Frost down Charge in fourth straight overtime game to win second PWHL championship
If the PWHL was old enough to have a dynasty, the Minnesota Frost would be it.
The Frost captured their second straight Walter Cup with a 2-1 overtime win over the Ottawa Charge in Game 4 of the PWHL final Monday.
Minnesota native Liz Schepers was the hero of a rough-and-tumble overtime period, grabbing her own rebound and sliding it past Ottawa rookie Gwyneth Philips 12 minutes into the extra period to send the 11,000-person crowd at Xcel Energy Center into an ecstatic frenzy.
The Frost have all the trappings of a dynastic team: a star-studded roster led by an accomplished captain, a solid goaltending tandem and a flair for the dramatic. All four games in the final went to overtime, with Minnesota winning the last three.
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'Hats off to Ottawa, that was a great series,' Schepers said. 'It took everything we had physically, emotionally and then some.'
Both goaltenders had to be sharp Monday in a 24-shot first period — 12 by each team — that saw good looks at both ends of the ice. Schepers and Frost teammate Kelly Pannek were among those with chances in the opening frame, but both were turned away by Philips, who saved 36 of the 38 shots she faced.
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Philips and the Charge continued to hang tough against an energetic Frost offence in the second period but ultimately surrendered the icebreaker when Pannek roofed a Claire Thompson pass over Philips' left shoulder midway through the period.
The Frost continued to press, pelting Philips with shots and hemming Ottawa in their own zone for extended periods of time, but couldn't extend their lead.
The Charge, playing desperate and physical, eventually evened the score midway through the third, thanks to a shrewd feed from Danielle Serdachny and a quick, well-positioned shot from Tereza Vanišová. It was Vanišová's first goal of the playoffs.
Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield had a chance to bury the go-ahead goal with five minutes left in regulation, but was denied by the outstretched pad of Philips, who stopped two backhand shots after Coyne Schofield whiffed on her first attempt in front of the crease.
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Overtime every time
Game 4 continued the championship series' trend of games decided in overtime, with Game 3 featuring close to an additional 50 minutes that finally ended when Minnesota's Katy Knoll beat Philips in the third extra period. All four games ended 2-1.
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Overtime was one of the subplots of the entire PWHL post-season: Ottawa and Montreal had a marathon four-overtime game in their semifinal series, while the Frost won the series-clinching Game 4 against the Sceptres in the semifinals in overtime.
Coyne Schofield credited Minnesota's work ethic.
'It starts with our preparation, our habits, our details and the way we come to work every day,' she said.
Philips named playoff MVP
After a dominant and resilient post-season run, Philips was awarded the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award, despite coming out on the losing end of the championship series.
The 25-year-old Ohioan posted a spectacular .952 save percentage in the playoffs, racking up four wins.
Expansion draft ahead
With the second PWHL season in the books, front offices will turn their attention to the league's June 9 expansion draft, when teams in Seattle and Vancouver construct rosters before their inaugural seasons. Teams have until noon on June 3 to protect three players.
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Minnesota could lose one (or more) of Coyne Schofield, Taylor Heise, Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson, while Ottawa is in danger of having Gabbie Hughes, Mannon McMahon or Emerance Maschmeyer snatched away from them.
The entry draft will follow June 24 in Ottawa.
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