LAVAL, QC (February 18, 2025) – Maddie Rooney’s shutout performance backstopped Minnesota to a 4-0 win over Montréal, as the Frost ended the longest road trip in team history on a high note on Tuesday night at Place Bell. The shutout was Rooney’s, and Minnesota’s, first of the season, as the goaltender made 21 saves to secure her seventh win of season. The Frost snapped a three-game winless streak with the victory and moved into sole possession of second place in the standings, five points behind the league-leading Victoire.
Scoring began with less than two minutes left in the first period when Minnesota forward Liz Schepers netted her first goal of the season, re-directing a shot taken by teammate Claire Thompson from the point. Midway through the second frame, Kendall Coyne Schofield tallied the Frost’s second goal of the evening, giving the road team a two-goal lead heading into the final frame. Minnesota’s two remaining tallies came late in the third with back-to-back goals from Denisa Křížová––including an empty-netter––marking her first multi-goal game of the season. Montréal’s Elaine Chuli made 24 saves on 27 shots in her fifth start of the season. The loss snapped Montréal’s league-high six-game winning streak.
QUOTES
Minnesota Head Coach Ken Klee: “For us it was about putting 60 minutes together. We talked about it; on this trip we’ve been finding ways to not finish and not get the result we were looking for. You know we didn’t play poorly in whole games, it’s not like we were really bad, but we were finding ways to not do little things well. Today our details were great, and they all played super hard. Obviously, Maddie (Rooney) was really good. It was a complete effort but, more important for us, it was details for 60 minutes, which was huge.”
Frost Goaltender Maddie Rooney: “I thought it was a really good team win. I thought we shut it down defensively and capitalized on our chances. Each game you want to turn the page and look at it as a fresh start and I thought we did that today and got some momentum going into the last game before break.”
Montréal Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the team coming out flat: “In these moments, you can feel it, you can tell when your team is just not having the level of execution in the detail. And so, in those moments, it's not about being harder on them, it's about trying to help them find a solution. Stay positive with them, because they know they feel it. They don't like that feeling that things are just not going well. And tonight, that was it. And like I said, it's a good learning lesson for our group, because we need to have these hard games if we're going to win the Walter Cup.”
Montréal defender Amanda Boulier answering to why the players didn't seem upset when taking questions: "I think we weren't happy with the result. If you saw our locker room, it was a completely different picture than what you're seeing up here, but I think we have just a ton of confidence in our group and in our response. We know we're going to have really good practices on Thursday and Friday, and come ready to play on Saturday. So, we were mad when we got back in the locker room. It was not a pretty picture, but we are a resilient group, and we cooled down and regrouped. And I think we know that fun is a big part of our success. So that's going to be what it is."
NOTABLES
Montréal’s six-game winning streak comes to an end against the same team it began with. The Victoire beat the Frost on Jan. 17, 2025, to begin the run, with their previous loss being against Minnesota as well, on Jan. 12.
Minnesota’s win snaps a three-game losing streak and marked the team’s first regulation win in five games, with their last regulation victory coming on Jan. 26 against Boston. The win was also the Frost’s first on the road since Dec. 22–– they entered tonight’s contest on a five-game road losing streak.
This was the first time Montréal had been kept off the scoreboard this season –– and the first time in team history they’ve been shut out at home.
Tonight’s loss was just Montréal’s second at Place Bell this season, with their first home defeat occurring on Dec. 4, 2024, against New York. The Victoire entered the game on a five-game win streak at Place Bell.
Maddie Rooney recorded her third regular-season shutout of her PWHL career, tying her with Kristen Campbell (TOR) and Corinne Schroeder (NY) for the most all-time in the regular season.
Liz Schepers scored her first PWHL regular-season goal, which also stood as her first regular-season game-winner. The Minnesota forward previously netted her first career goal––also the game-winner–– in the deciding game of the PWHL Finals on May 29, 2024.
Kendall Coyne Schofield has recorded a point in four consecutive games (2G, 2A) and eight-straight on the road (6G, 5A). The Frost Captain is now tied with Toronto's Hannah Miller for the league lead in scoring with 18 points.
Sophie Jaques extended her point streak to four games (2G, 4A) with her helper on Coyne Schofield’s tally. Jaques ranks third among defenders in both points (14) and assists (11) this season. The Frost blueliner has also recorded at least one point in each of the three games she has played against Montréal this season.
Claire Thompson collected an assist on Schepers’ goal, placing her in a four-way tie for the league lead in the category with 12 helpers. Thompson now has 15 points on the season, one behind Toronto’s Renata Fast for the most among defenders.
Denisa Křížová recorded her first multi-point game of the season, ending an eight-game point drought. The Frost forward last hit the scoresheet on Jan. 12, 2025, picking up an assist against the Victoire.
Claire Butorac tallied her second assist of the season and first in 13 games. Her four points in 19 games are a new career-high, surpassing her inaugural season total in 21 games (1G, 2A).
Lee Stecklein recorded an assist for the second straight game, bringing her season total to four ––two of which have come against Montréal.
Dominique Petrie recorded her first PWHL assist in her eighth game of the season, bringing her total to four points on the campaign.
Mae Batherson earned her third assist of the season, her first point since Jan. 15 at New York.
Maggie Flaherty tallied her first helper of the season with her only other point being a goal, also against Montréal, on Jan. 12.
Britta Curl-Salemme recorded her third assist of the season, bumping her into a tie for third place in rookie scoring with Boston’s Hannah Bilka at nine points.
Montréal’s Gabrielle David, who signed a 10-day contract earlier today, made her season debut with the Victoire. The forward logged 5:16 of ice-time with one shot on net. David played 23 regular-season games with Montreal during the inaugural season, recording six points (2G, 4A), in addition to three playoff games.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Minnesota 1 1 2 - 4
Montréal 0 0 0 - 0
1st Period-1, Minnesota, Schepers 1 (Thompson, Butorac), 18:43. Penalties-Coyne Schofield Min (hooking), 4:48; Greig Mtl (elbowing), 11:07; Pannek Min (illegal body checking), 12:18.
2nd Period-2, Minnesota, Coyne Schofield 8 (Jaques, Stecklein), 10:43. Penalties-Tabin Mtl (hooking), 2:01; Boreen Mtl (hooking), 15:16.
3rd Period-3, Minnesota, Křížová 2 (Petrie, Batherson), 14:27. 4, Minnesota, Křížová 3 (Flaherty, Curl-Salemme), 19:35 (EN). Penalties-Flaherty Min (boarding), 10:09; Grant-Mentis Mtl (10-minute misconduct), 20:00.
Shots on Goal-Minnesota 7-10-11-28. Montréal 9-3-9-21.
Power Play Opportunities-Minnesota 0 / 3; Montréal 0 / 3.
Goalies-Minnesota, Rooney 7-3-1-1 (21 shots-21 saves). Montréal, Chuli 3-2-0-0 (27 shots-24 saves).
A-6,696
THREE STARS
1. Maddie Rooney (MIN) 21/21 SV
2. Liz Schepers (MIN) 1G
3. Denisa Křížová (MIN) 2G
STANDINGS
Montréal (9-3-1-3) - 34 PTS – 1st Place
Minnesota (6-4-3-6) - 29 PTS – 2nd Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Montréal: Saturday, February 22 at Ottawa at 2 p.m. ET
Minnesota: Sunday, February 23 vs. Toronto at 12:30 p.m. CST