Charge vs. Frost: 2025 PWHL Final series preview and pick
Ottawa Charge: 3rd in PWHL, 44 points, def. Montreal in semifinals (3-1)
Minnesota Frost: 4th in PWHL, 44 points, def. Toronto in semifinals (3-1)
Schedule (ET)
(3) Ottawa Charge vs. (4) Minnesota Frost
| Date | Game | Time |
| Tuesday, May 20 | 1. Frost at Charge | 7 p.m. ET |
| Thursday, May 22 | 2. Frost at Charge | 7 p.m. ET |
| Saturday, May 24 | 3. Charge at Frost | 5 p.m. ET |
| Monday, May 26 | 4. Charge at Frost* | 5 p.m. ET |
| Wednesday, May 28 | 5. Frost at Charge* | 7 p.m. ET |
*if necessary
The Skinny
For the second year in a row, the two teams battling for the Walter Cup are the ones who finished in the bottom half of the PWHL playoff picture. The Minnesota Frost entered the playoffs in a familiar scenario to their inaugural season – letting a solid start go to waste, having to win their way into the postseason, and grabbing the fourth seed. Similar to last season, they fell behind early in the semifinals against the Toronto Sceptres but reeled off three wins in a row to advance to the final, winning the series in four games.
Now, Minnesota looks to fully replicate last year’s run by winning the Walter Cup against the No. 3 team in the league…but it isn’t the Boston Fleet.
The Ottawa Charge were able to will their way into the postseason in the league’s second campaign, something the team failed to do a year ago. However, despite sneaking in on the final day of the regular season, the Charge proved they belonged in the playoffs. They went up against the high-powered Montreal Victoire, which chose to play Ottawa in Round 1. The Charge played like the more confident bunch, riding the solid play of a young goaltender and timely scoring to knock out the regular-season champions in four, becoming the first Canadian team to play for the Walter Cup.
Head to Head
Ottawa: 3-3-0-0
Minnesota: 3-3-0-0
Those records should be all you need to know – these two teams were very even this year.
Probably the most intriguing part of the regular-season series between the Frost and Charge was how similar the outcomes were. Each team had at least one road win over the other, both resulting in a shutout. Both teams won a game by five goals, but not a single one went to overtime.
Ottawa had a chance to clinch a playoff spot in the final week of the season but were stonewalled on home ice, losing 3-0 to Minnesota thanks to a shutout by Nicole Hensley. That result nearly cost the Charge their season, so you know that’ll be on their minds heading into the series.
Top Five Scorers
Ottawa
Brianne Jenner, 3 points
Emily Clark, 3 points
Aneta Tejralová, 2 points
Gabbie Hughes, 2 points
Tereza Vanišová, 2 points
Minnesota
Taylor Heise, 7 points
Lee Stecklein, 6 points
Sophie Jaques, 6 points
Michela Cava, 5 points
Kendall Coyne Schofield/Mellissa Channell-Watkins, 4 points
X-Factor
This one’s an easy one for the Frost – they’ve been there and done that. They know what it’s like to have to squeeze their way into the playoffs and, at the same time, know how to turn things up a notch when it matters most. Like last year, few expected Minnesota to be able to keep up with Toronto. However, just like 12 months ago, the Frost ensured expectations don’t lead to results.
Despite not having home-ice advantage (again) in the final, Minnesota isn’t shaking in its boots heading into the series.
As much as I was right about Shiann Darkangelo being a dark horse for the Charge in Round 1, I really think Mannon McMahon’s presence could be a key part in Ottawa winning it all. She had been playing on the top line with Emily Clark and Gabbie Hughes, and while they weren’t putting up earth-shattering numbers against the Victoire, McMahon’s ability to cause havoc on the ice was noticeable.
Against another team with a lot of skill in Minnesota, the 23-year-old’s playing style can make their lives miserable.
Offense
When you look above and see the disparaging numbers in points between the Charge and Frost, you might think there’s a drastic difference in offensive production. For the most, you’d be right.
Minnesota ended the regular season with the most goals of any team in the PWHL by far, with their 85 tallies making them the only team to score over 77. On the other end, Ottawa was tied with the last-placed New York Sirens for the fewest goals this season.
That carried into the playoffs. The Frost potted 18 goals in the semifinals against the Sceptres, including seven in a wild Game 3 victory. The Charge scored over two goals once, that coming in the team’s first-ever playoff game against Montreal. In total, Ottawa scored just eight times in the opening round, but going up against an all-world goaltender in Ann-Renée Desbiens didn’t help their cause.
What might’ve been surprising was how effective Minnesota’s blue line was at putting points on the board. Lee Stecklein was a surprisingly significant contributor against Toronto, while Sophie Jaques was her usual self, being a force at both ends of the rink. Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, who has undoubtedly been the team’s most valuable player, came up with some big goals.
Like it has all season long, scoring will come by committee for Ottawa. Though Tereza Vanišová was limited against the Victoire, she has the ability to flourish when the spotlight is on her. Captain Brianne Jenner and Hughes both have the talent and ability to be big-time scorers for the Charge, and they will have to be just that against the Frost.
Defense
What I was probably most impressed with by the Charge in the first round was how they were able to limit the Victoire’s offense. Yes, Gwyneth Philips played great (we’ll talk more about her later), but she didn’t face the brunt of chances that she probably could have. Even with one of the team’s better defenders, Jincy Roese, on long-term injured reserve, Aneta Tejralová, Ashton Bell and others were solid on the back end.
Giving up just six goals in the four games against Montreal was a stark contrast to the regular season, when Ottawa gave up 80 goals, finishing tied with the Sirens for most in the PWHL.
While I pumped the tires of players like Jaques and Stecklein for their performances in Round 1, Minnesota’s defense as a whole struggled in stretches against the Sceptres. Along with giving up five in their victory in Game 3, the Frost allowed 14 goals in the semifinals, not something they’d want to tout heading into the final. While they might be heading into a series against a team with less firepower than Toronto, Minnesota can ill-afford to give up grade-A chances against a team like the Charge.
Goaltending
Last season, an outstanding tandem featuring Hensley and Maddie Rooney was the Frost’s bread and butter. However, the duo seemed to nearly be the team’s downfall. Hensley had seemingly fallen to be the team’s 1B this year, though Rooney’s play seemed to tail off in the second half of the season. Yet, both were able to turn things around in the playoffs. Hensley looked good in a Game 1 loss to Toronto, picking up the overtime win in the clinching Game 4. Rooney gave up the five goals in Game 3, but played in the contest prior.
While the roller coaster of success might not be ideal, head coach Ken Klee still feels confident in his two backstops.
Philips has been a breath of fresh air for the Charge. After starting the season not knowing when she would play, backing up Emerance Maschmeyer, the rookie goaltender grabbed the ball and ran with it when she was given the opportunity. After Maschmeyer was placed on LTIR in March, Philips stepped into the starting role and played admirably and was named a finalist for PWHL Goaltender of the Year.
Then, when going up against Desbiens in the playoffs, Philips shined, picking up a shutout in Game 3 before making some huge saves to seal the series win in the following game.
Injuries
As you read above, the Charge has been without Maschmeyer for the better part of two months, though that hasn’t seemed to hurt them. Head coach Carla MacLeod stated during her media availability this past weekend that Maschmeyer has been making strides, though she gave no timetable for her return. MacLeod also didn’t give an update on Roese’s status either.
Both MacLeod and Klee admit their teams are banged up at this point of the season, citing the grind from an extended campaign compared to year one. MacLeod particularly noted that the team has been taking things day-by-day when it comes to injuries, though she never specified which players are suffering from ailments.
Intangibles
As I mentioned earlier, the fact this Minnesota team has been through it before gives them a notable advantage heading into this series, not to mention the fact that Coyne Schofield, Heise, Stecklein, Britta Curl-Salemme, Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle all just won gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship last month. It’s tough to ignore the winning pedigree this team has and the effect it could have if this series goes the distance.
However, you can’t ignore that this Charge team feels like a team of destiny. On another team full of winners – 22 world championships, seven Olympic gold medals, and numerous Isobel and Clarkson Cup champions – this roster knows what it takes to become champions. Whether they have the same level of star power or are mute, Ottawa has the right amount of experience and vigor to get it done and the confidence of a coach behind them to guide them there.
Series Prediction
Well, I was at least right at picking the Charge to make it to this point. However, I had them losing to the Sceptres. One might think that would lead me to choose the team that beat Toronto to win the Walter Cup, right?
Wrong.
This Ottawa team is something special. They went up against the likes of Desbiens, Marie-Philip Poulin and Erin Ambrose and didn’t blink. Now, against a team with so many future Hall of Famers, why would they lose that confidence in another best-of-five series? They have the edge in the goalie department and are playing in one of the loudest environments in the PWHL.
The Walter Cup is coming north of the border.
Charge wins the series, 3-2