Buzzing after the Frost’s triple-overtime win Saturday night that gave Minnesota a 2-1 series lead in their best-of-five finals series against Ottawa, Taylor Heise needed to sleep.
It came remarkably fast and was remarkably sound.
“I slept very peacefully last night,” the Frost forward said.
Heise, who has a goal and six assists in two playoff series, said she and linemate, and former Gophers teammate Grace Zumwinkle usually have a non-alcoholic cocktail before games. But on Saturday, Heise had hers when she got home.
“I had a little Sprite and grenadine and it was great, put me right to sleep,” Heise said Sunday from Xcel Energy Center, where the team had an optional skate and received treatment for Monday’s potentially series-ending Game 4.
The Frost won the PWHL’s inaugural Walter Cup last season and are 3-0 in playoff series so far. But Minnesota has never clinched a playoff series at home. Winning it all again in front of Frost fans, Heise said, would be “a life-changing experience.”
That will be on the table in Monday’s 4 p.m. puck drop at the X.
“I don’t want to jinx it, by any means, (but) it would be life-altering,” said Heise, who hails from Lake City, Minn., near Red Wing. “Even some of us not from Minnesota know how important that would be.”
The recipe for that won’t be as simple as grenadine and Sprite. It would be impossible for this series to be closer at this point; all three games have ended in overtime with a 2-1 score.
The only time the Stanley Cup Final has had each of its first three games go to overtime was in 1951, when all five games between Montreal and Toronto went to OT.
The last time it happened in an NHL postseason was 2008, when Minnesota and Colorado went to overtime in the first three games of their Western Conference quarterfinal series, each game decided 3-2. The Wild led 2-1 before losing the next three games.
Forward Katy Knoll won Saturday’s game when she collected a shot that hit her in the torso and backhanded it to the near corner before Charge goalie Gwyneth Phillips — Knoll’s former teammate at Northeastern — could slide into position.
Asked Sunday if she had a bruise where the puck hit her, Knoll said, “Thankfully, my equipment did its job. It didn’t hurt, really.”
Britta Curl-Salemme scored both goals in the Frost’s 2-1 win on Thursday.
“Everyone on the two great teams in the finals wants it so bad, and I think that’s a (reason for) the low scoring,” said Ottawa forward Emily Clark, who scored the overtime winner in Game 1. “We’re seeing great goalies, great teams with depth on both sides. It’s fun hockey. We’re having a blast. So we’re excited that there is another game ahead of us.”
The recipe for winning this series will be more complicated than grenadine and Sprite, but the Frost have the advantage of having already done it.
“Lots of hard work, lots of dedication to the things we do well,” Heise said. “But also playing simple and fast. When we do that, we’re very successful. We’ll get our rest and come out with even more energy than we did (Saturday).”
PWHL FINALS
Who: Frost lead Ottawa in best-of-five series, 2-1
What: Game 4
When: 4 p.m. Monday
Where: Xcel Energy Center
TV/Radio: Fan Duel Sports Network North
Minnesota Frost center Taylor Heise models the team’s new home uniforms, unveiled Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.
Minnesota Frost wing Grace Zumwinkle models the team’s new uniforms, unveiled Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Courtesy of PWHL)
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