ST. PAUL, MN – Katy Knoll played hero in triple overtime, lifting the Minnesota Frost to a 2–1 win over the Ottawa Charge on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. The victory gives the Frost a 2–1 series lead heading into Game 4 –– which is set for Monday––and the chance to win their second-straight Walter Cup.
Both goaltenders were stellar, with Maddie Rooney making 35 saves for Minnesota, while Gwyneth Philips turned aside 45 shots for Ottawa. Emily Clark opened the scoring for the Charge halfway through the first period after tapping a bouncing puck in on the backdoor. At 2:58 in the second frame, Frost defender Lee Stecklein tied the game at one with a shot from the blue line. The score remained tied through the end of regulation and into the third overtime period when, at 9:57, Knoll capitalized on a high slot rebound with a quick backhand shot to secure the win for the home team.
Game Four of the best-of-five PWHL Finals, presented by Scotiabank, is set to take place on Monday at 5 p.m. ET at Xcel Energy Center.
QUOTES
Minnesota goaltender Maddie Rooney on the play of the defense in front of her: “I thought everyone was rolling today and it was just a great team win, and the defense was great in front of me. I thought [the defense] kept their Grade A chances to a minimum even though it took 6 six periods. Congrats to Katy (Knoll), I’m so happy she could get that goal.”
Minnesota’s Katy Knoll on the chemistry of her line: “It’s been awesome playing with Liz (Schepers) and Hymla (Klárá Hymlárová) lately and I think we’ve really gelled well from the end of the season and (in the) playoffs––and we try to just really support each other. It’s a fast-paced game out there and the more that we support each other the more success we’re going to have. We know that we have to be gritty and grind in order to get those goals and get those opportunities. I thought all night long we were knocking at the door, and it was just a matter of time before one of us put one in.”
Ottawa Head Coach Carla MacLeod on a third straight game requiring overtime in the Finals: “It tells you that there are two great teams competing hard for every opportunity. And of course, we’re going to keep pushing here. How we are playing and the heart we are playing with is so impressive. As a coach, you measure the effort level, and I just think our team is just giving everything they’ve got and it’s making for a really fun series. So obviously, we’ve got a challenge in game four, but that reality is that we have that game four.”
Charge lone goal scorer Emily Clark on the low scoring series: “Everyone on the two great teams in the Finals wants it so bad and I think that’s a testament to the low scoring. 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.”
NOTABLES
Maddie Rooney records 30+ saves in back-to-back games for the first time in her PWHL career. The goaltender is now a perfect 4-0 this postseason.
Katy Knoll scored her second goal of the playoffs — her first career PWHL game-winner — and now has four points (2G, 2A) in seven playoff games. She has doubled her regular season output of two points (1G, 1A) in 21 games.
Lee Stecklein scored her fourth goal of the playoffs, becoming the first defender in PWHL history to reach that mark in a single postseason. With eight points, she is now tied for the most points in a single postseason — a record previously set by Taylor Heise and Michela Cava in 2024 — and currently leads all players in 2025 playoff scoring.
Gwyneth Philips has posted six games with 30+ saves this season, including three in the playoffs — the second-most in PWHL postseason history behind Boston’s Aerin Frankel (6). Two of those performances have featured 40+ saves, including tonight.
Emily Clark scored her third goal of the postseason — and second of the Finals — tying her for second-most among all players. It also stood as the first first-period goal of the series and the fifth time in PWHL playoff history that a team has scored on its first shot of the game — three of those instances have occurred this season.
Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques each recorded their fifth assists of the 2025 playoffs and became the first defenders in PWHL playoff history to hit the mark in a single postseason. Jaques now has seven points in six playoff games, moving her into a tie for second in playoff scoring alongside Heise.
Klára Hymlárová earned her third assist of the playoffs and second point of the Finals (1G, 1A). She now has four points through seven playoff games — doubling her regular season total of two points in 27 games.
Gabbie Hughes tallied her third helper of the playoffs and first point of the series.
Ashton Bell tallied her first PWHL playoff helper, ending a five-game pointless streak.
Five players logged 40+ minutes of ice time in the triple-overtime contest: Stecklein (44:55), Jaques (43:23), Thompson (41:50), Bell (41:00), and Jocelyne Larocque (40:53). Stecklein’s total set a new Minnesota record, surpassing her previous mark of 41:48, set on May 26, 2024.
Each of the first three games in the series has been decided by a 2–1 score in overtime. This marked Minnesota’s fourth consecutive overtime game — just one shy of the PWHL record of five, set by New York between Jan. 28 and Feb. 23, 2024.
Minnesota is 6–1 all-time at home in the postseason and remains perfect in Game 3 appearances, improving to 4–0.
All seven of Ottawa’s playoff games this season have been decided by exactly one goal. It is the longest streak of one-goal games within a single playoffs by a PWHL team all-time. In this year’s regular season, no team had a streak longer than four.
Jaques recorded a playoff career-high seven shots on goal and now leads all players in PWHL postseason history with 51, ahead of Kendall Coyne Schofield (47), who had three in the game. This was Jaques’ 13th career playoff game with 3+ shots, the only player with double digits in that category.
Grace Zumwinkle recorded a season-high six shots on goal — her most in any game this year, including both regular season and playoffs.
Larocque registered four shots on goal for the second consecutive game. Prior to Game 2, she had not recorded a single game with 4+ shots on goal all season—regular season or playoffs.
Ottawa recorded just two shots on goal in the first period — the fewest in a single period during the 2025 playoffs and tied for the fewest in a regulation period in PWHL playoff history.
Jincy Roese returned from LTIR to play her first game of the playoffs but left after the first period with an upper body injury. She played 4:43 minutes in her return to action.
Charge forward Kateřina Mrázová missed her second straight game with an upper-body injury. Frost rookie Dominique Petrie missed today’s game with an upper-body injury.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Ottawa 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 1
Minnesota 0 1 0 0 0 1 – 2
1st Period-1, Ottawa, Clark 3 (Hughes, Bell), 11:38. Penalties-Jenner Ott (holding opp. stick), 14:49.
2nd Period-2, Minnesota, Stecklein 4 (Thompson), 2:58. Penalties-Zumwinkle Min (roughing), 8:06.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Stecklein Min (holding), 3:56; Larocque Ott (roughing), 6:32; Schepers Min (cross checking), 9:17.
1st OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
2nd OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Leslie Ott (hooking), 8:37.
3rd OT Period-3, Minnesota, Knoll 2 (Hymlárová, Jaques), 9:57. Penalties-Thompson Min (cross checking), 6:51.
Shots on Goal-Ottawa 2-7-6-5-11-5-36. Minnesota 10-10-4-8-11-4-47.
Power Play Opportunities-Ottawa 0 / 4; Minnesota 0 / 3.
Goalies-Ottawa, Philips (47 shots-45 saves). Minnesota, Rooney (36 shots-35 saves).
A-8,098
THREE STARS
1. Katy Knoll (GWG)
2. Maddie Rooney (35 Saves)
3. Gwyneth Philips (45 Saves)
SERIES
Minnesota leads Ottawa 2-1
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Game 4: Monday, May 26 at 5 p.m. ET (Xcel Energy Center)
