The Minnesota Frost rode their high flying offense to the postseason, but they came up against a tough Montreal Victoire team that shut them down and sent them home as the Frost's scoring went cold.
The Minnesota Frost had the top three scorers - Kelly Pannek, Taylor Heise, and Britta Curl-Salemme - in the PWHL regular season. They also had Grace Zumwinkle and Kendall Coyne Schofield who tied for fifth in league scoring meaning half of the league's top 10 scorers played for the Frost.
In the 2026 Walter Cup playoffs however, the firepower that became a fear of opponents this season, went cold.
Pannek was the closest to replicating her regular season success scoring once and recording four points in the five game series. Still, all of Minnesota's top offensive players saw a drop in their points per game average.
If not for veteran blueliner Sidney Morin who scored four goals in the series after having only four goals in her career to date, the Frost would not have had a player with multiple goals in the series.
It includes both Heise and Britta Curl-Salemme going goalless in the five game series, while Coyne Schofield and Zumwinkle each had one.
Special Teams Not So Special
After operating this season with the league's best power play at 23% success, the Frost fell off a cliff with the player advantage dropping to only 11.1% in the opening round of playoffs.
They also had the worst penalty kill of the four teams in the PWHL playoffs killing only 75% of their opportunities. That was a continuation of their league worst regular season kill that operated at 78.3%.
The Frost Remained A Legitimate Contender
Despite being eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in PWHL history, the Minnesota Frost remained a contender till the very end. They took the first place Montreal Victoire to a one-goal game five decision. The Frost had some roster change from last season, but managed to keep the bulk of their core intact while also finding new players who fit their style to join.
Minnesota was the third team team clinch a playoff spot this season, and they had their stretches where the team looked like the Walter Cup favorite yet again. Instead, they'll watch the final for the first time, and also now watch as expansion futures begin to play out.
With Heise, Coyne Schofield, Pannek, Zumwinkle, Nicole Hensley, and Lee Stecklein all pending unrestricted free agents, there's no way Minnesota can avoid the loss of one or two of those players to offers in expansion.
For the first time the franchise will face the challenge of reshaping their core. It means general manager Melissa Caruso will have her first real issues to solve in the role as Minnesota's inaugural roster, will lose founding components.
Even with Minnesota set to lose talent, they should be able to retain a chunk of their core and return as a threat in a league that will see a diffusion of talent.