The Minnesota Frost hosted the Boston Fleet on Thursday evening, Jan. 2, to officially ring in 2025. Both teams weren’t shy about using their physicality, and although it wasn’t a fast start for either side, they both had their chances throughout the game. It was a tight battle, as expected when these two teams playe,and despite a late struggle, the Frost came out on top.
Nicole Hensley was in the net for the Frost as Aerin Frankel took the spot for the Fleet. Two of the best goaltenders from last season squared off, and Hensley had the upper hand at first. The Fleet forced their way back into the game and eventually overtime where the Frost got the 4-3 win.
Despite struggling late in the third and coming out on top in overtime, the Frost still had a strong game. We’ll look at what they did right, starting with the secondary scoring.
Frost Get Secondary Scoring
What every team hopes for when their big players are out or aren’t scoring is their other players will step up and contribute. That’s exactly what happened with the Frost: Taylor Heise wasn’t playing, and Grace Zumwinkle left the game in the first place with an injury, and their other players stepped up.
First was Claire Butorac, who isn’t a big scorer, but she crashed the net for a rebound when her team needed it most and secured a 1-0 lead in the second. Her team built off that energy and continued to get chances as Brooke Bryant scored under a minute later to give their team a two-goal lead. This is exactly what the Frost needed to happen, as their top scorers were out.
It kept up through the game as Brooke McQuigge stepped up on the power play to give her team a two-goal lead shortly after the Fleet had tried to climb back in. The Fleet did find a way in, but the Frost shut the door in the end, and they did so without some of their top players.
“Yeah, it’s tough; obviously, we’ve got players dropping quickly, but I’m proud of our group for finding a way to win. I would like to obviously have three points in regulation, but you know Boston’s a good team; they’re going to keep fighting until the end, and they did, and luckily, we were able to battle it out in overtime, and Britta (Curl-Salemme) obviously scored a big goal for us,” said head coach Ken Klee after the game when asked about how the team had a lot of things against them with injuries and illness.
Frost’s Hensley & Special Teams Steps Up
Hensley let in a few goals late, but throughout the night, she stepped up to make some crucial saves and gave her team a chance to take the lead and keep it. She made save after save, and even when things got chaotic in front of her net, she stayed calm and made the save. Her efforts helped motivate her team to get things going the other way.
The Frost did what they could to stay out of the penalty box, but when they couldn’t, their penalty kill stepped up for most of the game and did what they could to shut down the Fleet’s power play. Again, they didn’t allow many chances until the end when it fell through, but they killed off two out of three penalty kills.
On the other hand, it looked like their power play would struggle until their fifth chance on the man advantage when they finally converted. It took just eight seconds for the power play to find a way past Frankel, and no matter how many chances the Frost gets on the man advantage, hopefully, it will keep finding success.
“Yeah, no, for sure, just trying to be simple, like when we get pucks to the net, good things happen, and it was just a nice job by Claire (Thompson) and Brooke McQuig’s right there to put in the rebound so it was a really nice play,” said Klee about their power play finding success.
Frost’s Defense Like a Wall
While goaltending is extremely important when it comes to defense, so is the actual defense in front of the goaltender, and the Frost’s is top-notch. They aren’t afraid to drop down and block a shot; they get their sticks in the lanes of passes and ensure they are squared up to the player taking a shot to ensure they’re getting the full block. All of these are crucial to keeping the puck away from the goaltender, and of course, by doing so, they’re keeping the puck out of their net.
One of their best defenders is only a rookie, but Claire Thompson has made her presence known in every game for the Frost this season. Her ability to score and move the puck as a defender is even more impressive. She showcased her talents in college, but many times, it’s hard for players to translate that play into the pros, not Thompson. Watching her play, she’s much like Brock Faber for the Minnesota Wild. She plays a heads-up game and isn’t afraid to jump into the play when necessary.
Related: PWHL Minnesota Drafts Thompson With Klee at the Helm
“Yeah, it was a great long body by Claire Thompson, so she’s a good defender when she wants to defend; she can do a good job with it, so it’s a really good play by her and then obviously up to Kendall (Coyne-Schofield), then Kendall finding Britta to give her some room to be able to make a play,” said Klee about Thompson’s defending skills.
Frost Face Sirens
When the Frost faces the New York Sirens on Saturday, Jan. 4, they’ll have to find a way to put their foot to the gas in terms of scoring and keep it there. They can’t let off, or more teams will find a way back in, as the Fleet did. Hopefully, this win will teach them to keep going as hard as possible, and they’ll get more wins.
