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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A world-record crowd of 13,316 hockey fans showed up to Xcel Energy Center on Saturday afternoon for the home opener of PWHL Minnesota, a game it won 3-0 over PWHL Montreal. That’s nearly 5,000 more fans than the 8,318 fans at The Arena at TD Place in Ottawa for its home opener on Jan. 2, also against Montreal.

Minnesota’s home opener and its atmosphere were phenomenal, said Minnesota coach Ken Klee.

“We had 14,000 fans in there cheering for them,” Klee said. “I asked them (his team) after, ‘How many of you have played in front of 14,000 before?’ And, of course, not one of them raised their hands.

“But they did today.”

Grace Zumwinkle, a Minnesota native who stole the show with the first hat trick in PWHL history and while also becoming the first PWHL player to record a multi-goal game in the young season, said she was “at a loss for words” after the game, crediting the state of Minnesota for the impressive turnout.

Maddie Rooney (left) and Grace Zumwinkle speak with the media following a 3-0 victory in the PWHL Minnesota home opener on Jan. 6, 2024. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

Goaltender Maddie Rooney, an Andover native who made 24 saves for the shutout called Zumwinkle a “powerhouse” and noted the fun environment of the arena.

“That was electric,” Rooney said, with a smile and a laugh.

The demand was so great for the game among hockey fans – old and new, young and old – that ticket sales expanded to the club level of the X on Thursday night. By Saturday morning, some 200-level seats were sold, too, with a few sections opened on the penalty-box side of the arena.

One of those last-minute ticket buyers was Mike Mack, of Minneapolis, and his wife. They decided to attend the game after reading the featured story about the PWHL Minnesota team on the front page of the Star Tribune sports section Saturday morning.

Mack had attended Minnesota Lynx and Gophers women’s hockey games, but this was his first professional women’s hockey game. He was pleased with the presentation even from before the puck drop, like during team introductions when each Minnesota player skated onto the ice accompanied by girls’ hockey players from all over the state.

“Just seeing the women’s pro stuff come so far, and the fact that they’re bringing in the kids,” Mack said. “To have the kids come out in the beginning was amazing. I kind of got choked up.”

Hockey fans packed the lower bowl for the PWHL Minnesota home opener on Jan. 6, 2024. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

Mack is “absolutely” glad they attended the game and plans to come back for more; his wife already mentioned the team’s next home game on Jan. 10.

Down in the lower bowl, Emily Matson, of Apple Valley, is another hockey fan who will be back for more PWHL games. Matson wore a blue, Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)-branded Minnesota Whitecaps jersey and her PWHL stocking cap to the home opener. Though she never made it to a Whitecaps game, she was very excited when she heard the new PWHL Minnesota team would play its home games at Xcel Energy Center.

“So, we haven’t got the new jersey yet, but I figured, it’s the first game, honor the old team,” Matson said.

Matson, also a longtime Minnesota Wild fan, is a PWHL Minnesota season ticket holder. Seeing a building full of 18,000-plus fans for an NHL game is one thing. But to see the crowd that turned out for the inaugural PWHL Minnesota game?

“I could not believe how full this is,” Matson said. “It’s really remarkable.

“To see thousands and thousands of people here, to see the Xcel this full, is really a treat. It’s really exciting.”

Many of those fans were dressed in purple, the PWHL Minnesota team color for the inaugural season. Perhaps some had on new PWHL merchandise; the line to purchase these items was lengthy during the first intermission on the main concourse level. Items were still being sold as of the second period as well.

Plenty of other fans had their hockey apparel or jerseys like the clusters of youth hockey teams scattered throughout the lower bowl wearing their team jerseys.

“Visibility for the sport is great, and to have us be able to play in this huge arena and have the younger generations in the stands be able to look on the ice and say, ‘I want to be like her someday,’ that’s so big for our sport,” Rooney said.

Fans could take their photos with these illuminated PWHLMN letters during the women’s hockey team home opener at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

For the little girls, and the older generations
Rooney also noted the opportunity for the games to be broadcast as well; PWHL Minnesota games can be found via Bally Sports North or the PWHL YouTube channel.

But it’s not just those little girls looking up to these current professional hockey players on the ice. There are plenty of women who came before these current PWHL players who either didn’t get a chance to play professionally or perhaps play women’s hockey at all beyond high school or college. PWHL Minnesota’s general manager Natalie Darwitz, for example, has often talked about how the Olympics used to be the highest place of achievement for women’s hockey players.

“The generations before us set the baseline and set the tone to make this league be able to happen,” Rooney said. “We have a bunch of pride stepping out on that ice knowing that we couldn’t be able to do this without those [women].”

Zumwinkle pointed to the PWHL players like her who used to be those little girls in the stands, looking up to the older generations of players.

“So, it’s super cool just generation to generation, and hopefully we can continue to leave that legacy on the people to come,” Zumwinkle said.

And if anyone is on the fence about attending a game or curious about the PWHL, Matson recommends going and said the game is “so fast.”  

“It’s more physical than you think it’s going to be,” Matson said. “Some people think of women’s hockey and think they’re just passing it around. No, this is a fast game. This is physical. There’s been checking, there’s been a little bit of everything.

“It’s exciting. It’s good stuff.”

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