hensley made 16 saves for her fifth win of the season. She got back in net for only the third time in March after Maddie Rooney has taken a bit of an edge in the goalie-tandem set-up this season. Hensley looked sharp early, especially on second-chance plays from Toronto. She took a shutout into the third period before Toronto made it a 4-2 game. Hensley also helped keep the league’s best power play off the board on three chances, including a 6-on-4 Toronto advantage near the end of the game with the goaltender pulled.

Maybe it was the 12 p.m. start that had the Frost so fired up, something both Heise and Hensley mentioned they like early games.

“Our team played really well in front of me and blocked a lot of shots,” Hensley said. “We obviously took some punches from them in the third. But we went right back down and showed what we can do. So, I think that last goal was huge to just make sure we got the job done.”

Taylor Heise skates in to celebrate the 5-2 victory with Frost goaltender Nicole Hensley. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

That last goal, to make it 5-2 with about six minutes left, was Heise’s second of the game. Before that, it was truly a team effort for the Frost. Twelve different players registered a point as the team grabbed a 4-0 lead by the second intermission. Sophie Jaques and Liz Schepers, with her second goal of the season, scored in the second period.

Michela Cava assisted on both of Heise’s goals, plus rookie Brooke McQuigge extended her point streak to a league-best six games with two more assists. McQuigge has two goals and five assists in her last six games.

Seeing this performance from the Frost compared to the goal-starved efforts recently put everyone from the Frost in a better mood after the game. It was the kind of game Klee was hoping to see from his team.

“We had a lot of jump, a lot of jam to our game,” Klee said. “We were fast, we were first on pucks. When we do those things, we’re simple with the puck, we’re a tough team to handle.

“All four lines scored tonight, which is great. All four lines created lots of chances. They were good in their own zone.”

Frost get a much-needed win – and points – before the break
The victory was a sigh of relief and a step back on the right track, but the Frost also know there’s still work to be done. They were briefly in fifth place over the weekend, with an Ottawa win that put the Charge one point ahead of the Frost. Minnesota got back into the playoff picture with its three points against Toronto. They have three games remaining, starting with their regular-season home finale on against New York on April 26, followed by two road games at Ottawa on April 30 and Boston on May 3.

The Frost also don’t want to see some of the history from a year ago repeat itself. Last season, Minnesota had all the momentum in the world with a 5-0 record in March before the international break. They came back and lost five consecutive games in the regular season, barely squeezing into the playoffs.

“We don’t want to put ourselves in a spot like we did last year,” Heise said.

Frost forward Grace Zumwinkle was all smiles as her team led from the drop of the puck against Toronto on Sunday. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Frost forward Grace Zumwinkle said after the loss to Montreal that there’s belief in the Frost locker room, something Minnesota players also preached in the middle of the late-season losing streak last year.

“I think we all understand that the last few games isn’t our best, and it’s not acceptable,” Zumwinkle said on March 26. “I think when you show up to practice, you have to bring that mojo and swagger and act like you are scoring goals. I think even if you aren’t, you still have to act that way.

“I think that’s something that’s going to be a point of emphasis for us, and hopefully we can show that on Sunday.”

The Frost certainly found the mojo, swagger, the good vibes, whatever it may be on Sunday. Klee also acknowledged that he’s going to enjoy the break – for the IIHF Women’s World Championships – a lot better after their win on Sunday.

Regardless of Heise’s personal scoresheet stats, she was most excited for the team to get a win and a mental boost.

“When you go into a three-week break, my dad tells me this all the time: ‘You can either win and not have to think about it, or lose and not have to think about it every single day for three weeks,’” Heise said. “So, I’m glad that we get to not think about it.”

The post Frost Thaws Scoring Drought appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Here are five rules from the Frost’s first regulation loss of the season:

1. Saturday included homecomings and Hill-Murray/Wisconsin reunions for some of the Montreal players.

There were no graphics or lengthy video tributes, but the Frost welcomed back two former players during the game’s first TV timeout Saturday with an announcement in the arena. Montreal forwards Abby Boreen and Clair DeGeorge each had a chance to wave to the crowd via the videoboard and receive a nice round of cheers. Both were part of the Walter Cup Champion Minnesota team last season.

Boreen, a Wisconsin native who played with Hill-Murray and the Gophers, was a reserve with Minnesota who contributed four goals and five points in nine regular-season games before needing to enter the PWHL Draft in June; Montreal selected her in the third round (17th overall). Boreen came into the game as Montreal’s leading scorer with two goals and four points this season, also fresh off being named the PWHL Second Star of the Week on Dec. 23.

She said she’s had a fun season with her new team.

“Moving to a whole new city, meeting literally everyone from scratch,” Boreen said. “I’ve had a blast, honestly. So, I’m really happy to be here.”

Well, Boreen had at least one familiar face on her new team. She and defender Mariah Keopple, another Wisconsin native and a Hill-Murray teammate, have known each other for about a decade. Saturday’s game was a homecoming for Keopple, too, who had about 60 family members at the game.

“They were scattered all around the rink,” Keopple said. “It was incredible to do it in front of them and also fellow Wisconsin people on my team.

2. Three players scored their first goals of the season.

Of the five goals in Saturday’s game, three marked the first of the season for each player. Keopple scored her first goal to tie the game 1-1 in the first period when her point shot made it through traffic. Then Victoire center Alexandra Labelle gave her team the lead with 37.8 seconds left in the opening period as she whacked away at her own rebound in front of the net. Labelle had only one goal in 24 games last season with New York.

Early in the second period, Frost rookie Brooke McQuigge (a fourth-round draft pick) tied the game at two for her first professional goal. The Frost crashed the net creating a flurry of chances before the fourth-line winger McQuigge cashed in. Liz Schepers and Claire Butorac assisted on the play.

“I think my line fed off each other’s energy and we just forechecked well there,” McQuigge said. “Each of us had a swing at the puck. So, it could’ve been either one of my linemates’ goals. Just happy to get the first one.

3. Minnesota makes the right call on a challenge for goaltender interference.

About halfway through the second period, Montreal appeared to take a two-goal lead when winger Laura Stacey crashed the net as Keopple took a shot from far out that ended up in the net. The official on the ice signaled a good goal. But the Frost challenged the play as Stacey skated through the crease and appeared to get tangled with goaltender Maddie Rooney.

Following the video review, the officials, in consultation with the PWHL Central Situation Room, reversed the call to keep it a one-goal game. They determined goaltender interference indeed occurred on the play.

Though challenges aren’t ever easy, it was the right call this time around, said Frost coach Ken Klee.

“The replays are kind of slow for us to get on the bench,” Klee said. “I was watching on the jumbotron like everybody else.”

Klee added that he’s instructed his goaltenders to let him know if they were interfered with on a play, which also helps make his calls easier. Kendall Coyne Schofield was on the ice for the play and noted that Rooney spoke up right away about being interfered with on the play.

“I try to have them take a little bit of ownership of it, too,” Klee said. “Because they’re around the net, and they see what’s happening.

Britta Curl-Salemme celebrates scoring her third goal of the season to give the Frost a 1-0 lead in Saturday’s game against Montreal. (Photo courtesy of PWHL)

4. Britta Curl-Salemme, Claire Thompson and Taylor Heise keep adding to their point totals.

The Frost had a slow start, captain Coyne Schofield acknowledged postgame. But they still got on the board first for the fifth time in six games this season. About nine minutes into the game, a bouncing puck found its way into the net for a 1-0 Frost lead. Defender Claire Thompson’s shot bounced in front of the net and off of Britta Curl-Salemme for her third goal of the season.

She’s the eighth player in the league to reach three goals this season. She has four points in six games.

With the primary assist on the goal, Thompson leads the league in assists with seven and points with eight. She’ll carry a four-game point streak into the team’s next game on Jan. 2 against Boston.

Taylor Heise also earned an assist on the play, tying her for second in PWHL scoring with seven points (one goal, six assists). She has a point in five consecutive games

5. The Frost lost for the first time in regulation but remained in first place in the PWHL standings.

The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Frost, but they’re still atop the PWHL standings with 12 points. Montreal has won three in a row and moved into second place with 10 points.

The Frost were the last team to lose a game in regulation. Montreal’s game-winning goal came only a few minutes after McQuigge tied the game in the second period. Veteran forward Marie-Philip Poulin finished off an odd-man rush to score her second goal of the season after a late pass in deep from Stacey.

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