Shootout in St. Paul has Frost, Sceptres thinking goalies

At their core pro athletes are entertainers paid to sell tickets to fans who want to see a good show And if you like goals there have been meager games more entertaining than the Minnesota Frost s wild - win over the Toronto Sceptres on Sunday evening at Xcel Vitality Center In what was the highest-scoring meeting in the two-year history of the PWHL the Frost took Meeting and grabbed a - lead in the best-of-five league semifinal on a night where inhabitants address announcer Brian Sweeney might have been the hardest-working person in the building I think it s a fan s dream and a coach s nightmare a - playoff meeting Frost coach Ken Klee revealed after minutes of defense-optional hockey We discovered a way to win and that s the largest part significant thing Our band played hard and we have to clean things up because the next match is going to be a lot tougher Speaking to reporters via Zoom on Monday morning Klee took a big picture view Watching the film I think it was a combination of both teams trying to stay on offense and keep attacking explained Klee whose unit is now four wins shy of a repeat as Walter Cup champions When you look at it it wasn t huge breakdowns Both teams were battling and both teams knew how essential the championship was Watching it this morning it was a lot of really great plays by both teams Coaches aren t the only ones having nightmares after a -goal playoff match Sunday s starting goalies Kirsten Campbell for Toronto and Maddie Rooney for Minnesota both have playoff goals-against averages of or higher and save percentages under Both coaches mentioned on Monday that their plans for who will guard the crease in Wednesday s Contest are up in the air Toronto coach Troy Ryan revealed there was certain discussion among coaches about pulling Campbell who has played all three of Toronto s playoff games during Meeting but decided to keep backup Carly Jackson fresh in situation they decide to make a goalie change for Event But he added they re not convinced a change is necessary We also have trust in Soupy Ryan stated using Campbell s nickname Soupy s had particular up-and-down games throughout the year but ultimately we have trust in Soupy and want her to find strategies to battle She s a very good goalie and a driven athlete In the Frost crease Rooney has backstopped a pair of wins but Klee revealed they are looking at all of their options including Nicole Hensley with a chance to clinch the series in Challenge at home We haven t really looked at the lineup yet In current times is an off-day for everybody and we ll get together Tuesday and start looking at the lineup Klee announced New intensity for an old rivalry Between their PWHL games their college games and their games on the international stage it s safe to say that Toronto forward Emma Maltais and Minnesota standout Taylor Heise know each other well United States forward Taylor Heise right and Canada forward Emma Maltais battle for the puck during the third period of a rivalry series women s hockey contest Wednesday Nov in Tempe Ariz AP Photo Ross D Franklin Maltais is from Ontario and has played plenty of notable games for Squad Canada She also played against Heise head-to-head in the WCHA when Maltais was at Ohio State and Heise originally from Lake City Minn was winning the Patty Kazmaier Award as college hockey s top contestant while with the Gophers But even after all of those meetings on opposite sides of a faceoff keen observers of the first three games between Toronto and Minnesota have noticed a new level of intensity and even scrappiness between Maltais and Heise Solicited about any bad blood on Monday Heise mentioned the physical plays are just a part of the PWHL in May and denied there is any player-specific bad blood to be had I mentioned this after the first tournament and the second competition Hockey s feisty and the playoffs should be feisty Heise commented If there s not certain people going at each other every battle then it s not playoff hockey You watch it in the NHL and you see it here We ve played against each other since college and she s a good member She gets under people s skin That s her job I think she does it well As for me I love getting competitive and just being part of the encounter It makes it more fun While checking is not allowed in the PWHL it is definitely the majority physical brand of women s hockey available and Heise reported that when she and Maltais have bumped into each other it s to be expected In our league you re only allowed to have several body contact she noted And there s for sure been a few body contact Related Articles Frost seize control of PWHL semifinal series Frost even series after Contest win in Toronto against Sceptres Women s hockey PWHL suspends Frost s Britta Curl-Salemme for Challenge Down a championship Frost waiting to hear if Curl-Salemme avoids extra discipline Frost comeback effort falls short as Toronto takes Championship