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Minnesota Frost players return from winning Olympic gold
Six players on the Minnesota Frost played for Team USA in the Winter Olympics and came home from Milan with a gold medal. Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle and Lee Stecklein were among players to speak with reporters after practice on Wednesday.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - For the third straight year, the Minnesota Frost is headed to the Professional Women’s Hockey League Playoffs.
Frost clinch playoff spot
What we know:
The Frost did it in a wild way, but earned a spot in the PWHL postseason after Saturday’s 6-5 win over the Vancouver Goldeneyes at Grand Casino Arena. Trailing 4-2 in the second period, the Frost scored four straight goals to take a 6-4 lead. Taylor Heise scored her 10th goal of the season, and Kelly Pannek scored her 13th and 14th goals of the year.
The Frost had to hang on for the win after the Goldeneyes scored with 53 seconds left in regulation to get within one.
Chasing history
Why you should care:
With five regular season games yet to play, it’s the earliest the Frost has clinched a playoff spot in franchise history. The Frost currently sits third in the PWHL standings at 46 points, 12 clear of Toronto in the No. 4 spot. They’re five points behind No. 2 Boston Fleet, and six behind No. 1 Montreal.
Minnesota, Boston and Montreal have all clinched playoff spots. That leaves Toronto, Ottawa and New York to battle for the last spot over the final five games.
The top four teams at the end of the regular season advance to two best-of-five semifinal series. Those winners advance to a best-of-five series to determine the Walter Cup champion.
Playoffs next
What's next:
The Frost closes out the season with three of its last five games on the road. They host New York April 11, travel to Boston April 15, host Toronto April 19, travel to Seattle April 22 and finish the season at Vancouver April 25.
If the seeds hold, the Frost would face Boston in a best-of-five semifinal series. The Frost is seeking its third straight Walter Cup title.