Minnesota Reclaims Final Playoff Spot With Win Over Toronto

The Minnesota Frost welcomed their largest crowd of the season with 9,536 in attendance to see the Frost defeat the Toronto Sceptres 5-2. The win saw Minnesota reclaim the final playoff spot leap frogging the Ottawa Charge into fourth.

Opening the scoring in the first period were Taylor Heise and Britta Curl-Salemme who scored a pair only 42 seconds apart. It was the fastest two goals to open a game in PWHL history coming in the first 1:43 of play.

Early in the second period, Sophie Jaques extended Minnesota's lead to 3-0, followed by a 4-0 goal from Liz Schepers late in the frame. It was enough to chase Kristen Campbell from the Toronto crease for the third period after she allowed four goals on 16 shots.

Toronto showed signs of life early in the third with Daryl Watts and Kali Flanagan cutting Minnesota's lead in half, but it was all the Sceptres could muster in the game. Nicole Hensley stood tall for Minnesota stopping 27 of 29 shots.  Taylor Heise ended the comeback bid scoring her second of the game with under six minutes to go.

Toronto could have clinched a playoff berth with a single point. Both Toronto and Minnesota are now off until after the league returns from the IIHF World Championship break in late April. Toronto could still enter the international break with a playoff spot secured should the Boston Fleet beat the Ottawa Charge, or if the Charge win in a shootout in their upcoming meeting.

"We had a lot of jumps and a lot of jams to our game. We were fast, we were first on pucks and when we do those things, and we’re simple with the puck, we’re a tough team to handle," said Minnesota head coach Ken Klee. "All four lines scored tonight which was great, all four lines created lots of chances, and they were good in their own zone. When we play as a four-line deep team, and everyone is contributing we’re a tough team to handle."

For Minnesota, the team also hopes to avoid the position they were in last season losing five straight games to back into the playoffs. They rebounded in the postseason to win the first ever Walter Cup, but the team hopes to enter the playoffs on a high note this year.

"We don’t want to put ourselves in a spot like we did last year so I think getting a goal right away, making really good puck plays and then getting another goal after that, obviously you do better when you're up two goals right away," said Taylor Heise. "We came out with a lot of speed and up and down the lineup I was impressed with the way we continued to pound them – and then you had Nic (Hensley) back there who made a bunch of crazy saves."