It was fitting that tennis legend Billie Jean King was in attendance Friday night as the 海角社区官网Sceptres battled the Minnesota Frost, presiding over the game from a suite at Coca-Cola Coliseum while clad in a slick PWHL letterman jacket and a perpetually wide smile.
The 5-3 Frost victory was, much like an unrelenting volley-filled match between two racket-wielding competitors, defined by rapid swings in momentum, a succession of thrilling plays and audible gasps from a rapt crowd.
Eventually though, the equilibrium broke, and the Frost pulled away in third period.
Blueliner Sophie Jaques played the hero in the third period, notching the game-winner on a floating shot that squeaked past Sceptres netminder Kristen Campbell. A late penalty for too many players on the ice stunted any late Sceptres momentum, and Minnesota鈥檚 Mellissa Channell-Watkins potted a power-play goal with just over a minute remaining.
We're fired UP in the third!
鈥 x - Minnesota Frost (@PWHL_Minnesota)
Lee Stecklein, a veteran blueliner who tallied just nine points in 30 regular-season games, scored twice and assisted on a Michela Cava goal for Minnesota to even the best-of-five series.
Unlike last year鈥檚 semifinal series between the two teams, the series will head back to Minnesota even at one game apiece.
It was a hard ask for the PWHL team to go head-to-head with the Maple Leafs at playoffs, each team starting at 7 p.m., but the Sceptres did just fine.
It was a hard ask for the PWHL team to go head-to-head with the Maple Leafs at playoffs, each team starting at 7 p.m., but the Sceptres did just fine.
Campbell falters late
Campbell stopped just 20 of 25 Minnesota shots, reversing course after a solid 24-save performance in Game 1.
For most of the evening, Campbell made saves when she had to and stopped the bleeding after Minnesota scored three unanswered goals in a wild second period. But things fell apart in the third after Jaques鈥 goal.
The 27-year-old native of Brandon, Man., struggled against Minnesota during the regular season, posting a higher goals-against average (3.25) and lower save percentage (.883) against Minnesota than against any other team in the league, with the Sceptres losing three of the four games she started against the Frost.
On the other side of the ice, Maddie Rooney took Nicole Hensley鈥檚 spot in net for Minnesota. Rooney battled constant traffic in front, effectively using her blocker to punch away shots and, for the most part, keeping second chances to a minimum.
Fast fine after big hit
Sceptres defender Renata Fast appeared fit after taking a high elbow to the head from Minnesota鈥檚 Britta Curl-Salemme in the second period of Wednesday鈥檚 game, frequently finding open ice and registering a game-high five shots on net.
Curl-Salemme, meanwhile, was suspended for Game 2 after a review by the PWHL Player Safety Committee. In its video explanation, the league described the hit as 鈥渁 high and forceful check鈥 and said that contact to the head was avoidable in the situation.
Curl-Salemme was suspended twice during the regular season, including after a hit to the head of Sceptres defender Megan Carter in March.
Rookie has already been suspended twice during the regular season by PWHL’s player safety
Home, sweet home
After the Sceptres fell roughly 1,200 fans short of a sellout in Game 1, Coca-Cola Coliseum was packed nearly to the brim in Game 2 with an announced crowd of 7,659.
The Sceptres had the highest average and total attendance in the league during the regular season, with more than 125,000 fans attending the team鈥檚 15 home games.
Should the series go to a winner-take-all Game 5, the Sceptres will have home-ice advantage.
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