Minnesota Frost Vs Montréal Victoire Playoff Preview

Minnesota Frost Vs Montréal Victoire Playoff Preview

The Minnesota Frost will kick off the Walter Cup Playoffs this weekend as they look to defend their throne as the two-time reigning champions. Minnesota will take on the top-seeded Montréal organization after the Victoire chose Minnesota as their first-round opponent, per their reward for finishing first in the league standings. 

The system in which the PWHL allows the top team to choose its first-round opponent always creates some interesting storylines going into the postseason. For their part, the Frost players are staying calm and collected after being chosen. Still, it does add some tension to the matchup. Taylor Heise spoke about that development this week. 

“I think it brings animosity. (We) Already have that regardless. We’re excited to get out there and play our game.”

The series promises to produce fireworks featuring a classic “unstoppable force against immovable object” matchup. Minnesota led the league in offense, while Montréal allowed the fewest goals of any team. 

Minnesota Frost Season Snapshot 

The Minnesota Frost followed up last year’s Walter Cup Championship with another impressive season that saw them earn the #3-seed in the postseason after amassing a 13-3-5-9 record.

Several interesting storylines played out in Minnesota this season, but few were as fun to watch as the numerous personal milestones players reached on the team. Kelly Pannek set the record for points in a PWHL season with 33. Britta Curl-Salemme set a record of her own for the most assists in a single season with 18. Rookie defender Kendall Cooper set the rookie assist mark with 17.

While those moments were exciting to witness, team success always comes first. When the Frost were firing on all cylinders, the team’s best attribute was their ability to score goals in bunches. Minnesota boasted the league’s top three scorers in Pannek, Taylor Heise and Curl-Salemme on the way to leading the league in scoring with 91 goals.

The Frost’s offense was elite, but that isn’t to say they weren’t strong in net, either. Maddie Rooney overcame a slow start to the season to win nine games while producing a .921 save percentage.

Season Series 

While Montréal’s choice of the two-time defending Walter Cup Champion is a bold strategy, it does make some logical sense given how the series matchup played out this season. The Victoire defeated the Frost in all four of the team’s regular-season matchups.

The first two games of the season were incredibly close, with the Victoire earning wins in 3-2 and 2-1 overtime contests. The most recent two games proved a bit more difficult for Minnesota, as Montréal earned two shutouts and won by a combined score of 7-0.

Kendall Coyne Schofield was the Frost’s most significant producer in the season series against Montréal. The captain scored a goal and added an assist in the team’s 3-2 OT loss on January 4th before also registering an assist on a Kelly Pannek goal on January 21st.

Montréal goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens gave Minnesota fits this year, making the start in all four games. Desbiens made a combined 80 saves while giving up just three goals.

Minnesota coach Ken Klee was less concerned about being chosen as the Victoire’s first-round matchup. The head coach is confident the Frost have what it takes to beat any team in the league if they play their best.

“We’re not trying to worry about who the opponent is. We know if we play our game, we’re a real good team.”

Scouting Montréal

Montréal finished atop the league standings for the second year in a row, largely on the back of a sterling defense. The Victoire gave up just 41 goals in 30 contests and never allowed more than four in a game.

The Victoire are so good at limiting offenses due to a tight defensive structure that involves buy-in from every player on the team. Montréal’s forwards and blueliners work together to create a frustrating puzzle to solve. 

The star of the defense is, of course, goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens. Desbiens started 25 games for the Victoire and registered 19 wins, 7 shutouts, a 1.11 goals against average, and a .955 save percentage, all tops in the league.

Montréal is rightfully known for their defense, but they have the potential for a potent offense as well. Abby Roque and Laura Stacey tied for the team lead with 22 points apiece. That duo led the team in scoring, but their most dangerous scorer is Marie-Philip Poulin. 

Poulin is a living legend and one of the most clutch players in hockey history with multiple gold-medal-winning goals. The star forward is still a dangerous scorer, but has had some injury issues this year. Poulin scored 18 points in the 19 appearances she made this season.

Keys for Minnesota 

Create Chaos in Front of the Net

The biggest key for the Frost to have success against Montréal is to create some chaos in front of Ann-Renée Desbiens’ net. Setting screens, working in front of the net, and creating issues for a locked-in goaltender is an oft-used strategy for beating a strong defensive team, and it often works. 

That strategy will be particularly crucial for the Minnesota Frost, given the scoring issues they experienced against the Victoire this year. One of the main reasons Minnesota had those problems was due to a lack of traffic on the net. In four games against the Victoire, the highest shot total the Frost produced was 24. That isn’t enough to consistently crack Desbiens.

Taylor Heise set out this strategy this week during a Minnesota practice, while setting a specific goal for the offense to reach.

“Shoot the puck. We have to get bodies out in front,” Heise said.  “We really want to get at least 10 shots a period.”

If the Frost can up their output, they’ll have more chances to engage their high-powered offense.

Win the Special Teams Battle

Special teams are always crucial to a playoff series, with opportunities on the power play or strong penalty kills wildly swinging momentum. The battle will be particularly important in this series, given that Minnesota will face one of the league’s strongest special teams organizations.

Montréal was sterling on the penalty kill this year, successfully stifling 91.8% of their opponents’ extra-attacker opportunities. The Victoire’s power play was strong too, converting at a second-best league rate of 19.3% on their chances.

The Minnesota Frost also relied heavily on their special teams throughout the season. The power play was fantastic, leading the league by a wide margin with a success rate of 23%. The penalty kill was a bit of a mixed bag, placing last in the league at 78.3%. Still, the PK was more up-and-down than consistently unsuccessful, and stretches of the Frost season were defined by how the unit was playing.

If the Frost can have a good few games on the PK and use their power play opportunities well, it could be a place to get an edge. 

Get Contributions from Depth

While the Frost has a strong core of veteran players who have been contributing at a high level for multiple years, the team also has a strong depth group that can help the team win games when the Victoire play lockdown defense against the top lines.

New players like Kendall Cooper should be an x-factor, while players like Mae Batherson and Katy Knoll played on the team last season but made huge leaps this year. 

Minnesota alternate captain Kelly Pannek spoke in practice this week about the team’s depth and how the veterans are preparing them for playoff hockey.

“You win championships with your depth. We need everyone to win and need everyone to be at their best,” Pannek said. “You can feel the energy ramp up, and that’s setting the tone. We’re sending the message to all the players who haven’t been through it that this is gonna be different in a good way.”

Minnesota will rely heavily on players like Pannek and their other stars, but over the course of a playoff series, they’ll also have to lean on their strong depth to get the job done.