Minnesota Frost win 2nd straight Walter Cup championship
The Minnesota Frost have existed for two years, and they already have their second PWHL championship.
Mound, Minnesota, native Liz Schepers scored the game-winning goal in overtime Monday night to secure a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Charge and seal the Walter Cup victory at home.
Each of the four games in the best-of-five series went into overtime — including a triple overtime epic in Game 3 — and ended with a 2-1 score.
Kelly Pannek opened the scoring for the Frost in Game 4 with a goal in the second period. The Charge’s Tereza Vanišová struck back midway through the third to even the score.
Schepers’ goal came at the 12-minute mark, bouncing a low shot off the pad of Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips before corraling the rebound and burying the puck in the net.
The crowd at Xcel Energy Center roared in excitement as a sea of purple sweaters swarmed Schepers on the ice.
“Oh, it was crazy. It was loud, and your ears are definitely feeling it after the game,” Frost fan Thomas Brant said after the game.
Last year, Minnesota had a chance to clinch the Walter Cup at home but lost a heartbreaker in double overtime. They went on to win the next game in Boston.
For the fans at the X, seeing the Frost hang on to defend their title on home ice made this championship that much sweeter.
“I just think that was the coolest thing ever,” Frost fan MK Mackey said. “I didn’t think I would see something like that with my eyes. To see a two-time Walter Championship Cup win, and, of course, it was going to be the women who win for Minnesota.”
One thing’s for sure: The so-called Minnesota sports curse does not apply to women’s teams.
“We got a championship team,” Frost fan Tom Dunn said. “The women are always crushing it for us, and we appreciate that. They’re amazing athletes and a fun game to watch.”
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