The Minnesota Frost hosted the Toronto Sceptres for the Frost’s Pride Unity Day, on Sunday afternoon, Mar. 30, for the regular season’s final time. The Frost looked to bounce back from a rough losing streak and get back in playoff position, while the Sceptres looked to increase their playoff position. Nicole Hensley was in net after Maddie Rooney had the previous start in their loss to the Montréal Victoire on Wednesday, Mar. 26.
The Frost came out with a big jump in their step, scoring two goals within the game’s first two minutes. They held off the Sceptres and then added two more in the second, and once again held the Sceptres scoreless. The third looked like it could be a little scary, as the Sceptres scored twice, but the Frost held them off and added one more to take the 5-2 victory. We’ll look at how they did it, starting with the production from everywhere.
Frost Get Production From Everywhere
When a team’s top line struggles to score, they need other parts of their lineup to get things going. Against the Sceptres, not only did Frost’s top line get things going early, but the rest of the lineup also joined in. Nearly every team member had a point, and it started with the top line getting the momentum going with a swift start.
The top line of Taylor Heise, Michela Cava, and Kendall Coyne-Schofield got the first and fifth goals while the rest of the team contributed the other three. Liz Schepers, Sophie Jaques, and Britta Curl-Salemme all found their names in the goal column. The Frost have to continue to win if they hope to make the postseason, and getting this many names on the scoresheet will be very helpful if they can keep it going.
Frost Cause Net Chaos
Like their male counterparts, the Minnesota Wild, the Frost have learned they can score goals pretty effectively if they cause chaos in front of the net. While their first goal was a textbook 2-on-1 hockey play, their second goal was all because of creating havoc in front of the net. The Frost had players getting in the goaltender’s line of sight, causing both of them to lose the puck.
“Yeah, I would definitely say so, I mean we had a lot of jump, a lot of jam to our game, we were fast, we were first on pucks, when we do those things and we’re simple with the puck, we’re a tough team to handle. You look at all four lines scored tonight, which is great, all four lines created lots of chances, they were good in their own zone. We play as a four line deep team and everyone’s contributing, and everyone’s playing the right way, and we’re a tough team to handle,” said head coach Ken Klee about getting the performance he expected from the team.
Hensley & Defense Strong Game
Nicole Hensley has had a rough season, especially after her injury, but she had a strong game against the Sceptres. She looked like her form from the beginning of the season and made save after save. Her defense also performed well in front of her, keeping most of the play to the outside and away from her as much as possible.
Things did get a little relaxed in the third period, and a couple of goals did get through, but it was more of a breakdown on defense than on goaltending. They tightened it back up and kept the Sceptres out the rest of the game.
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“Yeah, I felt good, like I said, like an afternoon start maybe. Our D played really well in front of me and blocked a lot of shots in the third. They were playing the puck and picking up sticks really well in front, and it definitely saved us a couple goals. Obviously, we took some punches from them in the third and then went right back down and showed them what we could do. I think that last one, that last goal was huge to just make sure we got the job done and obviously a big kill at the end and fighting off that 6-on-4,” said Hensley about how she felt in net.
Frost Head to Break
The Frost will now have nearly a month off for the Women’s World Championships, which will take place over the next few weeks. The Frost will return on Saturday, Mar. 26, for their final regular-season home game as they host the New York Sirens. Hopefully, they can continue to win and solidify their postseason position.
