Liz Schepers’ OT goal gives Frost their second straight PWHL Walter Cup with 2-1 win over Charge
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 championship series and close the PWHL’s second season.
“Hats off to Ottawa. That was a helluva series,” Schepers said. “I could not be more proud of our team. It’s unbelievable.”
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. After losing Game 1 in Ottawa, the Frost responded with three straight wins.
Kelly Pannek scored at the 10:10 mark of the second period, giving Minnesota its first lead in regulation of the series. Maddie Rooney stopped 33 shots and finished the playoffs with a 5-0 record.
Katy Knoll, whose overtime goal sealed Game 3, 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.
“It was just the start of my shift. I knew Katy and Hymla (Klara Hymlarova) were working really hard behind the goal line and just tried to get lost,” Schepers said. “They made a great play to the front of the net and I was able to get a couple whacks at it and saw the puck go in. And then I was on my back and the celebration was on.”
Schepers, who is from Mound, Minnesota, and played collegiately at Ohio State, was one of 16 Frost players who retuned 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.
“I’ll win anywhere. It’s always fun,” said Frost defenseman Lee Stecklein in a game played in front of an announced crowd of 11,024. “But to get to do it at home is extra special.”
And just like last year, the Frost won the title as the fourth and final-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.
“It’s hard to put into words,” she added. “I think when you look at the way we won, it takes everybody. That was last year, and this year was no different. … It took every single player stepping up in some way, shape, or form.”
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.
“Right now the individual award is superseded by the team loss,” Philips said. “We were so close and we really wanted that, but my accomplishments are attributed to the players in front of me. So maybe tomorrow will be nicer, but I really wanted to win.”
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.
Both teams face major changes entering the offseason as each of the PWHL’s six teams will lose four players in the expansion process — a signing period followed by an expansion draft — in early June when Vancouver and Seattle begin building their initial rosters.
“I think that’s the toughest part,” Charge captain Brianne Jenner said, referring to the upcoming losses. “That was a special run. And it’s going to sting for a while, for sure. But really, really proud of this group.”
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AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey