The Minnesota Frost opened their best-of-five semifinal with a dramatic 5-4 overtime victory over the Montreal Victoire on Saturday, delivering a thriller that showcased the best of PWHL playoff hockey.
Montreal's Laura Stacey made history with the first hat trick in PWHL postseason play, but it was Frost defender Jincy Roese who stole the spotlight, scoring 4:30 into overtime to seal the win. The Frost, two-time defending champions, showed their championship mettle by solving the league's stingiest goaltender, Ann-Renée Desbiens, who entered the game with a remarkable 1.11 goals-against average and .955 save percentage.
The game wasn't without controversy. Minnesota's Britta Curl-Salemme, a 26-year-old forward who finished third in the league with 29 regular-season points, was assessed a five-minute major penalty and ejected for misconduct with just 47 seconds left in the second period. The incident, which also saw Montreal's Catherine Dubois receive two minutes for roughing, could lead to a suspension for Game 2.
Roese, who joined the Frost in a midseason trade from the New York Sirens, made an immediate impact after only six games with her new team. Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle set up the game-winner, with Zumwinkle also finding the back of the net earlier in the contest.
The Frost jumped out to an early lead when Katy Knoll scored 8:35 into the first period, her third career postseason goal following a seven-goal regular season. Kendall Coyne Schofield then extended the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal with 3:44 left in the period, her fourth postseason tally. The goal was particularly impressive given Montreal had killed off 34 of 35 power plays at home this season.
Montreal responded quickly in the second period, as Shiann Darkangelo cut the deficit to 2-1 just 2:46 into the frame. Stacey then tied the game with 2:11 remaining, but the celebration was short-lived—Zumwinkle capitalized on a turnover just 46 seconds later to send the Frost into the third period with a 3-2 lead.
Stacey struck again early in the third, this time on a three-minute power play with 1:10 remaining, tying the game at 3-3. But Minnesota answered just 50 seconds later with a shorthanded goal, showing their resilience and depth. The back-and-forth affair eventually needed overtime to decide a winner, where Roese emerged as the hero for the Frost.