Frost season ends in semifinals
Montreal defeated Minnesota 2-1 in Game 5 to advance to the Walter Cup Finals.
Minnesota’s chance to start PWHL history as a three-time Walter Cup Champion ended with a loss in this year’s semifinals to Montreal.
The Victoire defeated the Frost 2-1 in Tuesday’s decisive Game 5 at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec in a similar game-sheet script to some of their other victories this season. Top-seed Montreal won the series three games to two, making history as the first higher-seeded team to win a playoff series in PWHL history.
Victoire coach Kori Cheverie called it the biggest win in the organization’s history.
“We had to fight tooth and nail against a team like Minnesota,” Cheverie told reporters after the game. “It wasn’t easy. Every goal felt like we had to fight against [Maddie] Rooney to get it past the goal line.
“It just shows a lot of what we’ve been through as an organization for three years. The coaches, we just kind of stood there on the bench and we were like, ‘Wow, that took three years to do.’”
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored a power-play goal early in the third period that held up as the game-winner – her fourth against the Frost in nine games this season. After the game, Poulin said it was special to reach the Finals.
“Obviously, you work so hard for these moments,” Poulin said. “We knew it would never be easy. Obviously, taking Minnesota — who were two-time champs — was going to be a battle, and we did it.
“We’re happy right now, but we’re not done yet.”
The other part of that familiar script for Montreal was getting a stellar effort in net from one of the league’s top goaltenders, Ann-Renée Desbiens. She made 25 saves in Game 5, including weathering Frost flurries near the end of each period, a pad-stack stop and grabbing a puck just in the nick of time.
The victory sets up an all-Canadian Walter Cup Finals against the Ottawa Charge and guarantees a new league champion this year. Montreal also becomes the first No. 1 seed to defeat its semifinal opponent it selected, after it lost to its choice of Ottawa last year.
In the end, Montreal appeared to make the right choice. The Victoire had the Frost’s number this season, finishing with an overall 7-2 record, including winning all four games in the regular season.
All five playoff games were essentially one-goal contests, with an empty-netter separating the Frost’s 3-1 Game 4 win. Otherwise, each team won a game in overtime, then Montreal won Games 3 and 5 by 2-1 scores.
“I think we know every game in this league is intense,” said Frost alternate captain Lee Stecklein. “You get to playoffs, and it just ramps up another notch. It’s not surprising that they were close.
“Two amazing goalies in net. And unfortunately, we didn’t find a way to get more in.”
Tuesday’s Game 5 – which was rescheduled after Monday’s game was postponed in the late afternoon due to player illness – was another tight and physical game in this series. The Frost started out with the early jump, outshooting the Victoire and controlling play in Montreal’s zone for the first few minutes.
But they were held off the scoreboard, giving Montreal time to settle in as well. After Alexandra Labelle hit iron with a fluttering shot, the Frost had another golden opportunity to take the lead.
Minnesota defender Mae Batherson sent a high shot from near the blue line toward the net. It was tipped on the way in, bounced around and nearly went into the net. But a scrambling Desbiens turned and gloved the puck away from the goal line just before it crossed into the net with 11:25 left in the first period.
A sigh of relief for Montreal, a missed chance for Minnesota.
A few minutes later, the Victoire took the 1-0 lead for a second game in a row. Poulin won an offensive zone faceoff and sent the puck right back to Catherine Dubois for the shot. Dubois’ first goal of the series looked to deflect off a stick on the way toward Rooney.
Despite the Frost outshooting the Victoire 13-5, they found themselves down 1-0 at the first intermission.
Early in the second period, Desbiens made one of her best saves of the series. Vanessa Upson passed the puck across the ice to Elizabeth Giguere on the other side of the net. With the goaltender down, there was a lot of net to shoot at for Gigurere.
But Desbiens, on her side, stacked her leg pads and raised her left leg for a mid-air kick save. Desbiens was one of the stars for Montreal, but Rooney was just as good at the other end throughout the series. She made 15 saves in the game, including one point-blank on Maureen Murphy just before that chance from Giguere.
The Frost tied the game with 11:45 left in the second period on Sam Cogan’s first goal of the playoffs, and first with the Frost after she signed a reserve player contract with the team in March.
It was a tic-tac-toe play off the rush as Britta Curl-Salemme brought the puck in, slid it over to Abby Hustler, who found Cogan in front to beat Desbiens five-hole and make it a 1-1 game. The assist was also Hustler’s first PWHL playoff point after the rookie had 13 points in the regular season.
In a physical game where whistles from officials were mostly in their pockets, the Frost had a chance to take the lead with a late power play before the second intermission. But while they spent some time in the Montreal zone, the Frost didn’t get a shot on goal during the two minutes.
The Frost, which came into the playoffs having led the league in power-play percentage during the regular season (23%), went just 2-for-18 with the advantage in this five-game series. That included a 0-for-7 stretch in the Game 3 loss and going 0-for-1 while Montreal went 1-for-1 with the game-winning goal in Game 5.
Special teams was indeed a factor in the game when Montreal got its lone chance on the power play early in the third period. Poulin scored the go-ahead goal with a sharp-angle, corner-picking shot for the 2-1 lead with 16:54 on the clock.
She’s absolutely lived up to her Captain Clutch nickname against the Frost this season.
“She’s one of the best of all time,” Stecklein said. “She scores goals when they need her to. And she plays just really hard, always hard to play against.”
Even though the Frost were down in the third period, there was still plenty of time to come back and tie the game. So often in playoffs, that’s what they’ve done. Minnesota always finds a way when they’re up against a tough situation. Like other games in this series, they pressured offensively and generated chances down the stretch.
They controlled the puck and pressured in the middle of the period, during a long stretch without a whistle before the first media timeout about halfway through the period.
This time, they couldn’t find the equalizer before the final horn sounded on the game, the series and their 2025-26 season.
“First and second period, I thought we were definitely on them,” said Frost coach Ken Klee. “Then we had a little push in the third and a nice play. But for us to get within one period [of] being back in the finals again is just a tribute to them and how hard they work and what great people and players they are.”
For the Frost, it’s their first loss when facing elimination in the playoffs, falling to a 5-1 all-time record. The Frost came into the game as the only team to ever win a Game 5, while Montreal was playing in its first such game. Minnesota also falls to 4-1 in playoff series.
“I think it’s hard to win a Walter Cup,” said Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield. “It’s hard to win a five-game series. I think we’ve been on both sides of it now.”
Love your work Heather! I had to miss this one (golfing) so catching up on it through your reporting is appreciated 😊