Birthday Girl Thompson Shines for Frost in Shootout Win Over Sceptres

The Minnesota Frost and Toronto Sceptres faced each other for the second time this season on Tuesday evening, Jan. 28. Their last meeting was back during the first week of the season, and the win went to the Frost. The Frost had the same lineup as their previous game against the Boston Fleet on Sunday, Jan. 26, and the Sceptres didn’t have any injuries reported with the exception of Natalie Spooner, who has yet to return from an injury sustained in the postseason last year.

The goaltending matchup was between Maddie Rooney for the Frost and Raygan Kirk for the Sceptres. The Frost got things going early in the first, and despite the Sceptres climbing back into the game multiple times, the Frost came out with the shootout win 4-3.

Game Recap

The Frost got things going early against the Sceptres with a power play goal by Michela Cava, who tipped a shot by birthday girl Claire Thompson to make it 1-0 within the first five minutes of the period. The assists went to Thompson and Taylor Heise. They held the lead for almost 10 minutes before the Sceptres answered on their own power play. Sarah Nurse scored the goal, and she was assisted by Daryl Watts and Renata Fast to tie the game at 1, and that was how the period would end. 

The Frost were the first to get things going in the second period as they scored their second power-play goal to retake the lead. Thompson scored the goal as Heise and Brooke McQuigge assisted her to make it 2-1. Despite some chances for both sides, the score would remain the same, and the Frost took the lead into the intermission. 

The Sceptres scored first in the third period as Jesse Compher tallied her team’s second power-play goal to tie it up 2-2. Nurse and Fast assisted her. However, the tie again wouldn’t last long as Thompson scored her second of the night, unassisted to make it 3-2. The Sceptres responded under two minutes later with a goal by Fast; Compher and Hannah Miller assisted her to tie it at 3. The tie held until the end of the third, and overtime was needed to determine a winner. Even that wasn’t enough, and they went to a shootout where the Frost took the win thanks to goals by Britta Curl-Salemme and Thompson, along with some big saves by Rooney.

The Frost will have about two weeks off before they head on the road for four straight games, with their first coming on Tuesday, Feb. 11, against these same Sceptres. While the Sceptres will also have time off, a few days less than the Frost, they will play on Thursday, Jan. 30, against the Montréal Victoire on the road and also on Saturday, Feb. 1, at home against the Ottawa Charge before they have the next nine days off.