Minnesota Pushed To The Brink Of Elimination

PWHL Minnesota has been pushed to the brink of elimination after dropping two straight games to open the PWHL playoffs.

A late third-period goal from Jesse Compher lifted Toronto to a 2-0 victory over Minnesota, putting the PWHL's fourth-seed on the brink of elimination following Friday's game at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

Despite a strong showing on the penalty kill and flurries of chances thrown at Kristen Campbell, Minnesota failed to find the scoresheet for a second consecutive contest.

"It's tough. We wanted to get the split. We played well enough tonight to get the split, but it just didn't happen," Minnesota head coach Ken Klee said following the game. "Now we get to go home, we'll have our home fans, we'll have our energy. We've been great at home, so I look to continue that."

Minnesota's defense tightly checked Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse, and other Toronto top guns through the game's opening frame, limiting offensive zone time. While Toronto generated decent chances off the rush, Maddie Rooney — who replaced game-one starter Nicole Hensley in the lineup — made saves when needed.

"She's been excellent for us all year," Klee said. "We've rotated the two — both of our goalies have given us a chance to win, and obviously, Maddie played fantastic today and gave us a chance to win."

The second period saw Toronto open the game up. The home side established a stronger presence in Minnesota's end, holding them under siege for moments through the middle frame.

However, the open ice meant the visitors got fortunate looks of their own, notably a Grace Zumwinkle breakaway and a high-danger look from Liz Schepers. Each of Minnesota's few chances either whistled wide or were turned aside by Campbell.

"Today, we were just a whole new team defensively and offensively, but it started in the defensive zone," Rooney said. "They [Minnesota's defense] were making my job easy with the blocked shots, boxing people out and it was a completely different game defensively and gave the team momentum."

It wasn't until the dying moments of the third when Toronto finally broke through.

Renata Fast fired a shot from the point, and Jesse Compher tipped the puck past Rooney. Compher's first postseason goal sent Coca-Cola Coliseum into pandemonium.

Hannah Miller tallied an empty net goal, ensuring no late-game heroics from Minnesota were afoot with seconds to spare.

Campbell's second shutout in as many games and Compher's late-game marker give Toronto a 2-0 stranglehold over Minnesota as the best-of-five series heads to the State of Hockey. Minnesota will look to capitalize with home ice on Monday and extend this series to a fourth game.

A positive amid Minnesota's two-game deficit is its penalty kill.

An area of worry entering the postseason, the PWHL's league-worst penalty kill has yet to concede a shorthanded marker through Toronto's five attempts.

"I think our commitment to blocking shots," Klee said in response to what has changed regarding the penalty kill. "The girls, they're laying it out there; it's nothing structurally that we are doing way different.”

“We are a much more committed team; we're trying to share all the clears and are having success because of it. Obviously, good goaltending always helps.”

Lee Stecklein's defensive instincts shone. Whether disrupting a cross-crease tip-in pass intended for Spooner or blocking a one-timer from Emma Maltais, the veteran defender did everything she could to prevent high-danger looks from reaching Rooney.

While Toronto's power play was ranked fourth in the league — 15.7% — it was on a torrid pace entering the playoffs, which makes this late-season revelation a positive among a myriad of negatives for Minnesota.

Despite playing a rugged, defensively sound game, Minnesota's offense failed to find the back of the net for a second straight match.

Minnesota got four attempts with the player advantage on Friday. While Minnesota generated some quality looks, they often saw the duo of Spooner and Nurse racing toward Rooney, looking to score a shorthanded marker.

"Their PK is very aggressive; they're number one in the league for a reason," Klee said. "They press hard if you make a mistake; if you bobble a puck, they are on top of you. For me, it's just about us executing cleanly."

"If we execute clean, get good looks, and then we just got to finish, and we had good chances tonight, we just didn't finish it."

Now facing elimination, solving Campbell and Toronto's stingy defense — especially on the power play — is do-or-die for the State of Hockey squad.

Minnesota looks to keep their season alive Monday night on home ice at the Xcel Energy Center. Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. CT.

With files from Curtis Martin of The Hockey News.