ST. PAUL, Minn. — Over four hours into Game 3 of the PWHL Finals, a Minnesota Frost staff member was busy gathering mustard.

Just two weeks ago, while playing the longest game in PWHL history, the Ottawa Charge went viral for eating mustard as a way to prevent cramping through four overtime periods.

As Saturday night’s game entered a third overtime period, Shannon MacAulay, Minnesota’s strength and conditioning coach, wanted to be ready for a fourth. But before any players could be offered the condiment, rookie forward Katy Knoll scored the overtime winner midway through the sixth period of play to beat Ottawa 2-1. With the win and a 35-save night, Frost goaltender Maddie Rooney remains undefeated in the playoffs.

THE MINNESOTA FROST TAKE GAME 3 IN TRIPLE OVERTIME 🤯

KATY KNOLL IS THE HERO! pic.twitter.com/kwnJr8UEWe

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 25, 2025

The game was the third-longest in PWHL history, spanning just under 110 minutes. The puck dropped at 4:16 p.m. CT and went on for nearly 4.5 hours, finally coming to an end at 8:42.

“Honestly, I feel pretty good. That could just be the adrenaline,” Knoll said with a laugh after the game. “Obviously it’s really important that we take care of our bodies. It (was) basically two full games, so we will feel it tomorrow. But that doesn’t matter, come tomorrow and come (Game 4 on) Monday.”

Between periods, Frost players ate apple sauce and goldfish crackers. There was pizza and smoothies after the game. Would the players have taken the mustard before a fourth-overtime period?

For Knoll and Rooney, the answer was categorically no.

The defending Walter Cup champions are now one win away from winning back-to-back league titles. And they’ll get a chance to do it on home ice — with the trophy in the building — at the Xcel Energy Center on Monday at 4 p.m. (CT).

“The biggest game of the year for us is still coming up,” said Minnesota head coach Ken Klee.

Here are five takeaways from Game 3.

Lee Stecklein stays hot

Minnesota defender Lee Stecklein tied the score 1-1 less than three minutes into the second period on a sneaky point shot with a double-stack screen taking away Philips’ eyes. (Exactly what Minnesota needs to do to beat the goaltender of the year finalist more consistently.)

Alllllll the way from the blue line 😮‍💨

🔁 Fourth of the postseason for Lee Stecklein! pic.twitter.com/0vfIbTtSiZ

— x – Minnesota Frost (@PWHL_Minnesota) May 24, 2025

Stecklein, 31, is an irreplaceable shutdown rearguard — with a long reach and expert gap control — who has been on an offensive hot streak over the last several weeks.

She scored three goals in Minnesota’s last two must-win games and now leads the playoffs with four goals and eight points.

“I see it firsthand in practice every day, so I’m not surprised,” said Rooney. “She has a great shot now and now everyone’s getting to see it.”

Minnesota’s offensive contributions from the blue line have been one of the team’s strong suits all season, with the top four scoring defenders in the playoffs between Stecklein, Sophie Jaques (7), Mellissa Channell-Watkins (5) and Claire Thompson (5) combining for 25 points.

In a series where offense has been hard to come by — only nine goals have been scored between Ottawa and Minnesota — having a top-four that can pitch is a luxury not every team has.

Clark keeps buzzing

Emily Clark had, maybe, the best game I’d ever seen her play in the PWHL on Tuesday night. She killed penalties and made big play after big play. Clark didn’t score on her game-high six shots on Thursday night, but she led the way for Ottawa in the 2-1 overtime loss.

On Saturday night, however, she didn’t waste much time getting on the scoresheet, scoring the opening goal at 11:34 on Ottawa’s first shot of the game. It was the first goal scored in the opening period and a bit of an odd one, with the puck bouncing around at the net front to get past Rooney.

EMILY CLARK STARTS THE SCORING IN GAME THREE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UTQRDWeq8r

— Jocks In Jills (@JocksInJills) May 24, 2025

One of Ottawa’s initial three signings before the league’s inaugural season, Clark has elevated her game in her first playoff appearance with a team-leading three goals and five points. She scored the overtime winner in Game 1 of the finals and had the series-clincher against Montreal in the semifinals.

“She’s buzzing,” said Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod after Game 2. “Our group is buzzing, and she’s a good engine within the group to kind of set the bar. You can see she’s passionate about playing in the Walter Cup final.”

Goalie highlights

Philips has made over 200 saves in the postseason so far. None have looked cooler than her first-period poke check to stop Denisa Křížová from even getting a shot off on a two-on-one.

Gwyneth Philips with the poke check to keep Game 2 of the Finals 0-0😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/ynYdlz4uU5

— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) May 24, 2025

A third-round pick at the 2024 draft, Philips started the season as the backup to Emerance Maschmeyer. She became the starter in March when Maschmeyer was put on long-term injured reserve and won five of eight starts to help lead Ottawa to the playoffs. Now that she’s here, Philips has been one of the postseason’s brightest stars with a league-leading 1.17 goals against average and .953 save percentage.

Ottawa ultimately lost the game, but that it was so close — and went on for so long — was in large part due to Philips. The Frost, playing on home ice for the first time in the championship series, controlled the run of play for most of the night. Ottawa registered only two shots through the opening 20 minutes and nine through 40. Philips, meanwhile, faced 20 shots in the first two periods.

Philips made another 19 saves in the first two overtime periods, including back-to-back desperation stops to keep her team alive.

WHILE WE WAIT…HOW ABOUT SOME NOISE FOR GWYNETH FREAKING PHILIPS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mi4s2kiWRn

— x – Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) May 25, 2025

By the end of the game, Philips made 45 saves on 47 shots.

Zumwinkle adds a spark

The PWHL Finals have been a much different series than the semis for Minnesota. Against Toronto, the Frost scored seven goals in just one game. Through three games against Ottawa, they’ve only scored five combined.

A lot of that has to do with Philips, sure. But Minnesota’s top line also barely got pucks on net in Game 2, which prompted a bit of a shakeup by Minnesota head coach Ken Klee, adding Grace Zumwinkle beside Taylor Heise and Kendall Coyne Schofield, and moving Michela Cava to the second line.

“Just trying to mix it up every now and then,” Klee said about the change. “Just to keep things fresh.”

The new-look trio didn’t ultimately beat Philips, but Zumwinkle added a spark to the top of the lineup, putting six shots on net. At the end of regulation, they combined for exactly half of Minnesota’s 24 shots.

“I thought they were pretty good, they had some good looks,” Klee added. “Obviously I’d like there to be more than two goals for us, but we’re certainly happy with the win.”

The special teams battle

Ottawa still hasn’t managed to score on the power play in the finals, and had four chances to do just that on Saturday night, including one in triple overtime. It’s not just that Ottawa couldn’t score on the advantage. The team was also outshot on two of its chances by the Minnesota penalty kill, which ranked sixth in the regular season, but has done well in the Finals.

“We’re getting into shooting lanes, trying to keep them to the outside as best as possible,” said Klee. “Obviously having Maddie in there to make saves — and (Nicole Hensley) in the first game too — when your goaltender is your best penalty killer, it’s usually pretty good.”

The Charge entered the playoffs with the worst power play in the league (14.9 percent), so it shouldn’t be that surprising that it’s been flat in the playoffs, too. It’s been a work in progress for most of the year, MacLeod said, as the team has tried to find the right combinations to get the units to click.

Ottawa’s penalty kill, however, has been very strong in the playoffs, which has kept the special teams battle in the finals (just 1-0 for Minnesota with Britta Curl-Salemme’s late power-play goal in Game 2) more even than it could be.

(Photo: Adam Bettcher / Getty Images)