OTTAWA — The PWHL Finals is now a best-of-three after the Minnesota Frost defeated the Ottawa Charge in a dramatic 2-1 overtime win on Thursday night.

Ottawa’s Jocelyne Larocque, the 37-year-old veteran shutdown defender who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Toronto in December, appeared to score the game-winner with less than three minutes remaining in the third period. But Britta Curl-Salemme scored on the power play — with Tereza Vanisova in the penalty box — with just 16 seconds remaining, sending a second-straight game to overtime.

Curl-Salemme scored the game-winner 16:24 into the extra frame for her third goal of the playoffs. Maddie Rooney was excellent, making 37 saves on 38 shots for her third win of the playoffs.

“We look at this game and probably say it was not our best,” said Rooney postgame. “But the fact that we were able to score with 15 seconds left and then get it done in overtime says a lot about the grit we have.”

With the win, the series is now tied 1-1 with Game 3 heading to Minnesota on Saturday.

Here are four takeaways from the game.

Another low-scoring affair

Through two games of the Finals, Minnesota and Ottawa have combined for just six goals, and have been tied – either 0-0 or 1-1 – for the majority of play. Both games have gone to overtime.

Despite some wild shot discrepancies, like in the second period of Game 2 (16-6 in favor of Ottawa), it’s been a really evenly matched series between two teams getting excellent goaltending behind strong defensive systems.

“They’re very well structured and they have great sticks,” said Ottawa defender Jocelyne Larocque on Wednesday. “Everything that we get, we definitely have to earn.”

Minnesota had similar thoughts on their Finals opponent.

“Ottawa is a great team,” Frost defender Lee Stecklein said. “(A) fast team, physical team. Relentless. We were prepared for that.”

For games without much offense, they’ve been fast, physical and as entertaining as 0-0 hockey games can be.

Rooney draws in

Rooney looked great in her first start since Game 3 of the semifinals on May 11, especially in the first two periods when Ottawa outshot the Frost 24-9.

At one point in the second period, Ottawa fired off 10 shots over five minutes — including three while on the penalty kill — which were all stopped by Rooney, who was able to keep the game tied.

The Frost had played Nicole Hensley over the last two games, after Rooney allowed five goals on 23 shots in Minnesota’s 7-5 win against Toronto. She won the series clincher against Toronto, and was fine in Game 1 of the Finals on Tuesday night, save for the sharp-angle overtime-winner by Emily Clark.

EMILY CLARK WINS IT IN OT FOR THE CHARGE ⚡

THEY LEAD THE WALTER CUP FINALS 1-0! pic.twitter.com/56xSHck3QP

— Jocks In Jills (@JocksInJills) May 21, 2025

It was probably fair to expect Rooney back in tonight — not completely due to the soft goal against, but just because this is what Minnesota does. They have a tandem, and head coach Ken Klee manages it well, riding the hot hand and switching it up when needed.

“It’s a great luxury for us to have two goalies that our team feels super confident in,” he said.

Minnesota’s top line shut out

In the first round against Toronto, Minnesota’s top line of Taylor Heise, Michela Cava and Kendall Coyne Schofield combined for six goals and 16 points. But they’ve been shut out through two games against Ottawa — almost the entire team has, thanks largely to the play of Philips.

It’s not all about the goalie, though. Through two periods on Thursday, neither Heise, Cava nor Coyne Schofield managed a shot on goal. In the third period, Klee changed the lines around, swapping Grace Zumwinkle and Cava. But Coyne Schofield still didn’t register a shot on goal until overtime. Heise — who has been told to shoot more by Klee — did not get one puck through on Philips.

The Frost aren’t a super top-heavy team, with a mix of star power and depth that has gotten them to a second-straight PWHL Finals. And in the first two games of this series, it was their depth players getting the job done, with all three Minnesota goals scored by Klára Hymlárová and Curl-Salemme.

But if Minnesota is going to win back-to-back Walter Cups, it’s probably going to need its top players to show up more meaningfully on the scoresheet.

Mrázová misses Game 2

The Charge had to play without key depth centre Kateřina Mrázová, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury. On Tuesday night, Mrázová collided knee-on-knee with Curl-Salemme and then took a massive hit along the boards by defender Maggie Flaherty.

After the game, head coach Carla MacLeod said she “didn’t like the hits on her,” and called the knee-on-knee collision a dangerous play. There were no penalties called on either play and no supplemental discipline.

Mrázová looking to be in discomfort after this collision. pic.twitter.com/PmA0IujWQP

— Jocks In Jills (@JocksInJills) May 21, 2025

It’s been a tough, injury-riddled season for Mrázová, who missed more games (16) than she played (14).

“She’s been weathering a lot this season, but she’s a tough gal,” MacLeod said Thursday afternoon before Game 2. “We’ll try to get her healthy and keep her going in the right direction.

When healthy, Mrázová has been a critical piece of Ottawa’s core. Last season, she was second in team scoring with 18 points in 23 games. This year, in just her third game back from long-term injured reserve, Mrázová scored the overtime winner against Toronto to send the Charge to the playoffs — the team needed a win of any kind on the final day of the season to clinch.

Through the playoffs, Mrázová has centered the third line between Rebecca Leslie and Anna Meixner, a trio that has contributed crucial secondary scoring and reliable play in all three zones.

Taylor House drew into the lineup on Thursday night, her first game of the PWHL Finals. Before Game 2, House had played just over one minute in the playoffs over two appearances in the semifinals. She logged over 10 minutes on Thursday night and looked just fine beside Leslie and Meixner.

“We have a lot of confidence in every player,” Leslie said before the game. “So no matter the lines and who we’re playing with, I think we’re going to be able to work really well together.”

(Photo of Rebecca Leslie and Britta Curl-Salemme battling for the puck: Troy Parla / Getty Images)