Frost Roll Past Sceptres in Toronto to Extend Winning Streak

Behind a balanced offensive attack and another stellar performance from Nicole Hensley,
the Minnesota Frost earned a 5–1 road win over Toronto on Tuesday night.

The Minnesota Frost traveled to Toronto, Ontario, on Tuesday night to take on the Sceptres in Coca-Cola Coliseum. The matchup was Frost’s first trip to Canada’s Queen City this season after the two teams opened their PWHL campaigns against each other in St. Paul on November 21.

Toronto emerged victorious in a 2-1 outing where Kiara Zanon scored a game-winning goal in the third period. The Frost and Sceptres have had similar seasons since that meeting, with the two teams being separated by just two points in the standings coming into Tuesday’s contest.

Minnesota Frost alternate captain Kelly Pannek spoke before the game about the opportunity to measure their growth this season against Toronto.

“We are excited for another opportunity to face off against Toronto and continue the momentum of this road trip. Having been a month since our season began against them, it will be a good opportunity to see how we have progressed thus far.”

Recap

Nicole Hensley started in net for the Minnesota Frost, making her fourth start in the Frost’s last five games. The Sceptres countered with Elaine Chuli. The goaltenders gave the game a different look from the two teams’ first meeting, in which Maddie Rooney played for Minnesota and Raygan Kirk played for Toronto.

Toronto got on the board first when Daryl Watts scored a backhander from the front of the net five minutes into the game. Watts is one of the PWHL’s most lethal scorers, and the goal was the 50th point of her career.

Minnesota didn’t wait long to answer when they tied the game a minute and a half later. Taylor Heise made a great feed from the corner to Kendall Cooper in front of the net. Cooper shot the puck into the Toronto goalie, and Katy Knoll scored on the rebound.

Minnesota took the lead later in the period when league-leading scorer Britta Curl-Salemme potted the puck into the top corner of the net from a seemingly impossible angle. The shot came from the goal line in the corner of the rink, and Curl-Salemme was able to fit a shot above the Toronto goaltender’s shoulder.

The Sceptres attempted to answer early in the second period, registering the first six shots of the frame. Nicole Hensley was up to the task with several highlight-reel saves to preserve the Frost’s lead.

After the Frost weathered the early storm, they added to their lead 11:58 into the period. Grace Zumwinkle tallied a power play goal with a one-timer that Kendall Coyne Schofield set up. The goal was Zumwinkle’s third of the season.

The second period appeared to be ending without any further scoring, but Coyne Schofield tallied a goal of her own with just six seconds remaining. The goal was another sharp-angle shot that snuck through the Sceptres’ goalkeeper.

The third period began with a change in net for Toronto, with Raygan Kirk taking over the crease in relief. 

The change paid dividends for Toronto as they were able to keep the Frost attack at bay during the early goings of the third period. 

Toronto poured on scoring chances, but Nicole Hensley was up to the task, fending off every Sceptre opportunity through the first half of the period. 

Toronto emptied its net to gain an extra attacker with six minutes left in the game. The move succeeded in generating offense, but did not result in a goal with Hensley once again proving too challenging to beat on the night.

Kendall Coyne Schofield scored an empty net goal to extend her tab to seven on the season to ice the game. 

The 5-1 win earned the Frost their second straight victory as they enter the new year on a winning streak. They’ll put that streak on the line against Ottawa on Saturday, January 3.

Key Takeaways

Taylor Heise Keeps Rolling

One of the biggest storylines of the Frost’s early-season slate was that Taylor Heise experienced difficulty getting on the scoresheet. The talented forward was producing chances, but they weren’t going in the net. Fortunately, that narrative is now squarely in the rearview mirror.

Heise netted her first goal of the season in overtime in the Frost’s last game and had another fantastic night against the Sceptres. Heise won six out of ten faceoffs and logged two shots on goal.

While Heise drove a lot of individual offense, she was even more lethal as a playmaker. Heise logged three assists in just 13:24 of time on ice and was a key distributor for Minnesota’s offense.

The three-assist game was just another outstanding performance in a string of strong outings from Heise. The Lake City native has now scored six points in her last four games, bringing her season total to six points in eight games. Heise is one of the most crucial cogs in the Minnesota offense, and her resurgence has been a welcome occasion. 

Minnesota Frost Stamp Offensive Identity

If anything has defined The Minnesota Frost this season, it’s been their strong attacking play. The team boasts the league’s leading point-getter in Britta Curl-Salemme, the league’s leading goal-scorer in Kendall Coyne Schofield, and has scored more goals (24) than any other team in the league.

If the Frost offense continues to lead the league in scoring, it’ll be the second-straight season they accomplish that feat after leading the PWHL in goals last season with 85 goals to the second-place Victoire’s 77.

One of the most encouraging aspects of Minnesota’s attack over the last two games has been the team’s power-play goals in both matchups after getting off to a slow start with the extra attacker this season. The Frost had scored just two power-play goals in their first six games.

If the Minnesota Frost can continue scoring goals at their current rate and improve even further with an extra attacker, then it will be difficult for teams around the league to keep up with their output.

Nicole Hensley Stars Again

While Minnesota Frost’s offense deserves recognition, Nicole Hensley was once again a standout performer for the team in what has become a notably great season for the goaltender. 

Hensley stopped 31 of 32 shots in a winning effort and still has yet to lose a game in regulation. She made several key saves, especially early in the second and when Toronto pulled their goalie late in the third. 

Hensley now ranks second in the league in save percentage among goalies that have made more than one start and is one of only four goalies to log a save percentage above .950. 

The Colorado native isn’t just keeping the Frost in games, she’s actively been a crucial part of winning them. With Maddie Rooney getting back on track in her last start, the team now has two goaltenders playing top-notch hockey.