3 Takeaways From the Frost’s Triple Overtime Win Over the Charge

The Minnesota Frost played host to the Ottawa Charge for Game 3 of the PWHL Finals on Saturday afternoon, May 24. Both teams looked to get the upper hand in the series and take a 2-1 lead into Game 4. The Frost added Dominique Petrie to the injury list as she missed Game 3 with an upper-body injury. She was the only change to the lineup as Maddie Rooney was in the net once again. 

The Charge got on the board first, but the Frost fought back, and the game was tied going into the final period. Neither team scored in the third period, and they went to not just once but three overtimes before they declared a winner. The Frost came out on top and now have a 2-1 series lead. In this article, we’ll look at how they came out with the win, starting with Rooney’s performance. 

Rooney Continues Dominance 

Although she did let in one goal, Rooney was rock solid the rest of the night. She made a lot of big stops and showed an even greater aggressiveness in her game than she has before. She slapped the puck away from players and cut them off behind the net to make sure the puck stayed with her team. Her game continued to get better with each period that went by, and even in overtime, she found a way to elevate. 

While Rooney can make the big saves, she also makes the smart plays. She pays close attention to what’s going on in the game and not just when the puck is in her end. At one point, her defensive teammates were stuck on the ice and completely out of energy, so when she made the save, instead of keeping the puck in play, she decided to cover and give her teammates the chance to get off the ice. Little things like that may seem obvious to do, but sometimes it’s overlooked, and it can make or break a team. 

The Frost will need more of her spectacular play as they head into Game 4 looking to clinch the Walter Cup for the second straight season and write the history books again for the first team to win it back-to-back. Hopefully, she can continue to improve her game as she has all postseason, and they’ll have a strong chance to get that final win. 

Frost’s Special Teams 

The Frost once again didn’t manage to get any goals on their power play, but it was improved from the past game. They got shots to the net and were able to set up better than before. However, what really stood out was their penalty kill and its aggressiveness. They forced the Charge to be hesitant and forced them to turn the puck over. 

They were quicker and just kept attacking as much as possible, rather than sitting back and waiting for the Charge to come to them. It clearly threw the Charge off their game, and the Frost had several shorthanded chances that they just narrowly missed on. The Frost have to keep playing this way on the penalty kill because they will get the puck in if they keep pressing. 

“Yeah, it was great. We’ve made a few adjustments with our up ice, and it seemed to work pretty good, and we’re doing a good job. We’re getting in shooting lanes, trying to keep them to the outside as best possible, and then obviously having Maddie (Rooney) in there to make saves and Nic (Hensley) in the first game too. When you’re goaltender is your best penalty killer, it’s usually pretty good,” said head coach Ken Klee on the performance of the penalty kill. 

Frost Need to Stay Focused

The Frost have been getting production from their depth, their penalty kill, and goaltending has been strong; they just need to keep their focus for one more game. They had quite a few things go against them in Game 3, but they kept their heads and emotions level and focused on playing their game. 

Now that they’re one win away, that becomes even more important, and they need to avoid straying from the game that has gotten them to this point. They have the talent and they know what it takes to beat this team, they just need to keep focusing on that and they’ll be able to bring the Walter Cup home once again. 

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“It’s exciting, but we’ve got work to do come Monday, so we’re not going to get too high right now. This is great momentum for us, but after we’ll celebrate tonight, but then tomorrow it’s back to work and be ready to go for Monday,” said Rooney about being one game away from hoisting the Walter Cup once again. 

Frost Remain Home

The Frost will play Game 4 at home on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, and they’ll go into that game with the chance to not only eliminate the Charge but lift the Walter Cup for the second straight season. Hopefully, the Frost can get their power play going, keep everything else going strong, and they’ll have a great chance to win Game 4 and clinch the Walter Cup in front of their hometown fans.