For the first time since the Olympic break, the Minnesota Frost returned home to St. Paul to host the Seattle Torrent. Minnesota sat at third in the league standings with a record of 7-3-3-4 (30p and 58.8p%) against a Seattle team placed in eighth at 5-1-2-9 (19p and 37.3p%). The Frost continued to be without Kendall Coyne-Schofield, while Hilary Knight and Hannah Bilka were out for the Torrent (both on LTIR). In goal, Maddie Rooney would start for the home team, with Corinne Schroeder in for the visitors.

The opening was fast and furious. Abby Hustler had an open look in the slot in the second minute, but she drove her shot high and wide. Undeterred, Claire Butorac sent the puck back into the attacking zone to Élizabeth Giguère, who wired a pass to Peyton Anderson. She wasted no time putting a shot past Schroeder to give the Frost an early lead less than three minutes into the game for the first goal of her PWHL career. The game shifted gears to back-and-forth chip and chase as both teams established their forecheck. At the seven-and-half minute mark, Danielle Serdachny slipped behind the Minnesota defense for a breakaway, but was unable to slide a puck through Rooney’s five hole. The game shifted back to its low event nature until Lexie Adzija tripped Grace Zumwinkle past the twelve minute mark. Hustler had another great look down low on the woman-advantage, but hesitated before shooting and squandered the quality chance. The rest of the power play was uneventful. In the fifteenth minute, the Seattle forecheck attempted a ridiculous crosser to Alex Carpenter, but she couldn’t finish the look. Attempting a similar play two minutes later, Cayla Barnes couldn’t finish on an odd-woman opportunity, and caught out of position, Kendall Cooper sent the Minnesota forecheck the other way. Zumwinkle created enough space for herself to thread a difficult pass to a barreling Hustler, who directed the puck past Schroeder with her momentum to send the Frost into the intermission with a 2-0 lead. The shot total was 13-7 in favor of Minnesota.

Minnesota carried their momentum into the second and then some. Less than a minute into the period Heise had a 1-on-1 with Schroeder, but wasn’t able to extend the lead. After several failed exit attempts from the Torrent, the Frost managed a 3-on-2 rush on a counterattack which ended on a Schroeder save on a Stecklein shot through movement. As the Frost continued to apply pressure Hustler got another look from in tight, but wasn’t able to collect her second of the game.The first eight minutes were all Minnesota, but Schroeder kept the deficit to two for her team. Anna Wilgren had the Torrent’s first decent look of the period in the eleventh minute, but Rooney was up to the task. In a frenetic sequence in the Seattle end, Hustler had at least her seventh look of the game when Schroeder lost track of the puck, but was once again unable to further extend the lead. Just over a minute later Heise set up a high-danger pass to Katy Knoll in transition, but Emily Brown disrupted it with a perfectly timed stick on the backcheck. Following a decent sequence for Minnesota, the Torrent defense committed a terrible turnover at the goal line that resulted in a Klára Hymlárová goal to extend the Frost lead to three. In the nineteenth minute, Pannek was robbed on an uncanny sprawling save from Schroeder. With the puck along the wall, Minnesota took an ugly boarding penalty that sent Mikayla Grant-Mentis to the room with an injury. The Torrent did not score on the power play before the end of the period. The shot total was 11-5 in favor of Minnesota.

Within the first minute of the third, Carpenter had a solid look from the slot, but wasn’t able to finish. The next four minutes were low event until Marah Wagner had a great chance in a 2-on-1 for Seattle, but Rooney was up to the task. Seattle continued to pressure as Jessie Eldridge had a partial breakaway in the sixth minute, but was unable to generate a shot on goal. The pressure eventually led Anderson to take a tripping penalty, putting Seattle on the advantage for the first time all game. At 8:19 in the period, Serdachney drove hard to the net and created a high danger rebound for Adzija who put the Torrent on the board. I don’t know if this was goalie interference or not, but I was just happy the decision was made in four minutes rather than the usual ten. A minute after the goal, Hustler had another great look in tight, but Schroeder was committed to holding her to one goal on the night. Inside the eleventh minute, Lyndie Lobdell took a hooking penalty outside the Seattle crease, giving the Frost another power play opportunity. Knoll had the best look on the woman advantage, but the Frost were unable to extend their lead. The next six minutes featured a lot of low impact back-and-forth until the Torrent sent Schroeder to the bench for the extra attacker. In the seventeenth minute, Serdachny had a decent scoring chance at the top of the blue paint, but couldn’t put it past Rooney. Seattle had a lot of control and puck movement with the net empty, but it was all spectacle with no substance. Heise added an empty net goal to put the game out of reach at 4-1 inside the final minute.

For the Frost, this is exactly how they wanted to return to home ice after a tight overtime win against the Toronto Sceptres in their last game. The defense was sharp enough to prevent Rooney from having to bail them out and if it weren’t for a great performance from Schroeder, this game could have easily been 8-1. The biggest opportunity for Minnesota after this game is “What does the coaching staff have to do for Abby Hustler to be able to finish?” Her offensive zone instincts are clearly killer, and she was open and pressing constantly. If she can put the pucks into the net instead of the glass, the Frost’s offense could somehow be more lethal.

I’m usually not a negative analyst, but Seattle didn’t appear ready to play with the puck. Failed zone exits as a result of poorly placed passes and predictable lanes stifled any chance to mount a counterattack against the Frost forecheck. It’s fundamental to have multiple outlet options, especially against fast teams like Minnesota, but Steve O’Rourke must have missed coaching school that day. When the Torrent made it out of their zone, there were too many plays where players got caught thinking, and their lanes closed before they could make the optimal pass. Serdachny, Barnes, Adzija, Carpenter, and Schroeder once again put in a great effort and created quality chances for their team, but if they can’t fix the details, I don’t see a path for this team to find ways to win down the stretch.

• Christian