2 days Ago
The injury bug has hit the Frost early in the second PWHL season. Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center, another kind of bug left the defending champions even more shorthanded. Center Taylor Heise and goaltender Maddie Rooney were not available due to illness as the Frost couldn’t hold a 3-1 third-period but beat the Boston Fleet 4-3 in overtime.
Britta Curl-Salemme scored the game winner at 4:48 of the extra period, scoring on a breakaway after Frost defender Claire Thompson made a sprawling play to break up a two on one at the other end of the ice. The Frost announced before the game that goaltender Lucy Morgan has been elevated from the reserve list and has been signed to a 10-day contract. The former Gophers standout served as Nicole Hensley’s backup.
The Frost already are playing without defender Sophie Jacques and forward Dominique Petrie due to injury. Forward Grace Zumwinkle did not return to the Frost bench after the first period. There was no immediate word on the reason for her absence.
Heise has been playing with a brace on her right knee after sustaining an injury while practicing with Team USA prior to the start of the PWHL season. While it has affected her play, until Thursday she had not missed any games. With the Frost playing again on Saturday afternoon the quick turnaround could work against them in terms of getting some healthy players back in the lineup.
The Fleet entered the game as the lowest-scoring team in the league, with 12 goals in six games. Neither team produced much offense in the scoreless first period. The Fleet outshot the Frost, 8-6.
The Frost broke the scoreless tie with a pair of goals 53 seconds apart midway through the second period. Claire Butorac slid a rebound past Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel at 9:06 after a strong rush to the net by Mellissa Channell-Watkins. Brooke Bryant made it 2-0 when she beat Frankel on a turnaround shot from the slot.
Boston captain Hilary Knight cut the Frost’s lead inhale at 7:05 of the third period, beating Hensley on a rebound. The Frost went on a power play at 9:27 and needed only eight seconds to cash in when Brooke McQuigge scored on a rebound. The Fleet got a power-play of their own at 16:43 to make it a 3-2 game when Susanna Tapani scored on a backhander in the slot.
Forty-three seconds later, Tapani came right back to score on a wrist shot from the leafing circle to tie the game..
