The Minnesota Frost prevailed 5-3 in Game 2 of the PWHL semifinal versus the Toronto Sceptres to earn a split at Coca-Cola Coliseum in the best-of-five series. In this back-and-forth affair, scoring was prevalent from an unlikely source – the blue line. Five of the game’s eight goals were scored by defenders.
Lee Stecklein of Roseville, Minn., led the way with two goals and an assist, logging 26 minutes of ice time.
“Obviously she’s known as a world-class defensive defenceman,” Frost coach Ken Klee said. “Tonight, she was feeling it. It’s the playoffs, we know we have to find different ways to score goals.”
Just over seven minutes into the game, Hayley Scamurra got the Sceptres on the board with a seeing-eye shot from the left faceoff circle that deflected off Minnesota’s Natalie Buchbinder past helpless goalie Maddie Rooney.
Rooney held the Sceptres at bay for the remainder of the opening period, making point-blank stops on Sarah Nurse and Renata Fast.
The Frost returned from the intermission with a newfound energy, putting three pucks in behind Sceptres netminder Kristen Campbell. At 4:41, Stecklein pinched in from the point on a cycle play and beat Campbell to the glove side for the equalizer.
Less than a minute beyond the midway mark of the period, Minnesota perfectly executed a set play, defender Claire Thompson deliberately shooting wide so that Michela Cava could pounce on the rebound off the end boards, finding the net to give her team its first lead of the series.
Two minutes, two seconds later, Stecklein fired a point shot past Campbell during a Frost power play to extend Minnesota’s lead. Not to be outdone, the Sceptres responded with a tally of their own, Savannah Harmon shooting a laser through a maze of players, also on the power play.
A mere twenty-seven seconds later, Toronto’s Allie Munroe – reminiscent of opponent Stecklein’s earlier marker – pinched to the goal line, then netted her first goal of the playoffs with a bad-angle shot that somehow eluded Rooney on the short side, evening the score.
“It’s nice to see players like Harmon and Munroe step up and get rewarded,” Toronto coach Troy Ryan said. “People that just play the right way and play a hard game all year.”
The Sceptres held much of the play during the final period, but could not score. It remained goalless until the 13:47 mark when Sophie Jaques converted a cross-ice pass from Taylor Heise off a rush, squeaking the puck past a dejected Campbell. Late in regulation, a costly bench minor penalty for too many players proved to be the dagger for Toronto. Defender Mellissa Channell-Watkins capitalized on the opportunity for her squad to ice the game.
“It was a great team effort, and they really had my back tonight, scoring five goals.” Maddie Rooney said. “I think they showed a great resiliency.”
The series now shifts to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4, Sunday and Wednesday, respectively.
Noteworthy: Minnesota was missing Britta Curl-Salemme, who was serving a one-game suspension after her hit to the head of Renata Fast in Game 1…Billie Jean King, who was instrumental in the formation of the PWHL, received a standing ovation from the near-sellout crowd of 7,659 during a TV timeout. King currently sits on the league’s board of advisors. The league’s Billie Jean King MVP Award is awarded to the top performer in the regular season. Toronto’s Natalie Spooner was its inaugural winner in 2024.
