Kendall Coyne Schofield discusses the historic importance of PWHL Minnesota winning the first ever Walter Cup title. Perfect in game five. Perfect in celebration. Perfect in the PWHL's inaugural season — PWHL Minnesota are Walter Cup Champions. Minnesota lept over the bench at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell to the bittersweet chants from Boston fans. They mobbed Nicole Hensley, who stopped 17 shots en route to her second shutout of the finals. They hugged each other, laughed and smiled as they took in the feeling of reaching the PWHL’s summit. 'Frankel' and 'Thank you, Boston' chants filled the rink as Boston and its fans watched as the visiting side celebrated their 3-0, championship-clinching victory. "There's something very special about being the first to do something in life," Kendall Coyne Schofield told media following the game. "For us to be the first Walter Cup champions is extremely special; that will be a part of this league's legacy forever." Taylor Heise won the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award, going from first-overall pick to first-ever playoff MVP. She scored two goals in game five against Toronto, six points in the Walter Cup Final and had an assist on the insurance goal Wednesday night. "I'm not someone to make anything about me. I've never been like that," Heise said about winning playoff MVP. "It's a special moment; it's something I'm going to chalk up, and this will probably sit in my basement somewhere. I'm more excited about the group. I'm more excited that I get to live this life with this group of girls who cared about me since day one, and I know, that they've had confidence in me and everything that I can do." After an even opening frame, Minnesota took hold of the middle stanza. Liz Schepers tipped in her first postseason goal off a feed from Sydney Brodt minutes after getting sandwiched by two Boston defenders. Boston's fans sat silently, watching Minnesota snap Aerin Frankel's four-period shutout 6:14 into the second. The State of Hockey continued to apply pressure with quick shots from Taylor Heise, quality rush chances and limited Boston to seven drives to 16 of their own in the middle frame. Minnesota picked up where they left off in the third. The visiting side continued to push and eventually found another crack in Frankel's armor. After Brodt and Brittyn Fleming applied offensive pressure, Minnesota took siege of Boston's end. Frankel did her best to keep it a one-goal game, but Michela Cava scored her fourth goal in five games to double her team's lead with 11:52 remaining. "Cava, I don't know if everyone knows this, but she is a four-time champion — back-to-back-to-back-to-back," Heise said. "She could have this [MVP Trophy] right now. It's ours to share." The captain, Coyne Schofield, iced the game with an empty-netter with 2:06 remaining, and all that remained were a couple of minutes separating Minnesota from history. Coyne Schofield, who scored the final goal of the PWHL season, was the first to lift the Walter Cup, ending the inaugural PWHL season in fitting fashion. "She won't say this, but the only reason [the PWHL] happened from the players' side is because of Kendall," Kelly Pannek said. "Like legit, the only reason, and she hates it. But, like, it could not have been a more fitting end for her to be lifting the trophy." OVERCOMING ADVERSITY Minnesota seemed off entering the playoffs. A five-game losing streak nearly collapsed an eventual championship campaign after relying on an Ottawa loss on the season's final day to clinch a postseason berth. "They are just a resilient group that believes in the system," Minnesota head coach Ken Klee said. "They believe in each other, and when you have that, you have a chance to succeed." Minnesota seemed off in the first round, struggling to score against first-seed Toronto and falling into a 0-2 pit. "We were almost out, and as soon as we knew we weren't out, there were times we got down, but we were never out," Coyne Schofield said. "That group in there believed we could be champions, and we never lost sight of that. "We believed in each other," Coyne Schofield continued. "It didn't matter who was on the ice; we knew that that person on the ice, that line on the ice, that goalie in the net, was going to get the job done, and we did that." They seemed lost, but Minnesota rallied. Minnesota rattled off three consecutive wins, reverse sweeping Toronto to set up a match with Boston in the Walter Cup Final. Minnesota rallied after losing game one, and after a gut-wrenching result in game four after thinking they just won it all, they rallied, winning dominantly in game five. "I think they robbed us in game four, and we all felt that very, very much," Heise said. "To have the feeling of being a champion taken from you is one of the worst things ever. I can't say that that's happened to me before." Minnesota won in dominant fashion in game five. The club outshot Boston 44-17 — 19-3 in the third period — and never looked back. "Knowing that this was the last game, this is the last day of the season, this is the last day that this group will be together, was something that I think we took peace and pride in, and we went out there and played like it," Coyne Schofield said. MAKING HISTORY Hockey history will remember PWHL Minnesota as the first to pull off a reverse sweep, the first to play in two game fives and most importantly, the first to win the Walter Cup. "They've worked so hard to have their own professional league, have a chance to be a paid professional, to travel right, to have the right trainers, right equipment staff, everything to be professional," Klee said. "So, for me, it was huge. It's obviously an honor to just help them earn this." The offseason is now upon us and draft and free agent speculation will soon consume PWHL media circles. However, for the next few hours, days, or even weeks, the only thing going through Minnesota players, fans and management is the image of Coyne Schofield hoisting the Walter Cup above her head. "The legacy of this trophy is only going to keep growing and growing and growing," Coyne Schofield said. "To be the first is an honour, a privilege. It is extremely special, and it took an entire team effort to be champions, from start to finish."
