The Minnesota Frost and Boston Fleet faced each other in their final regular season game on Saturday, May 3, the final day of the PWHL regular season, in Lowell, Massachusetts. Both teams were playing for their playoff lives, as a win for either team meant elimination for the other. The Frost had their full lineup, as did the Fleet, who had Aerin Frankel and Loren Gabel back on their roster after they missed some time with injuries.
The goaltending matchup was between Nicole Hensley for the Frost and Frankel for the Fleet. However, Frankel was pulled in the first intermission, and Klára Peslarová came in to relieve her. The Frost jumped to an early lead in the first, continued to build on it in the second, and added two empty-netters in the third to take the 8-1 win. They secured their spot in the postseason for the second consecutive season, but also eliminated the Fleet with the win.
The Frost got things started under three minutes into the first period as Britta Curl-Salemme scored to give her team the early jump. Natalie Buchbinder tallied the lone assist. Less than a minute later, Lee Stecklein tallied a goal to make it 2-0. Liz Schepers and Grace Zumwinkle assisted her. The scoring stopped until late when Kendall Coyne-Schofield recorded a power-play goal to make it 3-0. Kelly Pannek recorded the lone assist, and the Frost took the lead into the second period.
The Fleet had some strong chances, but the Frost added to their goal total. Sophie Jaques scored to make it 4-0 for her team, and Zumwinkle and Brooke McQuigge assisted her. Curl-Salemme scored her second of the game just over eight minutes later and the second power play goal for the Frost to make it 5-0. Michela Cava and Taylor Heise assisted her. That was the final goal of the second period, and the Frost took another lead into the third.
The Fleet pulled their goalie for the first time with over 16 minutes to go to try and overcome the five-goal deficit. They had some chances, but the Frost’s Brooke McQuigge scored on the empty net to make it 6-0 with over half of the final period left. Zumwinkle assisted her with her third assist in the game. Jaques scored an empty-net, jail-break goal to make it 7-0 with less than five minutes to go in the third. The Fleet got their first of the game under 30 seconds later with a goal by Jessica Digirolamo, the first of her PWHL career, and made it 7-1, unassisted.
The game’s final goal came from the Frost’s Klara Hymlarova on the power play, and it was also the first of her PWHL career. Schepers and Jaques assisted her. The Frost took the 8-1 win, clinched their spot in the PWHL postseason for the second consecutive season, and will defend their Walter Cup Championship.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to explore ways to upgrade the roster following Mitch Marner's departure in free agency. The Leafs front office has been trying to fill in the gaps along the roster, and they have been searching on the trade front. One name that has been heavily connected to the Maple Leafs in recent weeks is Calgary Flames star Nazem Kadri. Kadri could replace Marner very well in the lineup, but it seems that a deal could be complicated to complete. According to NHL insider Nick Kypreos of SportsNet, Toronto has tried to land Kadri multiple times this summer, only to be rebuffed each time. Kypreos believes that a deal involving Kadri returning to the Maple Leafs could be unlikely at this point in the summer. Last season, Kadri posted 35 goals and 32 assists for the Flames. His presence has been steady on the ice for years, and Calgary could probably get a lot on the trade market for him. The Maple Leafs will likely continue to explore ways to pry Kadri from the Flames. But Calgary likely won't trade him unless it receives an offer that it deems too good to be true. But Kadri is the leader of this team, and he was the best player for them last season. Toronto doesn't have a lot of tradable assets to work with, which could be what is holding things up between the two sides. The veteran could give Toronto a nice boost, but unless the Maple Leafs up the offer, he isn't returning to town.
Toronto Blue Jays fans don't have much to complain about. Despite losing 5-4 on Tuesday to the New York Yankees, their team leads the AL East by three games heading into play Wednesday against the Yankees. But not everything is perfect north of the U.S. border. Keegan Matheson, Blue Jays reporter for MLB.com, echoed that sentiment during Tuesday night's loss to New York in a post shared on X. "The #BlueJays need more from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and I don't understand why that's only being whispered instead of said out loud," Matheson wrote. Matheson has been beating this drum recently, and he's spot-on. Guerrero Jr., who signed a 14-year, $500M extension in April, hasn't produced superstar numbers. Through 99 games, Vladdy has a .283 average, 13 HRs and 48 RBI. Per ESPN, the 26-year-old is on pace for 21 HRs and 77 RBI, which would by far his lowest full-season totals in those categories since his rookie season in 2019. Although they have one of MLB's best records, the Blue Jays (59-42) lack pop in the lineup. Toronto ranks 20th in the majors in home runs with 105. If Vladdy finds his power stroke and turn it on in the final months of the regular season, the Blue Jays will go from being a playoff contender to a threat to win the World Series. If he doesn't, the Blue Jays aren't getting their money's worth.
While rookie Jaxson Dart appears to be the quarterback of the future for the New York Giants, the signal caller of the present looks set to be veteran Russell Wilson. As Giants training camp for the 2025 season began this week, head coach Brian Daboll said Russ will be QB1 to start the year. "These guys will be out here competing, but Russ is our starter," Daboll said. Wilson, who recently said he wanted to play at least five more seasons, is entering his 14th campaign and is with his third new team in as many years. Which brings us to today's quiz. To go along with his Super Bowl title, Wilson has also accumulated 46,135 passing yards and 350 touchdowns. With that being said, can you name the NFL quarterbacks who have the most games with at least four passing touchdowns without an interception? Good luck! Did you like this quiz? Are there any quizzes you’d like to see us make in the future? Let us know your thoughts at quizzes@yardbarker.com, and make sure to subscribe to our Quiz of the Day Newsletter for daily quizzes sent right to your email!
Happy 32nd birthday to Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott! Dak Prescott has been statistically productive as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, but he knows that isn't nearly enough to make Cowboys fans happy. Prescott is heading into his 10th NFL season and while he's helped lead the Cowboys to five postseason appearances, he's still yet to lead them back to either the NFC title game or Super Bowl. Injuries have hampered him on multiple occasions in his career, including in 2024 when his season was cut short after just eight games due to a hamstring injury. With training camp underway, Prescott explained how badly he wants to brink the Lombardi Trophy back to Dallas. "I'd give the money I make to win and be broke," he said. Which brings us to today's quiz. How many of the players to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season most recently for each NFL franchise can you name in five minutes? Good luck! Did you like this quiz? Are there any quizzes you’d like to see us make in the future? Let us know your thoughts at quizzes@yardbarker.com, and make sure to subscribe to our Quiz of the Day Newsletter for daily quizzes sent right to your email!
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