But the reality of winning last year’s championship hasn’t fully set in, let alone the idea of two titles.

“The fact that we went back-to-back definitely hasn’t hit me yet,” said Rooney, amid the Walter Cup Championship celebration on May 28 on the floor of Xcel Energy Center. “But how cool that years from now, we’ll be able to look back and see our name in the history books as the only team to ever win it within the original six. It’s just so special to be a part of history like this.”

Rooney was one hero of the Minnesota Frost’s Walter Cup Finals series against the Ottawa Charge, making 33 saves in Game 4 on Monday at Xcel Energy Center to earn her fifth consecutive postseason win. All four games were identical in two ways: Each finished in overtime with 2-1 scores. The Frost dropped Game 1 in Ottawa before winning the next three to take the best-of-five series 3-1.

Kelly Pannek hands the Walter Cup to goaltender Maddie Rooney during the on-ice celebration after Game 4. Rooney made 30+ saves in three consecutive starts and finished the postseason with a 1.75 goals-against average and .932 save percentage. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The win brings the total number of professional women’s hockey championships to three in Minnesota. The Whitecaps won the Isobel Cup in the 2018-19 season during Minnesota’s first year in the then-NWHL, the women’s professional hockey league at the time.

Liz Schepers, for the second year in a row, scored the championship-winning goal for Minnesota. She scored 12 minutes into overtime, getting a couple of whacks at the puck to put it past Ottawa goaltender, and Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP winner, Gwyneth Philips.

“That series was a grind. It took everything we had, and then some,” said Schepers, at the Walter Cup Celebration two days after winning the Cup. “Mentally, physically, it was really difficult, and that’s a tip of our cap to Ottawa because they played a great series.”

The Frost trailed for most of the series, needing to tie the game to force overtime and then getting the wins. After dropping Game 1 (Minnesota is 0-4 all-time to open playoff series) early in overtime, the Frost were in danger of staring at a 0-2 series deficit before Britta Curl-Salemme tied Game 2 with 15.4 seconds left and then also getting the overtime winner at 16:24.

Minnesota brought the series home tied at a game apiece, with a chance to clinch on home ice. Game 3 turned into a marathon and the third-longest game in PWHL history at 109:57. Katy Knoll was the hero in that game, scoring at 9:57 in the third overtime to give the Frost a 2-1 series lead.

A year ago, Minnesota thought they’d won the Cup in Game 4 before the goal was called off for goaltender interference. So, Minnesota settled for winning on the road in Boston. This time, the only team to reach both PWHL Finals finished the job at home so it could celebrate on home ice with festive fanfare and confetti in front of family, friends and a season-high attendance mark of 11,024 fans.

Liz Schepers (No. 21) scored the game-winning goals in both of Minnesota’s championship-clinching games in 2024 and 2025. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“There was a different hero every single night,” Schepers said. “I think that’s just the difference. We had the confidence, and we’d been there before. We trusted our room a lot. Trusted our depth, obviously. And it paid off.”

Similar story to a year ago
Beyond the obvious similarities – like Schepers netting the game-winning goals and Minnesota winning the championship again as the fourth-place team – Minnesota also kept a similar mindset as it squeaked into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.

The common refrain from Minnesota players and coach Ken Klee going back to last spring was that the belief they had in each other, in the team, was always there. No matter the stats, opponent or facing a series deficit. Rooney said it was that confidence, belief and grit that helped the Frost win the tightest series they’ve been in with the four-peat of 2-1 games.

“Never a doubt all season long, even when our backs were up against the wall,” Rooney said. “The culture of this group, it just allowed us to prevail in those tough moments.”  

Last season, Minnesota played out the ultimate underdog script on the way to the inaugural Walter Cup Championship after going 0-5 to end the regular season and backing into the playoffs. They followed that was two shutout losses in the first round before winning three in a row. They upset Boston in a five-game series to win the title.

Liz Schepers skates with the Walter Cup above her head to celebrate being back-to-back champions. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The Frost didn’t go into a losing skid at the end of the regular season this time, but goal scoring dried up for a time, and they were staring at another scenario of possibly missing the playoffs in the final couple of regular-season games. But they made it, again.

“There’s definitely a lot of parallels you can draw, right?” Schepers said, during the Cup celebration. “Making it at the last minute, being that fourth seed, underdog mentality. Going into the playoffs winning a couple games felt really nice this year compared to last season.

“But our work ethic stayed the same. Our core group knew how hard it was going to be to win. We were able to bring our new girls along with that, and they bought in and there was never a doubt that once we got in that we were really going to make a push. Really happy to do it again.”

Minnesota returned 16 players this season from its championship team last year, including captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, 2024 Playoff MVP Taylor Heise, defender Lee Stecklein (leading scorer in the 2025 playoffs with four goals and four assists in eight games) and Michela Cava, a forward who’s now won five consecutive professional hockey championships with four different teams.

From controversy to a championship defense
The offseason was mired in controversy just days after the celebrating the inaugural championship, as the league in its words “parted ways” with first-year Minnesota general manager and now Hockey Hall of Famer, Natalie Darwitz. The 2024-25 season started with a new general manager in Melissa Caruso and the return of coach Klee. The initial media day in mid-November was the first chance players had to publicly address the controversy that hung over the offseason.

“Those were league decisions,” Coyne Schofield said. “We’re here, and we’re here to play hockey. We’re here to defend our title.”

Minnesota players – with a fresh new nickname and logo this season – looked ahead to the upcoming PWHL season as a chance to defend their championship.

“I just feel like we’ll kind of have a chip on our shoulder knowing teams are going to want to get a little bit of revenge on us from last year,” Cava said, at Frost media day. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to go out there and show everybody that we’re back, and we’re hungry for another championship.”

The Minnesota Frost raised a championship banner before their home opener on Dec. 1, 2024. (Photo courtesy of PWHL)

Minnesota’s season started by raising a championship banner to the rafters of Xcel Energy Center, something that hasn’t been done in the 25-year history of the arena. They got off to a fast start and seemed to pick up where they left off, winning four of their first five games to keep them around the top of the standings.

They played six of their nine January games at Xcel Energy Center and went 2-3-1-3 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in January. One of the regulation losses was a 5-0 shutout to the New York Sirens on home ice Jan. 4 with a unique goaltending situation after illness had spread through the Frost locker room around the holiday break. After Nicole Hensley was injured in warmups, then-reserve Lucy Morgan got the nod for her first PWHL start, while Rooney – still feeling ill – had to rush to the rink from her suburban home to serve as the backup.

Checkmark for adversity.

The Frost had other tough stretches, struggling defensively in a lopsided, 8-3 loss at Ottawa on Feb. 13. Though the Frost led the league in goal scoring during the regular season with 85 goals, it also went through some offensive dry spells later in the season in March. The Frost scored only four total goals during a three-game losing skid from March 11-26. There was a period where scoring more than two goals a game was a struggle.

The Sirens, a team that had the Frost’s number, shut out Minnesota 2-0 on April 27, leaving the Frost needing two wins and some help to reach the postseason.

Team effort
Like last year, Minnesota dispatched higher-seed Toronto in the semifinals to give itself a shot at defending its championship.

It took everyone, up and down the lineup, to make that happen. Knoll will remember how well the team came together.

“I think that is very unique, but looking back at it, it’s very common for championship teams,” Knoll said. “The teams that win championships need everyone to participate. You don’t have only five or six players going when you win a championship. You have everyone going.

“The way that the group came together after that Worlds (international) break when we needed to most, it was do-or-die. We were almost not going to make the playoffs. To turn it around and make the playoffs with two must-win games and then to have then run we did, it was exceptional, and I’m just so proud of the group.”

The Frost played five consecutive overtime games to end their season, going 4-1 in those games with overtime winners scored by Heise, Curl-Salemme, Knoll and Schepers.

The reality of winning the championship hadn’t sunk in yet for Knoll either at the Cup celebration, though she figured it might as time marches on, especially knowing it’s officially the offseason.

“I think it’ll start to stink in a little bit more,” Knoll said. “Just kind of trying to be a sponge, enjoy the moment, absorb everything. Nothing’s guaranteed in the future. This is the top level of women’s hockey. We’ve reached the top, and that’s so great.

“Enjoying it while we can, because it’s not guaranteed to happen again.”

The Minnesota Frost poses for a team photo with the Walter Cup. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson).

Gallery: PWHL Finals Game 4, Charge vs. Frost
Gallery: PWHL Finals, Walter Cup Championship Celebration

The post Back-To-Back Champs appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

“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.

The Frost roster skated onto the ice wearing new purple sweaters with the frosty “F” on the front. Player introductions were first, followed by about a 10-minute ceremony to recognize the inaugural season, 2024 Walter Cup Champion Minnesota team ahead of their season-opening game – an eventual 4-3 overtime loss – against the New York Sirens.

Along with Jayna Hefford, PWHL senior vice president of hockey operations, and Amy Scheer, PWHL senior vice president of business operations, joining the ceremony on the purple carpet, past championship team members were introduced for the celebration, too. Amanda Leveille, Lauren Bench, Nikki Nightengale and Brittyn Fleming touched the Walter Cup as captain Kendall Coyne Schofield skated the trophy to a table where the banner would be raised. Sixteen current Frost players were already on the ice and part of that championship team.

“I think we kind of had a unique run at the championship,” said forward Grace Zumwinkle, Minnesota’s leading scorer last season, with 11 goals and 19 points in 24 games. “And losing the last five games of the season and then coming through. I think, a huge testament to the group of us just flipping the script and turning it around.

“I think that’s something our group is so proud of.”

The championship banner was unveiled and raised during a pregame ceremony before the Minnesota Frost home opener on Dec. 1 at Xcel Energy Center (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

After a highlight video showcased the historic 2024 season, the championship banner was unveiled. Players greeted each other and posed for a photo with the Walter Cup trophy and Walter Cup Champions 2024 banner (white with the team’s color purple trim and lettering). Then the banner was raised toward the rafters above the Minnesota goal, while the announced crowd of 8,022 cheered and waved commemorative rally towels.

“It was really exciting to see some of our teammates be able to come back,” Coyne Schofield said. “Wish everyone could’ve been there for it, of course. But I hope those that weren’t were able to watch from wherever they were.

“But yeah, just a reflection of so many people who made that possible. That’ll always be woven within that banner that’s up in the rafters forever.”

Frost focused on the season ahead, not offseason moves
One of the people instrumental in putting together last year’s championship roster who was not there was former Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz. Just days after Minnesota celebrated its Cup-clinching Game 5 victory in Boston, the PWHL announced it had “parted ways” with Darwitz. The league hired Melissa Caruso as Minnesota’s new general manager this summer.

After Darwitz was let go in June, she released a statement to reporters addressing her time with the organization last season: “As the General Manager of PWHL Minnesota, I gave my heart and soul to provide a first-class experience to the players, staff and fans.

“I am very proud of the team and organization that was built and the championship we brought home to this great State of Hockey.”

Training camp last month was the first time many Frost players met with the media in person since the offseason drama surrounding the team. That included Coyne Schofield, the player multiple media outlets reported was one of the drivers behind removing Darwitz.  

“I think the decisions that are made are not the decisions that are made by us players,” Coyne Schofield told the media on the first day of training camp Nov. 14.  “Those were league decisions. We’re here, and we’re here to play hockey. And we’re here to defend our title.

“It’s never fun to see people writing false narratives about you, false statements, and tearing you down when they don’t know the truth. But, you know, I can’t control that. I can control who I am, the way I do things, the way I carry myself, the way I lead this team. And that’s what I can control.”

A new season means a fresh start, and Minnesota’s second-year coach Ken Klee made it clear from day one of camp that his team is focused on moving forward.

“We’re focusing on the future,” Klee said on Nov. 14. “Pro hockey, things happen. It’s some unfortunate things. And some things out of our control. We’re looking forward. Excited to get the season going.”

Lee Stecklein handles the puck during the season opener for the Minnesota Frost. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Quick goals bookend the season-opener scoring
Once the puck dropped Sunday, Minnesota didn’t waste much time picking up where it left off. Zumwinkle scored the fastest goal in PWHL history, netting a shot from the slot on a feed from Kelly Pannek only 21 seconds into the game. Zumwinkle was also the first Minnesota player to score in last year’s home opener, scoring a hat trick in a 3-0 victory over Montreal.

The Frost dominated play against the Sirens in the first period Sunday, taking a 2-0 lead and outshooting New York by a five-to-one margin. Coyne Schofield scored the second goal for the Frost, pouncing on a rebound at the goalmouth with two minutes, 14 seconds to play in the first period.

But the Sirens tied the game in the second period. First, it was a power-play goal from Jessie Eldridge about halfway through the period. Two minutes, 58 seconds later, Blaine native Gabby Rosenthal fired a sharp-angle shot top-shelf to tie the score, 2-2.

The Sirens made it three straight goals for a 3-2 lead early in the third period. Sarah Fillier, the 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick, got the puck at neutral ice and tossed a beauty of a cross-ice pass to Alex Carpenter for a goal off the rush.

“When we can get up ice quick and take advantage of odd-man rushes, I think we both want to bury them,” Fillier said.

Minnesota responded to tie the game and force overtime with rookie Dominique Petrie’s first professional goal with 4:13 left in regulation.

Blaine native Gabby Rosenthal (No. 15 in white) celebrates her first goal of the season with the New York Sirens. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

But as quickly as Zumwinkle scored to start the game, the Sirens finished off overtime by an even quicker margin. With forwards Coyne Schofield and Taylor Heise, plus defenseman Lee Stecklein, on the ice to start the 3-on-3 overtime, Fillier and Carpenter connected again, with Carpenter scoring the winner only 19 seconds into the extra session.

“I saw Filly get the puck, so I was like ‘get going. Get to the net,’” Carpenter said. “Just trying to find a nice seam. She was able to find it, and then get anything on net.”

The Frost earned a point but lost despite outshooting the Sirens 38-20. The Frost also went 0-for-2 on the power play, while the penalty kill went 0-for-1.

“I thought we did a lot of good things,” Klee said. “It was just finishing our chances. That’s kind of the message after that: We played hard, we got a point. And now, we just need to continue to get better.”

The post Hang The Banner appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Heather Rule writes about the Minnesota Frost, the PWHL team that’s back this season with an official team name and logo.

This story was originally published in the MHM 2024-25 High School Preview issue.

The post It’s Frost Season appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

PWHL Minnesota put a bow on its remarkable playoff run by defeating PWHL Boston 3-0 on Wednesday in the deciding game five of the PWHL Finals. Minnesota became the inaugural Walter Cup Champion, with captain Coyne Schofield hoisting the Cup first after the postgame celebration.

The brand-new league officially got going with training camp starting in mid-November last fall. When Coyne Schofield was asked at that time about what she hoped to accomplish this season, she was very clear.

“Win a championship,” Coyne Schofield said. “That’s the goal of any professional athlete, is to bring home a championship trophy to the city.”

Kendall Coyne Schofield is the first champion to lift the Walter Cup. (Photo courtesy of PWHL)

Accomplishment achieved.

Minnesota dominated Boston in the winner-take-all game five in Boston, outshooting them 44-17 in the game, including 19-3 in the third period. Minnesota’s play was suffocating, with no better example than just before Michela Cava’s goal in the third period for a 2-0 lead. Before she buried the wraparound tally, Minnesota skated around the offensive zone with ease, cycling the puck, passing it around and even changing out players on the fly.

Liz Schepers, who had a solid playoff run with four assists, scored her only goal of the season for a 1-0 lead in the second period. Melissa Channell also recorded three assists in the game. The final Minnesota goal of the game? That was all Coyne Schofield, using her speed to get to a loose puck and bury an empty netter with 2:06 to play in regulation. Talk about a storybook ending.

In goal, Nicole Hensley earned her second shutout of the Finals with 17 saves. In four starts in the final series, she made 87 saves on 89 shots. The goaltending tandem with Hensley and Maddie Rooney shined throughout the season but especially in the playoffs. Rooney was a big reason for their success against Toronto in the semifinals, when she put up similar stats with 92 saves on 94 shots across four starts and two shutout victories.

Minnesota coach Ken Klee rotated between the two netminders all season.

“Maddie was an absolute rock star in the first round, and Nicole got in and she started pitching shutouts,” Klee said.

A long, winding road to the championship
What’s perhaps the most intriguing about Minnesota’s championship season are all of the obstacles it overcame to reach the pinnacle. Starting from the beginning, there were rumors that this new women’s hockey league wouldn’t even place a team in Minnesota.

Even before the historic puck drop on PWHL Minnesota’s season – which was bookended with victories at Tsongas Center on Boston’s home ice – the team made a coaching change on Dec. 27. Charlie Burgraff stepped away from the position, and Klee stepped in about a week before games started. Klee had familiarity with some players, like Coyne Schofield, blue liner Lee Stecklein and Hensley, from his work on the national team, but he still had to find a quick learning curve with his new team.

Lee Stecklein added another championship to her extensive hockey resume. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Minnesota started and ended this season well, winning their first three games in early January. They broke an attendance record (at the time) with more than 13,000 fans at Xcel Energy Center for the home opener, a 3-0 victory over Montreal which included a Grace Zumwinkle hat trick and the first of multiple shutouts this season for Rooney.

They rolled along near the top of the league, going 5-0 in March before the international break. But Minnesota could not buy a victory in the final five regular-season games. As Klee put it, they were “finding ways to lose hockey games,” even though he said they played well. But they weren’t necessarily at their best, with normally crisp passes finding skate blades instead, the offense drying up and special teams stats continuing to spiral.

Minnesota had multiple chances to clinch a playoff spot and didn’t. They needed help on the final day of the regular season to get in as the No. 4 seed. Yes, this championship team almost missed the playoffs in what would have been considered a huge collapse down the stretch.

Top-seeded Toronto waited nearly a full day to choose Minnesota as its opponent in the semifinals. So, Minnesota stayed on the road and played the first two games of the best-of-five series in Toronto, getting shut out 4-0 and 2-0 and facing a must-win game at home for game three. Their losing streak reached seven games.

From the brink of elimination to jubliation
Forget a victory; would Minnesota even score a playoff goal? But the turnaround was about to get started. It took an entire team effort from start to finish, Coyne Schofield said.

“You look at the way that we won,” Coyne Schofield said, after winning the championship. “We were almost out. And as soon as we knew we weren’t out, there were times we got down, but we were never out. And that group in there believed that we could be champions.

“We never lost sight of that.”

Minnesota evened the series with two shutouts behind Rooney, including one in double overtime. Then in game five back in Toronto, Minnesota found their offensive game again, and a 4-1 win sent them to the PWHL Finals to face 3-seed Boston.

“There were moments this year, unfortunately, especially at the end, where we were pretty down,” Stecklein said. “But we were able to pull it together. Just really proud of this group.

“Again, it wouldn’t be possible without Kendall Coyne and her leadership.”

Minnesota grabbed a series lead and thought they won the Cup in game four during double overtime. Sophie Jaques put the puck in the net late in the second OT session, sending the Minnesota team and its fans into a celebratory frenzy. But the celebration was short-lived after a review of the play determined goaltender interference as Taylor Heise slid into the crease and made contact with goalie Aerin Frankel.

A little more than a minute later, Alina Muller scored the winner for Boston, leaving Minnesota and fans stunned.

Taylor Heise was the first overall pick at the PWHL Draft last fall. She added PWHL Playoffs MVP and Walter Cup Champion to her list of accolades in her rookie season. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“I think they robbed us in game four,” Heise said. “And we all felt that very much. So I think to have the feeling of being a champion taken from you is one of the worst things ever. I can’t say that it’s happened to me before.”

So, once Minnesota actually won the Walter Cup on Wednesday, Hensley shared the team’s celebration graphic on X with her comment: “So nice we won it twice.”

Oh, and about those special teams? Minnesota had a league-worst penalty kill (67.2%), allowing 20 goals against. But their PK was a perfect 19-for-19 in the playoffs. Quite the reversal, indeed.

Minnesota wins the Cup
Once the final buzzer sounded in game five, Minnesota players in their white jerseys with purple lettering rushed on the ice for hugs, smiles and maybe even some happy tears. The Walter Cup was presented in a similar fashion that hockey fans see with the Stanley Cup in the NHL, with music and a walk out to the ice.

Coyne Schofield hoisted the Walter Cup first, pumping it into the air with a giant smile as she skated over to her crowd of teammates. A few minutes later, she choked up during an on-ice broadcast interview, emotions that seemed to spill over to her 10-month-old son, Drew, who burst into tears as he was placed in the Cup during the team photo.

Alternate captain Stecklein was the first to get the Cup hand-off from Coyne Schofield, followed by Pannek, the other alternate captain and a Minnesota native. From there, players took turns skating with the Walter Cup: Hensley, Rooney, Sophia Kunin, Cava, Emma Greco, Channell, Denisa Krizova, Clair DeGeoge, Schepers, Natalie Buchbinder and Sydney Brodt, among others.

The other piece of business was honoring Heise, who was voted the recipient of the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award. Heise scored five goals in 10 playoff games after scoring four in 19 regular season games. Heise said “it’s awesome” that the PWHL is the only professional women’s hockey league she knows, coming right out of college.

“Not quite sure where I was going to go,” Heise said. “But this league came at an amazing time. … and I’m very honored to be a part of it.”

This championship marks the second time in five years that a Minnesota women’s professional hockey team won it all in their first season in a league. In 2018-19, the Minnesota Whitecaps won the Isobel Cup in their first year in the National Women’s Hockey League (later renamed PHF). That Whitecaps team included Coyne Schofield, Stecklein and Amanda Leveille.

Minnesota players celebrated a championship twice, this one on home ice after what turned out to be an overturned goal for goaltender interference in game four. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

That championship celebration happened after an overtime goal from Stecklein for a victory against the Buffalo Beauts in front of a sold-out crowd at TRIA Rink in St. Paul. Coyne Schofield, Stecklein and Leveille had another chance to celebrate a first in women’s hockey this week, too.

“There’s something very special about being the first to do something in life,” Coyne Schofield said, following game five. “And for us to be the first Walter Cup champions is something that is extremely special that will be part of this league’s legacy forever.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of teams that have won and that haven’t won. For whatever reason, you remember the teams that win.”

Klee shared a perfect example of that with his players before the final game. Klee received a text message from an old teammate, “not somebody that I talk to very often,” Klee said, with a reminder that 30 years ago to the day, Klee won the Calder Cup in the American Hockey League.

Klee told his Minnesota team ‘this is what you want.’

“It’s not about the trophy or a ring or anything like that,” Klee said. “It’s about having the connection with the people that you’re going to have 30 years from now.”

Photo galleries from the PWHL Playoffs: 

Gallery: PWHL Semifinals Game 3, Toronto vs. Minnesota
Gallery: PWHL Finals Game 3, Boston vs. Minnesota
Gallery: PWHL Finals Game 4, Boston vs. Minnesota

The post Cup Champions appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

But Rooney never heard her name called among the 90 players, including eight goaltenders, selected. Nicole Hensley was the first goalie selected in the draft, taken by Minnesota as the 12th-overall pick. Hensley was surprised her friend, and U.S. women’s national team partner, Rooney wasn’t chosen.

“It was stupid,” Hensley said. “Like, absolutely insane. I might be biased because I train with her day in and day out, but I think now, especially after that Toronto series, if the world didn’t know what she was capable of before, they do now.

“I’m sure there are teams that are regretting not being able to pick her up when they could.”

Fortunately for Rooney, PWHL Minnesota invited her to training camp and later signed her as a free agent. Throughout the inaugural season for Minnesota, Hensley and Rooney rotated as a goaltending tandem. Coach Ken Klee refers to them as “1A and 1B.”

Either goalie is a good option for Minnesota as they head into Friday’s game three against Boston in the PWHL Finals at Xcel Energy Center. The best-of-five series is tied 1-1.

The goaltending duo’s dominating efforts in the cage have been key for Minnesota in these PWHL playoffs. Three of the team’s four victories across the semifinals and finals have been shutouts. First, Rooney heard fans chanting her last name at Xcel Energy Center during games three and four against top-seed Toronto in 2-0 and 1-0 (double overtime) shutout wins.  

Rooney made 92 saves on 94 shots (.979 save percentage) and had a shutout streak of 173:19 across four games in the semifinals. During the regular season, she went 5-3-2-2 with a 2.08 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. Her save percentage in five playoff games is .948 with a 1.12 goals-against average.

Before the Finals, Minnesota defenseman Lee Stecklein talked about how exciting it was to see Rooney “take these last games and just play her heart out.”

“She’s been absolutely what we’ve needed back there,” Stecklein said, on May 18. “When we’ve given up chances, we know she’s there to keep us in it. And it’s been astounding to see how she’s been playing and just the confidence she has.”

Nicole Hensley started game two in the PWHL Finals against Boston, earning a shutout victory. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Hensley, meanwhile, went 7-6-1-1 with a 2.19 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in the regular season. She’s 1-1 so far in the playoffs with 36 total saves and four goals allowed in game one against Toronto.

After Rooney and Minnesota completed the upset of Toronto with a 4-1 win in game five, Hensley got the nod in game two in Boston for the Finals, earning a 20-save shutout in the 3-0 victory to even the series. Rooney took the loss in game one, a 4-3 result.

“We have two great goalies,” said Klee after game two in Boston. “All year, we’ve kind of rotated back and forth. Obviously, Maddie got hot in the first round, it was tough to take her out. But we knew we could go back to Nicole at any point and she would be ready to go.

“That was the benefit for me all year, was that I had two goalies who were always ready and able to go.”

On-ice rivals? Hardly.
While the goalies are competitors at heart, their relationship on the team is anything but bitter rivals fighting for the net each game. They’re friends and teammates who support each other in that unique way that only goaltenders can, with each knowing the exact demands of the position. They push each other to get better, Rooney said.

Klee and other Minnesota players have reiterated what a strength it is to have two amazing goaltenders.

“I always say being a goalie is a hard, strange thing,” said forward Kelly Pannek. “Because only one gets to play and then you’re a backup. But then they’re also the only one that knows what the other one is going through at the same time.”

They’ve been close for the past six or seven years, since the first time they played together and were roommates “almost immediately” on the U.S. national team, said Hensley, who added that she finds it easy to get along with Rooney, whether it’s joking around or competing with each other on the ice and helping to improve each other’s games. They are also comfortable comparing notes on the opposition.

Maddie Rooney played for the Andover girls’ team before moving to the Andover boys’ team her senior year in 2014-15. (MHM file photo)

“I think it’s definitely easier… goalies are kind of out on an island back there,” Rooney said. “And to be able to confide and have a good relationship with someone who’s in the same position as you definitely makes the job easier knowing that you look over on the bench and you have that support versus a rivalry.”

While Rooney is a 2015 Andover graduate who played hockey at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Hensley, a Lindenwood grad, is from Lakewood, Colo. Hensley trained with teammates Stecklein, Pannek and Rooney for years, too. Being in Minnesota and skating with her peers helped her development on the ice, Hensley said.

Hensley turned into an honorary #OneOfUs in 2020 when she moved to Minnesota and later bought a house here.

“A lot of my friends are here,” Hensley said. “We have plenty to do. It’s a lot like Colorado in that way. Very outdoorsy. Felt right at home.”

Competitors making each other better
Rooney has always felt at home in Minnesota, too, having played her whole hockey career in her home state. But not hearing her name called at the PWHL Draft was tough, she said, calling it “one of the definite low points” of her career.

But, she tried to take advantage of the opportunity Minnesota gave her when general manager Natalie Darwitz invited her to training camp and signed her.

“It definitely made me stronger in the long run,” Rooney said. “And I wouldn’t try to write my story any different.”

Part of that story is solid goaltending on the ice and a friendship with her fellow goaltender that extends beyond arena walls. Hensley and Rooney have plans to vacation to Mexico after the playoffs. They also enjoy spending time together as friends with their dogs, getting ice cream and spending time at Rooney’s cabin in Wisconsin.

On the ice, Hensley said nothing bothers Rooney, who lets things roll off her shoulders. That’s a good quality to have in a goaltender, a short memory, Hensley said. Rooney also gave Hensley her props for being “solid” and “consistent” in the net, plus seeing her prevail over the ups and downs of Hensley’s career.

Nicole Hensley was the first goaltender chosen in the PWHL Draft last fall. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“I’m grateful to have a goalie partner like her to be there every day pushing me, and pushing the team to get better,” Rooney said.

Both of them want to get the call to be in the net each game, but they also have the support of each other when their name isn’t called for the start, Rooney said. Being on the national team together – including winning gold and silver medals at the 2018 and 2022 Olympics – helped them prepare for this tandem as well, according to Rooney.

The longevity they have playing together is a benefit and something Hensley said she hasn’t experienced with another goaltender.

“I think we figured going into this year, we would kind of finally be split up,” Hensley said. “And fate had it that we would not be.

“At the end of the day, couldn’t have asked for a better setup.”

The post Better Together appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Who believed PWHL Minnesota would make it to the PWHL finals in the inaugural season?

Everyone in the PWHL Minnesota locker room.

“I think our group never lost faith,” said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield. “I think it’s easy to lose faith when things aren’t going well. But I think, the energy in the room, the energy at practice, was never lost based on the results we had toward the end of the season.”

In a complete turn of events, PWHL Minnesota advanced to the league’s championship round with a 4-1 victory over PWHL Toronto in the deciding game five in front of a sold-out crowd at Coca-Cola Coliseum Friday night in Toronto. No. 4 seed Minnesota erased a two-games-to-none series deficit after losing the first two games on the road before rattling off three-straight wins to complete the upset of top-seeded Toronto.

Minnesota blue liner Lee Stecklein recorded two of her three PWHL Playoffs assists in the series-deciding game in Toronto. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“Definitely proud of our group and the way we battled back,” said Minnesota defenseman Lee Stecklein. “Not just in this series but in each game with the ebbs and flows. The group didn’t quit. We knew what we needed to do, and we were committed to sticking to that.”

Minnesota moves on to face No. 3 seed Boston, which swept No. 2 seed Montreal behind three overtime victories. The best-of-five PWHL Finals start at 4 p.m. CT Sunday. While Minnesota has won three in a row, Boston has a five-game winning streak overall. Their momentum started on April 27 when Minnesota native Hannah Brandt scored the game-winning goal with 2.7 seconds left in regulation to keep Boston’s playoff hopes alive.

Friday’s Game 5 victory was Minnesota’s first on the road since March 3, snapping a six-game skid away from St. Paul. They also handed Toronto its first loss on home ice since Jan. 17; Toronto was riding an 11-0 streak at home. Minnesota used a pair of power-play goals to help seal the victory.

Special teams have plagued Minnesota all season. They finished the regular season with an 8.2% power play (5-for-61 in 24 games). Their penalty kill was the worst in the league at 67.2%, allowing opponents to score 20 times on the power play. Nine of those 20 goals allowed on the penalty kill came in those last five games of the regular season; twice they allowed an opponent to go 3-for-4 on the power play.

But in Game 5, and in the series, special teams came through for Minnesota. As often happens in the playoffs, they were the difference when it mattered the most. Denisa Krizova’s power-play goal for the 1-0 lead Friday snapped a 0-for-25 stretch with the advantage for Minnesota, dating back to April 18. Minnesota also scored two power-play goals in a game for the first time this season.

Sometimes, it’s just a bounce that goes your way, which happened on that first goal, said forward Kelly Pannek. She said she joked after the game that the team nearly doubled its power-play goal output from the season in one game.

“We got half as many in one game at the right time,” Pannek said. “I think our groups on the power play are very committed to… playing the right way and doing the right things. Keep trusting that the looks are going to produce.

“When you have that positive energy, I think the special teams were a big point of emphasis for us, after the last five games of the regular season.”

Minnesota’s penalty kill kept Toronto off the board in the series, going a perfect 10-for-10.

Taylor Heise scored a power-play goal and empty-netter to help send PWHL Minnesota to the Finals. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Taylor Heise made it 2-for-2 on the power play for Minnesota, giving her team a 2-1 lead at 8:30 of the third period in Game 5 for her first goal since March 13. She added an empty netter for her sixth goal of the season. The offensive production came one game after Minnesota coach Ken Klee praised Heise for her “best game by far” in the playoffs during Game 4.

Now, the rookie and her teammates will play for a championship.

“I think it’s fun to see that we had the belief in ourselves, and I don’t think anyone else did, especially considering the way we ended [our season] and then getting the reverse sweep,” Heise said.

The road to the Finals
So, how did Minnesota get here? It’s been an up-and-down past two months, for starters.

At the end of March, PWHL Minnesota was riding high and about to finish the month on a five-game winning streak. They spent most of the season in first or second place in the league, though standings were usually tight. Year one as a league, and the parity among the six teams was already evident.

Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz met with the media before that March 24 game at Xcel Energy Center, ahead of the IIHF World Championship Break. She kept her fingers crossed that all her players would come back from the break healthy.

“Because I think what happens that last month of the season is going to be the most crucial time,” Darwitz said.

Crucial, indeed. Unfortunately for Minnesota, the five-game winning streak was replaced with a five-game skid to end the regular season, culminating in the team barely squeezing into the PWHL playoffs after getting help from other teams on the final day of the regular season. Minnesota had five opportunities to gain a point in the standings during those five games, which would have clinched a playoff berth. They failed to do so.

The PWHL is a league filled with one-goal games and outstanding goaltenders. But there are also some amazing skaters on the ice, too. Minnesota built up a trend where scoring goals became a tough task. They were outscored 19-7 during the five-game losing skid in April, which included four road games.

When Minnesota returned from the international break – a break that all PWHL teams dealt with, sending some players to national teams while other players stayed back and practiced – with a 4-3 loss at Montreal on April 18. Minnesota had a one-goal lead before giving up the tying and winning goals in the final three minutes of regulation. Minnesota wouldn’t score three goals in a game until Game 5 in Toronto.

Minnesota followed in April with a 4-0 loss at Ottawa, the 2-1 loss that Klee called “gut-wrenching” against Boston at home, and then a 4-1 loss at Toronto and 5-2 loss at New York. Minnesota was outscored 9-3 in those final two games, including allowing a season-high five goals to the league’s worst team, New York.

“We didn’t end the season the way we wanted to,” said Minnesota forward and PWHL Rookie of the Year finalist, Grace Zumwinkle, after Game 5. “It’s just a huge testament to our team from first line to fourth line and everyone that’s on our roster.

“I think anyone can contribute on any given night.”

Just get in, then win
No matter how it happened, Minnesota reached the playoffs. Per the league rules, the top seed in the playoffs got to choose its opponent, either No. 3 seed Boston or No. 4 seed Minnesota. Toronto chose Minnesota for the best-of-five semifinals.

PWHL Minnesota bounced back from a rough stretch at the end of the regular season to win three consecutive playoff games. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Toronto grabbed the series lead with back-to-back shutouts by 4-0 and 2-0 margins. Minnesota goaltender Maddie Rooney started all series games except the first, with Nicole Hensley getting that game. Rooney made 92 saves on 94 shots in those four games for a .979 save percentage and only two goals allowed. She also recorded a shutout streak that lasted 173:19 spanning from late in Game 2 to the second period of Game 5.

“I thought Game 2 was the big change for us,” Klee said. “We played the right way, stayed on top of pucks and battled. We had more compete than we’ve had.”

Then, Minnesota returned the favor to Toronto with 2-0 and 1-0 shutout victories at Xcel Energy Center. The second game was a win in double overtime as Minnesota shut out a Toronto team that hadn’t been held off the board since its season opener.

“Obviously, that gives us a lot of confidence,” said Minnesota forward Claire Butorac, who scored the overtime winner with a rebound shot in front on Wednesday. “Coach has been in our ears about just sticking together the whole time.

“And I think we’ve done a really good job of that. Not getting down on each other but just lifting each other up on the ice, off the ice. I think that builds a pretty confident team.”

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It was a solid sports week in the land of 10,000 lakes. The slow-starting Minnesota Twins took advantage of the worst team in baseball and rattled off five wins in a row. The Minnesota Vikings, by many accounts, had an exciting and successful NFL Draft, taking quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the first round. And the Minnesota Timberwolves? They’re in totally new territory with a 3-0 series lead over the Phoenix Suns in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

But the vibes shifted backward when Minnesota native Hannah Brandt scored a buzzer-beating, breakaway goal with 2.7 seconds left in regulation for a 2-1 PWHL Boston victory over PWHL Minnesota.

“In my head, we needed to win that game outright,” Brandt said. “So, I think I saw the puck going up, so I just started going. And Hil (Hilary Knight) had it along the wall. I think she just gave me a no-look pass, put it right in the middle, and then I guess it went in the net.”

PWHL Boston forward, and Minnesota native/Hill-Murray graduate, Hannah Brandt celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal with only seconds left in regulation. (Photo courtesy of PWHL)

Boston needed the win to keep its playoff hopes alive, while Minnesota failed for the third game in a row to clinch a playoff spot. Scoring the game-winner when her team needed it so badly hadn’t “sunk in yet” for Brandt only minutes after the game.

“But we needed that win so bad for our team,” Brandt said. “It just felt good to come out on top.”

With four of the six PWHL teams making the playoffs, and New York already eliminated, it leaves Minnesota, Ottawa and Boston fighting to get in. Two of those three teams will join Toronto and Montreal, who’ve already clinched their playoff spots. Minnesota (8-4-3-7) is in third place with 35 points, three ahead of Boston and Ottawa with 32 points each. Minnesota and Ottawa each have two games remaining, while Boston has one left.

Boston got the victory Saturday with a couple of unlikely goals. Minnesota took a 1-0 lead last in the second period when Kelly Pannek pounced on one of the many juicy rebounds Boston goaltender Emma Soderberg left throughout the game.

But instead of pouring on the goals, Minnesota clung to a 1-0 lead in the third period and took an early penalty. Minnesota and Boston have the two worst power plays by percentage this season (9.3% for MIN, 7.7% for BOS), but this time, Boston’s Alina Müller scored to tie the game less than two minutes into the third. It was only the fourth power-play tally for Boston this season.

Boston had what Brandt called one of their best periods so far this season in the third. With 18 shots on goal, she was right; that’s the most for Boston in any period this season. Saturday, they recorded 12 shots on goal in the first two periods combined. Minnesota also had a late power play with about three minutes remaining in the tie game, but they spent about the first half of that in their zone and still couldn’t find the back of the net at the other end to break the tie.

“We’re just finding ways to lose hockey games right now,” Minnesota coach Ken Klee said. “Which is unfortunate because we’re playing well. We had lots of chances to win the game, extend the lead, get the lead… and we were the better team for two periods. And again, we found a way to lose it in the last two seconds there.

“It’s gut-wrenching.”

A month ago, Minnesota took a five-game winning streak into the three-week break for the World Championships. Since coming back, they’re 0-3 with three failed chances at securing a playoff spot, including a 4-0 loss at Ottawa in the last game.

PWHL Minnesota had a lot to celebrate during their season a month ago, winning five games in a row before the three-week break. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Klee was still pleased with how his team played Saturday and the scoring chances they generated. If they keep getting as many chances as they have been, they’re going to score, he said. 

“They’re trying to score goals and make plays at the same time,” Klee said. “Like I said, first two periods, I loved our game. I loved our intensity and everything.”

On paper, it certainly looks like the momentum was demolished once they hit the lengthy break, going from a winning streak to three consecutive losses. But Klee looked at the positive of that 0-3 mark, noting that they had the lead with three minutes to go in one game (a 4-3 loss at Montreal on April 18) and then had a chance to get a point if Saturday’s game reached overtime. Minnesota was 2.7 seconds away from taking a 1-1 game to overtime that would have sent it to the playoffs.

The first week back from the break was tougher, with only one practice back together – Minnesota had six international players on the Worlds rosters – and then coming into PWHL games right away. But that’s not any excuse, because other teams were faced with the same thing and pulled out wins, said Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley.

“I think we’ve seen a couple times this year, we got a little bit cold in the offensive zone, then all of a sudden it breaks open,” Hensley said. “I think at this point, we’ve just got to stick with it, keep doing the things that have made us really good over the course of the season.”

The loss made for a pretty quiet Minnesota locker room after the game, said Hensley, who made 30 saves in the game.

“I think you get that close to getting the point you need and don’t get it, that’s pretty frustrating,” Hensley said. “But I think we need to take away from the game that we played really well and it was a bad 10 seconds there at the end. I think we have to stop being in the mindset in the third period that we just need to hold it if we go into it with a lead. We need to keep pushing to get the next one.”

Hensley added that the team’s mindset is still fine, following a good week of practice and playing well against Boston. It’s about finishing the plays, she said. Hensley is also confident in their team because of the leadership they have in the room, with players who’ve played in gold medal games, World Championships, the Olympics etc.

“We have a lot of people that have played in a lot of very important games over the course of their careers and coming out on top,” Hensley said. “So, people know how to do that. Again, it’s just believing in our group and sticking with what’s made us good over the course of the year.”

Tidbits:

2024 PWHL Draft comes to Minnesota
During one of the television timeouts, the PWHL announced via the videoboard that the 2024 PWHL Draft will be held in June in Minnesota. The six teams will make 42 draft picks over seven rounds. The announcement came with a Minnesota-inspired logo.

A new banner in honor of the PWHL Minnesota inaugural season was unveiled prior to the April 27, 2024 game. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

Inaugural-season banner
Before the game, Minnesota captains Kendall Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek and Lee Stecklein addressed the crowd from center ice, thanking the fans before unveiling a special banner to commemorate the PWHL inaugural season. Coyne Schofield said: “We couldn’t have done it without you… You have proved Minnesota is the state of hockey.” The first 5,000 fans in attendance Saturday received a replica version of the banner, which hangs from the rafters near the lighthouse at Xcel Energy Center.

Fan Appreciation
On Fan Appreciation Day, attendance nearly cracked 10,000 at Xcel Energy Center for Minnesota’s final home game of the regular season. Paid attendance was announced at 9,977, the third-largest crowd for Minnesota this season. Minnesota went 5-2-2-3 on home ice this season.

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