Heise, Captains Send Minnesota Frost Back to Walter Cup Final

For the second straight year, the fourth-seeded Minnesota Frost are headed to the Walter Cup Final. Led by their veterans in regulation, they overcame a 2-0 deficit to get Game 4 against the Toronto Sceptres to overtime, where Taylor Heise picked the perfect time to score her first of the series, sending the clinching goal through a screen and past Carly Jackson.

“It’s really hard to end a team’s season, especially one that’s been doing so well,” Heise said when asked about her goal postgame. “...I had missed probably four opportunities to score before that for the team. I don’t care about me, I’m just happy that we’re here and that we get to continue to hopefully repeat soon.”

Heise doesn’t get a chance to score that goal without the Frost’s forward captains stepping up after having a relatively quiet series. Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield worked magic around the net all game and walked away with the first and third Minnesota goals at critical moments to show for it. They were her first goals of the series after recording two assists in the first three games.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Kendall did not want to go back to Toronto,” Frost head coach Ken Klee said postgame. “She’s spent enough time away from Drew lately and so I think she was like, ‘I’m not letting it happen. If I can spend two or three more days at home with my kid, I’m doing it.’ And obviously she was outstanding tonight.”

Alternate captain Kelly Pannek also joined in the offensive fun with her first goal and fourth point of the playoffs. She had an outstanding offensive showing at the 2025 Worlds, but unlike defender Lee Stecklein, whose five-game point streak came to an end last night, she didn’t quite continue it upon her return to the Frost. She recorded four assists in her previous seven games before coming up with an excellent tip of a Brook McQuigge shot to tie the game at two in the second period.

The Frost’s disciplined play also went a long way to securing them the victory last night and in the series. Minnesota’s power play has also been sizzling lately, but coming into this series, one of the biggest keys to a potential Frost victory was limiting Toronto’s chances with their lethal power play. They did just that, giving them only six opportunities in the series and zero last night as part of the first game in PWHL history with no penalties called.

At the other end of the ice, a strong season again ends in heartbreak for the Sceptres. They played a nearly-perfect Game 1, but Kristen Campbell’s struggles in Games 2 and 3 landed them in a hole they couldn't climb out of despite a strong performance from Jackson and the rest of the team today. The Sceptres are now 0/4 on the road in playoff games, while the higher-seeded teams are 0/4 in playoff series. 

Despite the tough outcome, head coach Troy Ryan was proud of his team’s fight in Game 4 and the rest of the series, as well as Jackson's performance in a tough situation. It was just their second PWHL start in two seasons with the team, with the first coming back on April 29.

“I’m incredibly proud of the effort, the attitude, the playing within our team structure, the battle level and the compete level that our group showed throughout that game,” Ryan said postgame. “I think the way the last Game 2 and Game 3 ended, our team could have taken an easier route in this one but I thought they showed a ton of character in battling this right till the end. Obviously, putting CJ in goal for that game is, to some extent, potentially putting her in a real tough situation, and I thought CJ really answered the call and gave us an opportunity to win.”

The Frost now have a few days off to recoup at home after a gnarly road schedule since returning from Worlds, which Coyne Schofield believes will refresh players and staff alike.

“It’s important for us,” Coyne Schofield said postgame. “...To have a few days at home to regroup, not just from a player perspective, [but] from a staff perspective, some of our staff members are able to see their kids graduate, be with their kids for the first time in a long time. So I think just that mental reset, as much as a physical reset, to be here for a couple days is going to help us. We can’t relax, we can’t let off the gas, we’re still in playoff mode, but to take advantage of this time that we’ve earned and to reset and refocus and wait to see what’s next.”

The Minnesota Frost await the winner of the Montréal Victoire and Ottawa Charge semifinal series. The Charge lead 2-1 and can seal the deal at home Friday. Regardless of who wins, the Frost will hit the road for the first two games as the lowest seed in the playoffs.