The Minnesota Frost hosted the Ottawa Charge on a bitterly cold day in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 21, on Goaltender Appreciation Night. It was the second meeting between these two teams, and the first favored the Frost back in December. The Frost still had the same players out as their previous game against the Montréal Victoire on Friday, Jan. 17. Maddie Rooney was back in the net after Nicole Hensley had the last start.
The game started in favor of the Charge as they got the first goal, and then it was a battle to the finish. Both teams had strong chances, but the Charge took control and won the game 1-0. In this article, we’ll take a look at what happened with the Frost starting with how Rooney did well.
Rooney Stands Tall
While the Charge may have beaten her early in the game, after that first goal, Rooney was locked in and made all the big saves. She stepped up on multiple occasions when her team got beat on defense, and she made the final stop. Even when she had to be almost out of position to make one save, she sprawled to make the next save.
Rooney continued to make the big saves until the end, and the lone goal may have been the difference, but it wasn’t because of her. It was a strong shot that could’ve beat any goaltender, and she played well the entire night during a game in which goaltenders were the stars.
“Hopefully, they feel appreciated every night. Today, our goaltender played well, and we just couldn’t get one or two in there to see you on the other side of this game. I think in general our goalies have been great, all three of them have been great for us this year, they are definitely the backbone of our team.” Kelly Pannek said after the game when asked about it being goaltender appreciation night.
Frost Need Their Power Play
Off and on this season, the Frost have struggled to get things going on their power play when they needed it most. Once again, when they faced the Charge, their power play could’ve been the difference-maker in a very tight game. They had a chance early to get back in the game and couldn’t convert, and then again later in the game, the same story.
They have a strong set-up and do everything right; they just can’t get the puck to go in. One thing they could try a bit more of is getting shots from the point and making sure they’re ready for rebounds. They had a lot of missed chances due to not being in position for the puck. They need to tighten up their play a bit, focus on being in front of the net, ready for rebounds, and get shots from the perimeter to force the goaltender to move.
Frost Need Offense
In the games the Frost have lost in, it’s been a common theme that they’ve had the chances but couldn’t find a way to get the puck in the net. They had a lot of rebounds bounce out for big opportunities, but they didn’t have anyone in position to follow through. The few times they did, the shot went wide.
They did improve in this area from games past. They were in front of the net more; they just needed to keep forcing their way in. They have to have someone in front of the goaltender all the time going forward; that’s the best way they’ll get goals to go in, and they may not be pretty, but they will be goals.
“I actually thought we did a really nice job, especially in the second and third of, like, getting to the front of the net, and that was something in the lockerroom we had talked about being willing to get to that net front, make it messy, and like coach said sometimes you just need a bounce and we talked about before every team has great goaltending in this league so you have to make it really hard for them and sometimes it comes down to a bounce or gripping your stick a little tight, or whatever it is but I actually really liked the adjustments that we made….” Pannek said when asked about the offensive struggles.
Frost Face Fleet
The Frost will remain at home to face the Boston Fleet on Sunday, Jan. 26, for the fourth time this season. These two teams have created quite the rivalry, and it’s been a hard-fought battle every time they’ve played. The Frost have had the upper hand and won the first three match-ups, and they’ll be looking for the fourth. Hopefully, they can keep their magic against the Fleet going and get a win on home ice.
Related: New York Sirens Trade Jill Saulnier for Boston Fleet’s Taylor Girard
“We’ve seen Boston a fair amount this season already; I think that every team in this league is good. They probably aren’t where they want to be in the standings, but it’s no excuse to take them lightly. They forecheck hard and have skilled players, and we just need to bring our best,” said Claire Thompson about meeting up with the Fleet again. Hopefully, they can do their best and come out with a win.
