The Minnesota Frost held their exit day interviews on Thursday, May 14, after losing their semi-final series to the Montréal Victoire in five games. Tuesday’s loss to the Victoire marked the first time the Frost ended a season without a Walter Cup title.
A bitter Game Five loss
One thing that was evident on exit day was that the Minnesota Frost liked a lot about how they played against the Montréal Victoire, especially in the fifth and final game.
“Honestly, Game 5 [was] like our best game of the series,” head coach Ken Klee told reporters on Thursday. I thought we played really well; we took it to them. We just couldn’t find a way to beat [Ann-Renée Desbiens]. She had a couple of unbelievable acrobatic saves. Usually, it comes down to a play here or play there, scoring the goal here, a timely goal. Whether it be a power play goal, like they got or that we didn’t. It was just super tight. I loved the way we competed; we were right there. It was there for us.”
Desbiens was brilliant in the Victoire net throughout the series. In Game 5, two particular opportunities come to mind that swung momentum towards Montréal. The first was a deflected Mae Batherson shot that Desbiens reached back to clear off the line in the first period.
The Frost outshot the Victoire 13-5 in the first period. Desbiens’ brilliance was a big reason the score was 0-0 after one period. The second big chance came on a 2-1 early in the second period. Desbiens slid across to rob Élizabeth Giguère with the glove.
Without both of those saves, Tuesday’s Game Five result may have looked much different.
Maddie Rooney’s Brilliance
Not to be outdone, Maddie Rooney was also excellent in the Frost net throughout the series. Heading into the playoffs, goaltending appeared to be a spot where the Victoire had an advantage. However, once again, Rooney elevated her game in the playoffs.
Rooney’s best game was Game 2, when she made 51 saves in a triple overtime loss.
“I mean, you look at that three-overtime game, and I think aside from not ending up in the win column, you know, for me, gosh, that kid [Rooney] deserved that game so badly, and we couldn’t get it done for her,” captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said. “It was so hard to lose [that game], [Rooney] deserved it. We couldn’t find a way to get that, and you know she deserved that win so much. She kept us in that game.”
After splitting time with Nicole Hensley all season, Rooney played all five games in the series, including a back-to-back in Game 3 and Game 4.
“I just went back to college, you know, doing that in college, so that was fine,” Rooney said with a laugh about the back-to-back games. On Thursday, Rooney said she was proud of how she played in the series.
“I thought I gave the team a good chance to win. Obviously, I’m going to dwell on some of those goals, and I want some of those goals back, but I was overall proud of how I played. I went into each game trying to just put my best foot forward … losing the triple overtime game by one goal obviously hurt after 51 saves, but just having a new perspective each game and doing my best to give the team the best chance to win,” Rooney said.
An unfamiliar feeling
For the back-to-back Walter Cup champions, having exit day interviews with the media at TRIA Rink instead of a championship parade was a new experience. Bowing out in the semi-finals is a feeling Frost players are hoping to use as fuel for next season.
“Obviously, when you lose, it’s harder on you, and I think sometimes it can propel you forward better than a win,” Taylor Heise told reporters on Thursday. “I think it’s going to propel everyone. Feeling a loss like this is something that you don’t just feel for a day, you don’t feel it for a week, you feel it for a very long time. I think that’s something we are going to think about this summer when we are all training and getting ready to play again next year.”
The Frost proved this season that they belonged among the league’s best. They set a franchise record for points in a season and secured their playoff spot with five games to go in the regular season. However, with the spectre of expansion looming, they know this team is going to look a lot different in the 2026-2027 campaign.
“That’s all out of our control,” Kendall Coyne Schofield said of the impending expansion shakeup. “I know that this was a special group and one that we [all] enjoyed coming to work together every day to be a part of and to chase that goal. We did everything that we could, but obviously we fell short, but I think there’s a lot that we are very proud of in that room.”
Headed towards uncertainty
With the addition of three, and possibly one more, new teams to the PWHL for the 2026-2027 season, teams like the Frost are set to lose several key players. The Frost have 16 players on expiring deals. Five of those 16 players were Olympians. Losing players to expansion isn’t new for the Frost. However, Frost general manager Melissa Caruso noted that the player selection process this time around is much different compared to last season.
“I think it’s a pretty different process this year overall,” Caruso said. “We’re in a different spot relative to the number of players we have under contract and on expiring contracts. We have just been meeting all morning discussing it. A lot is going to change again.”
The Frost had a lot of success this season, despite the roster shakeup from last offseason’s expansion draft. Their ability to adapt will be tested again next season.
“Obviously, [I] want to give credit to Ken and the coaching staff for, you know, the roster looking a lot different this year, and, you know, still getting to playoff position. But, overall, things are gonna change. It’s great for the league, it’s great for the game. That’s our job: to grow the game. We’re just going to have to deal with whatever comes down the pipeline in the next couple of weeks,” Caruso said.
“The fact is we’re going to lose some really good players,” Klee said. “With the league growing and having as much success as we do, when you look at the scoring leaders in the league, if I’m new teams coming in, I would be looking heavily at our players as well.”