The Minnesota Frost hosted the Montréal Victoire on a snowy Wednesday evening, January 21st. The Frost had most of their lineup back after illness and injury hit the squad, with the exception of Dominique Petrie, who is out for the season. with a lower body injury. Nicole Henlsey was in net as they tried to extend their win streak to three games.
The Frost seemed to have the upper hand when they came out with a bounce in the first, but the Victoire bounced back and the period ended scoreless. There was a bit more of a draw in the second period, but towards the end the Victoire jumped up and took the lead 1-0 into the final period. The Frost ended it late in the final period to force overtime.
Marie-Philip Poulin secured the victory for the Victoire with a big backhand spin-o-rama move, and the Frost fell 2-1. In this article we will look at some tips for the Frost, starting with their attempts to bind the Frost.
Frost’s Pannek knew the right place to be
The Frost may have lost and they struggled to score until the end, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have chances. They had 24 shots on goal and Kelly Pannek scored on one of the two shots she had in the match. They were stunned for most of the match, despite some very close calls, but in the final few minutes, Pannek knew where to go are.
She saw Heise with the puck and knew she was going to shoot, so she went to the net and was ready for the rebound, and she had an open net to shoot at. They had a few more similar chances, but couldn’t get them past goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, who was ready for almost all of the Frost’s shots.
“Yeah, to be honest…wasn’t that great in the faceoff circle, so that was the biggest thing, and me just trying to win the tie, and then we just got…I’m not on the ice that much with Heise, but I knew she was rolling up that seam, she made a great shot, just a really smart shot from a blind spot, looking for a rebound and I was all alone behind the door, so happy I was able to put that in and it’s a big point to get into overtime, even though we lost, it’s still an important point,” Pannek said of her goal that sent them to extra time.
Frost’s Hensley continues dominance
The Frost have always been quite strong in terms of goaltending as they had both Hensley and Maddie Rooney since day one. They have had their fair share of highs and lows, but overall they were a great tandem. That continued for the Frost as Hensley had her second straight start. She wasn’t tested too much in the first period, but she was ready when they came her way.
Even in the second period, when she was knocked down hard, she bounced back up and was ready for the next save. She held on until the end of the period, when a puck snuck under her and the Victoire took the lead. Despite the goal, Hensley remained focused and did not let that goal bother her, continuing to make saves that allowed them to equalize and force extra time.
Even in the extra session, she made the big saves until Poulin pulled off her spin-o-rama move that would catch any goalkeeper off guard. Hensley did everything she could to give her a chance to win, but the Victoire found a way to get the win.
Frost Find another even match
When the Frost played the New York Sirens last Friday, January 21, it was safe to say they found a fairly even match. The game went back and forth, and their match against the Victoire went much the same, with the exception of the number of goals scored. Their match against Victoire was slightly more defensive, with fewer goals and a lot more physical.
A number of shots followed in both directions, but the defense stepped up. Both teams had strong sticks and the puck passed back and forth, with neither team rising above the other to be the clear favorite. At first it looked like the Frost would jump on top, but then the Victoire stormed back.
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“I mean, obviously if we finish some of our chances in the first, I think the game will open up a little bit, maybe we’ll go further, but Desbiens is a great goalkeeper, she made some big saves when they needed them, and of course Nic (Hensley) made some big saves for us. So it’s a tight control game, I don’t know if they were doing anything, I don’t think we were as sharp as the last time we played. Here when we were there could put up six…” said head coach Ken Klee about how the team played.
The Frost will have a few days to rest and learn before playing their next match. They stay home to host the New York Sirens on Sunday afternoon, January 25.
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