Minnesota Frost keeps the Walter Cup, wins 2-1 over Ottawa Charge
Liz Schepers' OT goal gives Frost their second straight championship
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The Walter Cup will stay in Minnesota after the Professional Women’s Hockey League team the Frost won the championship for the second year in a row.
The Frost defeated the Ottawa Charge Monday night, winning Game 4 at home in St. Paul in the best-of-five PWHL Finals and becoming two-time champions in the league’s second year.
Frost forward Kelly Pannek scored the first goal for the Frost in the second period to take the lead for Minnesota.
Ottawa’s Tereza Vanišová responded in the third period to tie up the score for the Charge, sending the match into overtime.
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Liz Schepers scored the overtime goal to secure the championship. Katy Knoll went along the wall and fed Schepers in front of the net. Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips parried the first shot but Schepers poked home the rebound to clinch back-to-back Walter Cup titles for the Frost.
It was on the same date last year, May 26, when the Walter Cup was at the X for the first time. In Game 4 of the Finals in 2024, Minnesota had its first chance to win the inaugural title. Last year, the Frost thought they won it at home during that game, but the goal was disputed. The team later lost in double-overtime to Boston.
“We got a taste of it a little bit last year, and we really came into this game with, you know, feeling like there was no tomorrow, like we wanted to get this done here and do it the right way,” Scehpers said.
The Frost ended up winning Game 5 on the road in 2024, but getting to hoist the cup at home Monday night was a real treat for players, their loved ones and fans.
“It's just so fun having your friends and family on the ice and celebrate with you. I mean, that's kind of the team behind the team, right? So we don't get here without the people that are behind us, that are on the ice with us, celebrating now,” Pannek said. “So it just makes it really special. And I always think it's fun being able to be on the road too, and it's just your team. So now that we've had both experiences, it's pretty nice.”
Each game in the best-of-five series went to at least one overtime and finished 2-1, with Game 3 going to triple overtime, the longest game in PWHL Finals history. The teams played 81 minutes, eight seconds of extra time in the series. The fourth game came exactly a year after Minnesota fell to Boston 1-0 in a Game 4 double overtime before going on the road to win the inaugural Walter Cup.
Goaltender Maddie Rooney had 33 saves for Minnesota.
Midway through the second period Claire Thompson pinched in from the left point and fed Pannek alone on the right side of the net. Pannek beat Philips high for her second playoff goal.
The goal marked the first time in the finals the Charge trailed in regulation.
The Charge trailed until the middle of the third period when Vanišová was left alone in front of the net and Danielle Serdachny fed her from below the end line.
It was the first point of the postseason for Vanišová, who led Ottawa with 15 goals.
Philips had 36 saves. The rookie had 148 saves in overtime in the postseason.
Ottawa’s Aneta Tejralová, on a rush, hit the left post with a shot about five minutes into overtime and the Frost’s Taylor Heise hit the right post about four minutes later.
MPR News digital editor Anna Haecherl contributed to this story.
