Frost Beat Sirens 4-1 Behind Dominant Third Period
Minnesota breaks a third-period tie with three unanswered goals. Taylor Heise extended her scoring streak while Maddie Rooney delivered in net.
By Robert Brent
The Minnesota Frost faced off with the New York Sirens Saturday afternoon at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul for the two teams’ final matchup of the season.
The game comes 10 days after the Sirens defeated the Frost 4-3 in overtime at the Prudential Center earlier this month. While the game was just a short time ago, a lot has changed since then.
Minnesota recently clinched a playoff spot and is looking to round into form heading into the postseason. The Frost also had some time off for the first time in a while. That timed allowed the team a full week to focus on the road ahead.
Frost forward Abby Hustler spoke about having some downtime in between games before the matchup with the Sirens.
“It was great to have some time off between games to rest and then get right back to it. A full week of practice also allowed us to focus on the small details before our final stretch of the
regular season,” Hustler said. “We’re looking to feed off our last home game, where we were able to solidify our spot in the playoffs.”
Recap
Maddie Rooney made the start in net for the Frost, returning to the Minnesota crease after a game off. Kayle Osborne started in net on the opposite end, making her 23rd start of the season.
The Frost opened the game’s scoring account on a goal from defender Lee Stecklein. Stecklein’s goal came at 7:05 of the first period on a redirect by a Sirens’ player in front of the net.
Minnesota’s lead didn’t last for long, with New York answering just 41 seconds later. The Sirens’ goal looked a lot like the Frost’s as defender Micah Zandee-Hart scored on a shot from the point that hit someone out front and leaked past the Minnesota goaltender.
The first frame ended without any more scoring as the two teams went into intermission at a one-goal apiece deadlock. The Sirens led 9-7 in shots on goal, but the two teams were tied at four scoring chances each.
While the first period saw some goal-scoring, the second frame proved far less eventful. Neither team scored, and the matchup remained tied going into the final period.
The Frost’s league-leading power play unit gave them the lead about five minutes into the third period. The goal came from Abby Hustler. Hustler’s fourth goal of the season came after a tic-tac-toe passing play from Mae Batherson and Britta Curl-Salemme.
Minnesota added to its lead minutes later, this time on a goal from Taylor Heise. Heise scored her 11th goal of the season. The marker came on a tight-angle shot from the lower circle that beat the Sirens’ goaltender in the far-side top corner.
The New York Sirens sent the Frost back to the power play a few minutes later on a five-minute major penalty by Micah Zandee-Hart. Minnesota didn’t score on the extended opportunity, but it did wind the clock down to just three and a half minutes remaining.
Britta Curl-Salemme scored on the Sirens’ empty net to ice the game in a 4-1 victory. The goal was Curl-Salemme’s 10th of the season. Curl-Salemme’s goal made her the fifth member of the Frost to register double-digit goals this season. Kelly Pannek registered an assist on the play, giving the center her 29th point of the season, tying the PWHL record for most points in a season.
Key Takeaways
Lee Stecklein Flexing Offensive Muscles
Lee Stecklein is known as one of the most steady defenders in the PWHL. That said, she’s still a very effective offensive player. Stecklein’s offensive talent has been especially apparent in her most recent stretch of games. She’s been showing up on the scoresheet and dominating games with a ridiculous amount of minutes.
Stecklein’s goal on Saturday was her second of the season, with her first goal starting a scoring streak on March 29th. Since the March 29th matchup with Boston, Stecklein has registered two goals and four assists for six points in four games. Stecklein earned the first three-point game in her career with three assists in the Frost’s matchup with the Vancouver Goldeneyes on March 4th.
A large portion of Stecklein’s offensive uptick has come from her increased aggressiveness and the amount of time the defender has played. Stecklein has 14 shots on goal in her last four games, including 11 in the last two. She’s also played more than 26 minutes in each of the last four contests.
Taylor Heise Scores in Fourth-Straight Game
Taylor Heise is known as one of the best passers in the world. In recent weeks, she’s scored goals at a career-high rate. Heise’s goal in Saturday’s game marked the fourth-straight game where she put the puck in the back of the net. In her last ten games, Heise has scored eight goals in her last ten games.
With Heise’s recent goal-scoring tear, she’s now firmly in second place in league scoring behind only Kelly Pannek. With 27 points this season, Heise is just two points behind the record for most points in a PWHL season. Four games are remaining in the season for Minnesota, meaning Pannek and Heise are both likely to eclipse the 29-point mark.
Heise has been a great player since the moment she stepped into the league, but this season feels like a turning point in her career. Heise is now clearly among the very best and most productive players in the sport. Her increase in goal-scoring has fueled that jump.
Rooney Solidifies the Net
The Minnesota Frost have a solid tandem with Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley. While one of the two is almost always playing well, they haven’t gotten the results they’ve wanted in recent weeks. Rooney registered below a .900 save percentage in two straight starts after posting better than a .915 in eight straight starts before that.
Rooney rebounded in a big way in Saturday’s game against the Sirens, giving up just one goal on 24 shots. The goaltender’s 23 saves gave her a .958 save percentage. The only goal she gave up was a redirect in front of the net in the first period.
If the Frost are scoring the way they are and can depend on Maddie Rooney to play solid goaltending come playoff time, Minnesota should be a huge threat in the Walter Cup Playoffs once again.
