The Minnesota Frost hosted the New York Sirens for the second time this season on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 2. This was the third time these two teams faced each other, with each team winning their respective road game. The Frost had one of their scorers back in Taylor Heise but were without Grace Zumwinkle, Sophie Jaques, and Dominique Petrie due to injuries and Britta Curl-Salemme due to a one-game suspension.
They originally had Nicole Hensley starting in the net, but she pulled something during warm-ups, and Lucy Morgan got the start, with Maddie Rooney backing her up. The game started in the Sirens’ favor despite the Frost doing what they could with being shorthanded due to injury and illness, and the Sirens took the win 5-0.
Morgan Makes First Start
Lucy Morgan had recently signed a 10-day standard player agreement for her to back up Hensley while Rooney battled an illness, but then, when Hensley went down with an injury, it was Morgan’s turn to take over the net. This was her first game in the PWHL, as she was on the Frost’s reserve list to start the season. She last played for the University of Minnesota in 2023-24 after being with St. Lawrence the four years prior. She had a standout season with the U of M as she played 18 games and had a record of 15-3 with a .931 save percentage.
She was looking to have that kind of game at her first start with Frost, and despite a deflection goal early that could mess with any goaltender’s confidence, she stayed focused and made the big saves. This continued as her team ended up behind by three goals to start the third period.
“Yeah, when it rains, it pours, I guess. We just ran with it, had to call Maddie (Rooney) from home and tell her to get here. It’s just one of those things; it’s pro hockey crazy stuff happens, but I liked… outside of giving up the first goal. I thought the first period we played really well; we had a lot of chances; we just gotta find a way to find the back of the net, and then, to me, that’s a different game. You know, kudos to them, they did a good job of not letting us get on the board to get going, and that’s kind of how it went,” said head coach Ken Klee about Hensley’s injury and playing through adversity.
Frost Need Physicality
The Frost are clearly more of a skate-first type of team, which works great in most situations, but when they come up against a team that likes to use their bodies, they must match that. They don’t have to out-check the other team, but they need to be able to move the other team off the puck the same way their opponent does to them.
Despite being one of the smallest players in the league and the smallest on the Frost, Kendall Coyne-Schofield is one of the best examples of this. In every game she plays, she’s not afraid to use her body and outmuscle any opponent, even those bigger than her. She carries so much energy into her game that it’s hard not to notice her, and that style works. While it’s not going to work for every player on the Frost, they could benefit from having a little more edge to their game, but they need to be careful and not go overboard.
“Yes and no. I mean, yes, I was when…it happened, and we saw it after, but I know the league is trying to set a precedent, and if they deem it a dangerous play, they’re going to crack down on it. They’re setting the precedent, so that means they better; in my mind, they better be watching every game, watching every hit, watching every penalty because that’s basically the message that I’m giving the team is that they are going to be watching. In that regard, then we obviously want the game to be safe, we don’t want players to get injured, we don’t want risky type plays that could lead to injury,” said Klee about Curl-Salemme’s suspension.
Frost’s Special Teams Struggle
The Frost looked strong in the penalty kill department to start the game, but as the penalties racked up, so did the power play goals against. They allowed two straight goals on the penalty kill, which were key to this loss. They must find their structure and block more shots when killing off a penalty.
Related: New York Sirens Take Down Minnesota Frost 5-0
However, the penalty kill wasn’t the only thing to blame, as the Frost had three straight chances on the power play to climb back into the game but couldn’t convert. They came up against a strong goaltender, and the lack of shots on their power plays went against them. They made some strong attempts, but they let the other team get set up before they took any shots, which resulted in them not getting through.
They must find a way to step up on both sides of special teams if they want to get back on the winning track. This could’ve been a different outcome if they had been solid on the penalty kill and scored on their power plays.
Frost Have Time
The Frost will have a few days off before they take the ice again against the Boston Fleet on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Hopefully, the couple extra days will be enough for the team to get some rest and get both their sick and injured players healthy once again.
