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Minnesota Frost Starting Lineup (Photo by /PWHL)

3 Takeaways From the Frost’s Loss to the Sirens

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Mariah E. Stark | Last updated Apr 28, 2025 10:29 AM ET

The Minnesota Frost played host to the New York Sirens for their final home game of the regular season on Sunday afternoon, April 27. The game was initially scheduled for Saturday but was moved because the Minnesota Wild were hosting an NHL playoff game. The Frost were without Dominique Petrie, who was out due to an upper-body injury, but the rest of the roster was intact. Maddie Rooney was back in the net, and she put up a great effort.

The Sirens got the first goal of the game, and the Frost had to dig deep to find a way back. They had the chances but couldn’t solve Sirens’ goaltender Corinne Schroeder and fell 2-0. We’ll look at what went wrong, starting with the lack of rebounds.

Frost Needed Rebounds

The Frost had plenty of shots on goal throughout the game, but they struggled to be in the right place for the rebounds. Schroeder gave up quite a few chances, but the Frost forwards weren’t there to capitalize. They had a lot of pretty setups in terms of passing plays, but the Sirens were ready to block, or their goaltender stepped up to make the save.

If the Frost wants to score, they have to be willing to get dirty at times and get right in the slot, take away the sight of the goaltender, and knock in a rebound. If they had their forwards ready at the net, they could’ve had a few goals with how many rebounds squirted loose throughout the game. Hopefully, they can look back at the film and see that area and fix it before their next game.

“I mean we lost, I don’t know I think it’s just it is what it is and we got to come out and play two hard games whether or not you make playoffs or not this is a really big two games for us whether that be, we want to win obviously, if we win both and we still don’t make it, that potentially puts you up for a first round pick. I don’t know exactly where that lands with the expansion and things like that, but every game is important, and I think we’re going to continue to take it one game at a time, put pucks in net, and doing everything we did today. I don’t know how many pucks on net we had, but something’s going to go in…,” said Taylor Heise about what’s ahead.

Frost’s Special Teams Imbalance

The Frost’s penalty kill stepped up big at a critical point in the game when they were down a goal and looking to get back in when a penalty was called. Had the penalty kill allowed a goal, that could’ve meant game over for a team that was struggling to get anything by the net, but thanks to the kill, they had a chance to tie it.

Their goaltender Rooney was a big part of that as well, as she made some big saves to keep her team in the game. She did allow one, but that was more on the shoulders of her defense, who allowed the breakaway to happen. However, while their penalty kill stepped up, their power play did not.

During the second period, the Frost had a five-minute power play that they couldn’t find a way to score on. They had minimal shots and struggled to set anything up in their favor. It was the same on the power play they had before the major as well. If they had been able to convert on either, they would’ve taken a lead and potentially swung the game their way earlier.

“I mean obviously good on them to kill it off, I think we just kept going and it didn’t feel like that deflated us but definitely didn’t necessarily keep that great energy we had in the first I think that was good to see us come out like that, I think that was still huge and we need to find a way to keep that going for all three,” said Lee Stecklein about the energy after the five minute power play.

Frost Try “Too Hard”

This loss wasn’t for a lack of effort on the Frost’s side, especially with the 33 shots on goal. Their top line did everything they could to score, but they came up against a hot goaltender and couldn’t capitalize. Everyone has heard the saying “gripping the stick too tight”, and that is exactly what the Frost went through.

They were trying all game, but things just didn’t bounce their way, or like their coach mentioned, they were pushing too hard. Sometimes teams have to play more simply and not force the issue, and that’s what the Frost needs to do moving forward. They have the skillset, but it’s okay to just shoot the puck and not try to make the perfect play.

“I thought we played desperate, I just thought we played a little dumb, to be honest. We don’t normally pinch and give up odd man rushes, or we didn’t have good effort when we should, and it wasn’t that they weren’t desperate or they weren’t trying to do the right things. I think we were just trying a little too hard and we were pressing a little bit where you get caught standing flat-footed and they got two players leaving the zone…..,” said head coach Ken Klee after the game about the overall effort.

Frost Head on Road

The Frost will head out on the road to finish up their regular season with their final two-game road trip. They’ll head north of the border first as they take on the Ottawa Charge on Wednesday, April 30. If the Frost loses that game, they’ll be out of the postseason, but if they win, they still hold a bit of hope. Hopefully, they can step up and get the win in regulation to keep their playoff wishes alive.