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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But a Minnesota native stole his thunder once the puck dropped.

Arizona center – and another former Wild player – Nick Bjugstad, who grew up playing hockey in Blaine, Minn., scored his second career hat trick in a 6-0 shutout of the Wild.

“It felt good,” Bjugstad said. “It had been a while since I scored. That first one, it felt pretty good.

“Sometimes it just goes in for you. It was one of those nights.”

Nick Bjugstad scored 13 goals in a Wild sweater a couple of seasons ago. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

For the Wild, it was “one of those nights” in a completely different way as Minnesota was shut out on home ice for the second time in less than a week, dropping their fourth consecutive game to make it eight losses in the past nine games. The loss led to a players-only meeting following the game.

As of Saturday’s game, Bjugstad skated in 659 career NHL games. He has one four-point game to his name, plus five other three-point games. His one other hat trick came with the Florida Panthers on March 6, 2018, against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bjugstad played in 101 games with the Wild in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. He scored 13 goals and 30 points wearing his home-state sweater.

He came into Saturday’s game with only six goals this season, his last tally coming Dec. 4 against Washington. But maybe the dam was just about to burst; he recorded eight shots on goal in the Jan. 11 game against Calgary but came up empty other than a single assist.

“You want to create volume,” Bjugstad said. “I’ve been in situations where I’ve been in some droughts. I just tried to stay even-keeled through all that. You just know eventually it’s going to go in.”

When Bjugstad completed his hat trick in the second period (with an assist from another former Wild player, Jason Zucker), hockey fans tossed a few hats onto the ice for the hometown player. There wasn’t much else to cheer about for the Wild faithful, other than the “t-shirt guy” pumping up the crowd with his hype moves.

As one would expect, the hat trick was all the more special for Bjugstad because it came in a building that he referred to as “the mecca” for him as a kid.

“I don’t really know how to put it in words,” Bjugstad said. “Yeah, it’s a fun one to have, and it’s a fun one to have with this team.”

PWHL Minnesota wraps up its first homestand, gets goals from alternate captains
One Minnesota professional hockey team still sits atop the league standings. That’s despite PWHL Minnesota (3-0-0-1) suffering its first loss of the season with a 3-2 overtime defeat at the hands of PWHL New York (2-1-2-0) on Sunday.

Roseville native and alternate captain Lee Stecklein scored her first goal of the season with a point shot that made it through traffic for a 1-0 lead in the first period. Another Twin Cities native, Kelly Pannek, of Plymouth, added to the lead with her first PWHL goal. Pannek’s tally started with her taking the puck into the zone, sliding it past two colliding New York players to get her all alone with the goaltender before firing her shot for a 2-0 lead in the first intermission.

PWHL Minnesota played its first overtime game on Sunday afternoon, against PWHL New York. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

“That was the best first period as a whole that we’ve had in the first, now four games,” Pannek, the other alternate captain, told Bally Sports North during the first intermission.

New York pressured more in the next two periods and eventually tied the game with a pair of power-play goals from Alex Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge, who scored with 10:49 remaining in regulation.

Special teams were a huge factor in the game. Minnesota had an early 5-on-3 advantage for nearly a full two minutes. They also had another power play in the third period with the chance to regain their two-goal lead. The puck possession and offensive zone time were there, but the conversion was not.

“It’s just a little lack of finish,” said Minnesota coach Ken Klee. “We’re getting good looks.

“You get enough good looks, you’re going to score goals.”

Minnesota is 0-for-8 on the power play so far this season, standing as the only team that hasn’t cashed in on the power play.

Minnesota had a couple of prime chances to win the game in the 3-on-3 overtime, too. Taylor Heise just missed popping the puck over the goal line right in front. Then Grace Zumwinkle was hauled down on a scoring chance and was awarded a penalty shot. She couldn’t convert with 1:40 left in OT. Then 41 seconds later, the game was over when New York’s Emma Woods fired a shot that deflected high on the blocker side to beat Minnesota goaltender Maddie Rooney.

New York celebrated handing Minnesota its first loss of the season.

“They obviously came out hot,” Woods said. “But I think we just stayed in the game and battled. They’re a fast team and very skilled. We matched that tonight. It felt good to take them out of the win column for a bit.”

There’s still plenty to be excited about with PWHL Minnesota as the season is now a couple of weeks old. Minnesota has also scored first in all four of its games and has yet to allow a first-period goal this season while scoring six goals of their own in the first frame.

Minnesota still remains the only PWHL to win on home ice thus far. Minnesota leads the PWHL in points with 10; it’s three points for a regulation victory, two points for an overtime victory and one point for an overtime loss.

Minnesota opened the season in Boston before playing their last three at Xcel Energy Center. After a record-breaking crowd for a professional women’s hockey game of 13,316 for the home opener, Minnesota drew 4,707 fans for Wednesday night’s game before another solid 7,951 on Sunday afternoon, closely filling up the lower bowl.

“Every game we’ve played here, we’ve had a fantastic crowd,” said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield. “Definitely have the best crowd in the league, that’s for sure. They showed up.”

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