Minnesota's Sophia Kunin (11) celebrates her goal against Toronto with Lee Stecklein (2), Liz Schepers (21) and Sophie Jaques (16) during third period action in Game 5 of a PWHL hockey playoff series in Toronto, on May 17, 2024.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Minnesota completed a remarkable reverse sweep of top-seeded Toronto on Friday night, advancing to the first-ever Finals in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
The No. 4 seed in the PWHL playoffs stunned Toronto 4-1 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum on Friday, the third straight victory Minnesota needed to win the best-of-five semi-final series 3-2.
It will be two American teams vying in the inaugural Walter Cup Finals, starting Sunday, as Boston awaits after ousting Montreal in the other semi-final.
It was the top overall draft pick, Taylor Heise, who played the heroine for Minnesota, scoring the winning goal in the third period. Minnesota also got heroics from goalie Maddie Rooney, who made 27 saves in the victory. The netminder allowed just one goal in the last three games.
“We had the belief in ourselves and honestly, I don’t think anyone else did,” said Minnesota’s star forward Heise. “Especially by the way we ended, and then the way the series started, the reverse sweep, like, I’m really proud of our group and I’m excited to get to Boston.”
On Toronto’s side, it was a mash of emotions – devastation at letting a series they once led 2-0 slip away, but also pride, for this new league they built that garnered a following beyond their wildest expectations.
“It’s hard to even understand what this year was,” said Toronto defender Renata Fast. “It was incredible to be a part of, just going around the locker room and hugging your teammates and the staff … It was so special, and we really wanted it, so it stings a lot right now.”
It had been the first taste of playoff hockey for all the women, and this opening series featured dramatic shifts, with the home team winning the first four games.
Toronto had a 2-0 series lead after dominating Minnesota last week in Toronto, 4-0 and 2-0. Once the series shifted to Saint Paul, both teams looked different, Minnesota for the better and Toronto for the worse. Minnesota got the shutouts in Games 3 and 4, first 2-0, followed by a long-winded 1-0 squeaker in double overtime.
“At the start of the series, I think Minnesota was probably not in the best place on how they finished the regular season and we probably capitalized on that. Obviously, coming into this building, it’s jam-packed, great energy,” said Toronto Coach Troy Ryan. “They made a couple of adjustments, started getting a bit of confidence.”
That three-game Minnesota rally was a bit of vindication after No. 1-seeded Toronto got to select its first-round opponent through an innovative playoff rule in the new league, and chose to face Minnesota. They were a decent choice, after all, having gone on an abysmal losing streak in the weeks leading into the playoffs. Still, the women from the State of Hockey hoped to make Toronto pay for that choice.
Toronto was sorely missing Natalie Spooner on Friday night, the power forward who had a PWHL-leading 20 goals during the regular season. Toronto’s Scarborough-raised star, who had also added a goal and an assist in the playoffs, was lost for the post-season when she injured her knee after she was crushed into the boards on Monday during Game 3.
Spooner, watching from a suite at Friday’s game got a loud ovation from the packed arena when the video board showed her during the national anthem. It was hard for Toronto to replace what Spooner had provided offensively all year.
Toronto crashed the net hard in the first, outshooting Minnesota 13-7, but the teams played a period of scoreless hockey.
With Toronto’s Sarah Nurse in the penalty box for tripping, Minnesota struck first on a frenzied power play in the second period. First, Kelly Panek shot one between the pads of Toronto goalie Kristen Campbell, before Denisa Krizova pounded on the rebound and fired the loose puck past Campbell. Toronto’s crowd was silent.
The home team answered within seconds, as Victoria Bach and Rebecca Leslie got loose for a 2-on-1, with Leslie making good on her first playoff goal. The crowd, heavy on blue Toronto jerseys, went wild waving their white rally towels.
It was midway through the third period when Heise, the 24-year-old star out of University of Minnesota, who put the club from her home state into the lead as she absorbed a pass from Lee Stecklein and blasted it top shelf on Campbell. Again, the Toronto faithful fell frighteningly quiet.
“In my opinion, I think the silence means more than the applause,” said Heise. “I think for us, we’re able to silence a crowd here, prove that you’re here for a reason. And even though Toronto picked us, we knew we had to come in with a chip on our shoulder.”
Toronto certainly had its chances in the dying minutes, desperate to equalize. Nothing seemed to click. Toronto pulled Campbell in one last gasp of an attempt, and Minnesota punished them with empty-netters, by Heise and Sophia Kunin.
It was the first game in a long while in Toronto that the home team didn’t blare its victory song, Dolly Parton’s 9-5. This time, instead, Toronto hugged stunned and sombre. Minnesota celebrated modestly, as the Toronto fans largely stuck around to wave their flags and cheer both teams. After shaking hands, Minnesota left the ice and let Toronto circle up at centre ice one last time this season, and salute their fans – many of whom had helped them sell out every home game of their inaugural season.
Instead, Minnesota went to celebrate off on their own, blaring victory music in their dressing room.
The season’s over for the top-scoring, first-place team in the PWHL.
“I know that in our dressing room, we are really proud of the legacy that we started,” said Toronto Captain Blayre Turnbull. “Every year the Walter Cup is going to get harder to win.”