ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Walter Cup is staying in Minnesota and the defending champion Frost once again have Liz Schepers to credit for scoring the championship-clinching goal for a second straight year.
Schepers converted a scramble in front to score 12 minutes into overtime and seal a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Charge to clinch the title in Game 4 of the best-of-five Professional Women's Hockey League championship series.
All four games of the series were decided by 2-1 scores, and each of them in overtime, including the Frost’s triple-OT victory in Game 3 on Saturday.
Kelly Pannek scored at the 10:09 mark of the second period, giving Minnesota its first lead in regulation of the series, and Maddie Rooney stopped 33 shots.
Katy Knoll set up the winner by collecting the puck along the end boards and driving behind the net to feed Schepers in the slot. Goaltender Gwyneth Philips parried the first shot, but Schepers poked home the rebound.
“Hats off to Ottawa,” said Schepers. “That was a helluva series. I could not be more proud of our team. It’s unbelievable.”
Schepers, who is from Mound, Minn., and played collegiately at Ohio State, was one of 16 Frost players who returned from last year’s championship team, and this time got the opportunity to celebrate before their home crowd. Minnesota won the inaugural Walter Cup last year with Schepers scoring the opening goal of a 3-0 win at Boston in Game 5.
And just like last year, the Frost won the title as the fourth-seeded playoff team, and both times advanced to the finals after knocking off Toronto in the semis.
Minnesota sneaked into the playoffs this year with an 8-1 win over Boston on the final day of the regular season. The win led to Ottawa, Minnesota and Boston finishing with 44 points each with the Fleet eliminated based on having fewer regulation wins.
“It’s the belief we have in the room,” Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said of the team’s resilience.
The Charge, Canada’s first team to reach the finals, forced overtime on Tereza Vanisova’s goal with 9:51 left in the third period. It was her first goal of the playoffs and ended an 11-game goal drought.
Philips finished with 36 saves and was won the Ilana Kloss Trophy as playoff MVP. The rookie finished the playoffs with a 4-4 record, with all four losses coming in overtime. She finished with 148 saves in overtime alone, while allowing just 13 goals on 270 shots for a .952 save percentage and 1.23 goals-against average.
The rookie from Ohio took over the starting duties after Emerance Maschmeyer was sidelined by a lower-body injury in mid-March.
Both teams had their chances in the extra period.
Ottawa’s Aneta Tejralova, on a rush, hit the left post with a shot about five minutes into overtime and the Frost’s Taylor Heise hit the right post about four minutes later.
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AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
The Associated Press
