Frost focus on Walter Cup three-peat, not four-game losing skid

VANCOUVER – A rocky end to the regular season hasn’t diminished the confidence the Minnesota Frost will take into the Professional Women’s Hockey League playoffs.

The Frost battled back from a 3-1 deficit with two third-period goals, but lost 4-3 in overtime to the expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes Saturday night in the final regular-season game for both squads.

The two-time defending Walter Cup champions lost their final four games, but forward Kendall Coyne Schofield prefers to look ahead, not back.

“The mindset is celebrating the wins of the regular season, the successes we’ve had,” said the Frost captain who earned her 12th goal and 23rd point of the season against Vancouver. “Learning from the games we lost and the moments we can get better from.

“Now it’s turning the page. The new season begins. That’s the playoffs and that’s the best hockey there is.”

Head coach Ken Klee said while the journey has been different, the Frost are still following the course they set for themselves at the start of the season.

“At the start of the year our sole focus was getting into the playoffs,” he said. “We’ve accomplished that.”

Minnesota has 11 players remaining from last year’s championship team and six — Kelly Pannek, Taylor Heise, Coyne Schofield, Lee Stecklein, Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney — looking to win their third title.

Pannek led the league with 16 goals and 33 points. Heise was second with 30 points (13 goals and 17 assists) while Britta Curl-Salemme was the PWHL assists leader with 18 and was third overall with 29 points.

Klee is impressed by the attitude his players take into every game.

“I know at the end of the day, whether it’s Kelly or Kendall or Britta, they’re not really worried about how much they’re scoring,” he said. “They’re worried about us winning another Walter Cup, so that’s their focus.”

Even though the Frost has a solid core they still lost several key players to expansion. The defensive pair of Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques now play in Vancouver.

In fact it was Jaques who scored the overtime winner for the Goldeneyes.

“Every year is different,” said Klee. “This group had to come together, just like every team. When you put a new team together, everyone has a little bit different role. For us it’s just they all know that they have a role.

“They are all important. Whether you’re playing 10 minutes or you’re playing 20 minutes, you have a job you do. We have an expectation for them, and they have an expectation of themselves, which is great.”

Down 3-1 after two periods, Pannek and Klara Hymlarova scored goals to force the overtime against Vancouver.

Jenn Gardiner had a goal and two assists for Vancouver. Sarah Nurse and Miller also scored for Vancouver who won their fourth consecutive game.

The Goldeneyes finish with 37 points (9-3-4-14) and in seventh place in their first season in the eight-team league.

The Frost finish in third place with 50 points (13-354-9).

Minnesota finished the regular season in fourth place both last year and in 2024.

Last season the Frost defeated Montreal in the best-of-five semifinal before beating Ottawa in the final.

In the 2024 playoffs Minnesota downed Toronto in the semifinals and Boston in the final.

Klee said the game against Vancouver was a good primer for the playoffs.

“It was an exciting game,” he said. “I was proud of our group for battling back.”

Klee also was happy the team emerged without any major injuries.

“We want to be feeling good,” he said. “We want to be clicking. We wanted the players to feel good. We’re in the playoffs. That’s our biggest thing.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2026.