Frost ice out Victoire with OT win in Game 1
The two-time defending Walter Cup champions wasted no time setting the tone.
The Minnesota Frost defeated the Montreal Victoire with a 5-4 overtime win in Game 1 of their semifinal series on Saturday, thanks to an OT goal from Jincy Roese and a two-point night from Taylor Heise.
Fans were treated to a barnburner in the series opener, with Laura Stacey recording the PWHL’s first-ever playoff hat trick and both teams combining for five goals in a span of less than eight minutes between the end of the second period and the start of the third.
Maddie Rooney stopped 21 of 25 shots to get the win, while Ann-Renee Desbiens allowed five goals on 29 shots in the loss. The Victoire netminder allowed more than two goals just once in 25 regular-season games in 2025-26.
Frost forward Katy Knoll opened the scoring midway through the first period, taking a cross-ice pass from Klara Hymlarova and one-timing a chip over Desbiens to make it 1-0.
Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield extended the lead after Heise fed her a pass out front, making it 2-0 before the end of the first period.
The Victoire came out with a bang for the second period, as Shiann Darkangelo banged in a rebound off a point shot less than three minutes into the frame to cut the deficit to one. Stacey tied it up towards the end of the second off a wraparound.
Minnesota took the lead again less than a minute later as Grace Zumwinkle sniped a gloveside wrister past Desbiens, giving the Frost a 3-2 lead.
But with just 48 seconds left in the second period, Minnesota’s Britta Curl delivered an illegal check to the head on Montreal’s Kaitlin Willoughby and was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
Both teams combined for three goals in less than two minutes to start the third period, including Stacey’s second and third of the game, giving her the first playoff hat trick in PWHL history.
The game was tied at four at the end of regulation, sending the two teams to sudden-death overtime. Less than five minutes in, Roese fired a shot with eyes from the point that Desbiens only got a piece of, landing behind her into the net and giving Minnesota a 5-4 overtime win and a 1-0 series lead.
The Victoire will host the Fleet for Game 2 this Tuesday at Place Bell in Laval. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT.
Check out PWHL playoff hub here
Read Tyler Kuehl’s recap of Game 1 between the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge