The Minnesota Frost were the home team in their Takeaway Tour match-up in Denver, Colorado, against the Montréal Victoire on Sunday, Jan. 12. The Frost had a boost to their lineup as Sophie Jaques, who had been out since Dec. 19, was back in the lineup. Grace Zumwinkle and Dominique Petrie were still out with injuries, and Nicole Hensley was on the bench as a backup goaltender, but she was still healing from her injury.
The game was a close one from start to finish as the Victoire got things started, but the Frost found a way to answer back, and it was tied for most of the game. It went down to the wire and the Frost got the 4-2 win. In this article, we’ll look at how they did it, starting with how the defenders stepped up.
Frost Defenders Make Impact
It was quite a blow to the Frost when Jaques was injured in mid-December when she was both a point producer and a solid defender. When she returned, it was like she was never gone, as she immediately made an impact. She played strong defensively but jumped in offensively as she gave her team their first lead.
While Jaques made an impression, so did a usually quiet defender in Maggie Flaherty. She is known more for her defensive efforts, but against the Victoire, she recorded her first goal of the season, which was their second lead of the game, and ended up being the game-winning goal.
Like their counterparts, the Minnesota Wild in the NHL, the Frost received offensive contributions from their defenders instead of just defense, which helped them win the game. When the top line isn’t scoring, the goals have to come from elsewhere, and it’s a bonus when the defenders help out, and hopefully, it keeps up.
Frost Play More Physical
The Frost had been getting forced off the puck quite a bit lately in terms of physical play, but against the Victoire, they upped their physicality, and it paid off. They were forcing the Victoire off the puck and also winning their own battles when the Victoire tried to push them off the puck. There were some bigger open-ice hits that they need to be more careful about, but overall, their physicality helped their play.
Even their smaller players, like Taylor Heise, were getting in on the physicality after getting pushed around a bit. Every player has their breaking point, and it appeared that Heise had enough of being shoved around. Even their goaltender, Maddie Rooney, got involved a little bit when she came out of her crease to cut off a Victoire forward. While they both fell to the ice in the collision, Rooney stopped a goal.
Physicality used to be frowned upon in the women’s game, but in the PWHL, the level of checking and physicality they’ve allowed has spiced the game up and made it more entertaining. Hopefully, the Frost can continue to use their physicality but in a responsible way to keep winning battles without ending in the penalty box.
Frost’s Special Teams Continue Rollercoaster
The Frost finally found a way to score on the power play after what seemed like a very long time, even though their last power-play goal was on Jan. 2 against the Boston Fleet. It hasn’t been a big dry spell, but with how many power-play chances the team has had, they should’ve been doing better in that department. However, they finally found their groove against the Victoire as Jaques scored on the power play.
This will hopefully spark a power play scoring streak because they have the talent; they just haven’t been able to convert. While their power play found success, their penalty kill struggled against the Victoire, as it has for a bit of the season. Their defenders did well at even strength, but they need to tighten things up during their penalty kill.
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They looked strong to start the game, but they started to weaken as the penalties continued. Hopefully, their power play can continue to score, and their penalty kill can begin to stop goals from happening. Although it is important to note that the power play goal scored by the Victoire was a deflection off a Frost defender’s skate, it’s hard to blame them because deflections happen, but they still need to find a way to be better on the kill going forward.
Frost Face Sirens
The Frost will remain on the road as they face the New York Sirens on Wednesday, Jan. 15, for the second time in the last few weeks. The Frost were shut out in their most recent meeting, so hopefully, they can use this win to step up and extend their win streak.
