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

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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.

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.