The defending Walter Cup Champion Minnesota Frost will return to the playoffs.
To win each round, the Frost must win two five-game series. 4 out of 6 teams make the PWHL playoffs every year. However, this may expand in the coming years as the PWHL announces plans to add additional teams, starting with Vancouver and Seattle for next season.
While the league has not yet announced additional teams, PWHL VP Jayna Hefford has said that “the talent pool is quite large, and it’s only getting bigger,” so there is a possibility of more teams in the future.
In the 2023-24 playoffs, the Frost battled the Boston Fleet in the final round to win the first-ever PWHL playoffs. Despite the 30-game season, every point matters in a small league. Last Saturday, Minnesota knocked Boston out of this season’s playoffs with an 8-1 win, finally clinching a playoff spot during their final game.
Britta Curl-Salemme put Minnesota on the scoreboard with a top-shelf shot 2:23 into the game.
Lee Stecklein got the game winner 45 seconds later with a wrap-around backhand.
The Frost drove the win home with another 6 goals, determined to ensure the Fleet didn’t manage a late-game comeback.
Per league rules, the Montréal Victoire selected the Ottawa Charge for their first matchup. While fans may have expected them to select the 4th place Frost, the Victoire have won 4 of 6 games against the Charge and know their opponent well.
Minnesota’s first opponent will be the Toronto Sceptres, whom the Frost beat last year in the first round. The Sceptres currently rank 2nd in the league with 48 points, while Minnesota is tied with the Ottawa Charge for 3rd place, with 44 points.
The Frost and Sceptres will hit the ice on May 7 in Toronto.
There are no easy wins in pro hockey, but Minnesota will have an edge with its stacked roster. Point leaders Kendall Coyne Schofield (24), Taylor Heise (22), and Sophie Jaques (22) will be exciting to watch as they drive scoring and defend their net.
Injuries and player recovery have played a role in Minnesota’s season and will also be key in the playoffs. Luckily, Minnesota’s top line is relatively healthy. Jaques returned from LTIR on January 12 after suffering an upper-body injury on December 19. However, she looks like she’s back to full strength after her return and slamming the puck in against Raygan Kirk during the Frost’s February 11 matchup against the Sceptres.
Daryl Watts, Hannah Miller, and Renata Fast led Toronto with 27, 24, and 22 points, respectively, in the 2024-25 season. Last season, Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse were Toronto’s biggest threats on the ice, with 27 and 23 points, respectively, over 24 games. However, both players suffered major injuries and have only recently returned to play.
Spooner returned on February 11 from an ACL tear, missing 16 games, and has 5 points over 14 games. Nurse returned from a lower body injury on February 6, but has stated, “I don’t feel fully back to where I was.” She has logged 14 points over 21 games.
In previous matchups this season, the Frost have gone 2-2-1-1 in the PWHL’s W-OTW-OTL-L system. Theoretically, Minnesota should win this series, and FanDuel has them -142 to beat Toronto. Despite their injuries, Spooner and Nurse are talented players who will dig in. Their ability to play full strength will affect the outcome.
Head coach Ken Klee has previously referred to goaltenders Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley as “both [number] ones.” Rooney has started two-thirds of the game this season, and we will likely see them split time in the playoffs. Rooney and Hensley fought their way through 10 games last postseason.
Hensley played the first game, Rooney played the next 5, and Hensley then played the last 4. The strategy was to play whoever was “hot” rather than switch off to keep both goalies well-rested. That worked well last year. However, new general manager Melissa Caruso may change things up.
The Frost can trust Rooney and Hensley to make the key saves. Rooney looked like an acrobat against Ottawa’s Taylor House.
Hensley has also kept Minnesota competitive the past two seasons by making several remarkable saves.
Coyne and Klee noted the “tightness” of the league, meaning there’s a lot of parity. High roster cap, frequent trades, and 32 rosters create disparity between NHL teams over time. The PWHL’s small size and short history mean injuries and coaching are the only major factors in creating gaps.
Despite previous victories against Toronto, the Frost is expecting a fight. “Every game is going to be a hard-fought game,” Coyne remarked about their upcoming series against the Sceptres.
Nurse and Spooner’s recent injuries may weaken Toronto, but Minnesota has three tough, though winnable, games ahead of it.