The defending champion Minnesota Frost punched their ticket to the 2025 PWHL Finals on Wednesday, keeping their dream of a second-straight Walter Cup alive by repeating semifinals history.
For the second year in a row, the lower-seeded Frost eliminated the Toronto Sceptres from the PWHL semis, adding Wednesday's 4-3 Game 4 overtime win to take the pair's 2025 best-of-five semifinal series 3-1.
Handing the No. 2-seed Sceptres an especially hefty dose of déjà vu was No. 4-seed Frost forward Taylor Heise, who netted the series-clinching goal to oust Toronto for second straight postseason.
With Wednesday's game-winning goal plus six assists across Minnesota's four semifinal clashes, the reigning Playoff MVP's seven points currently leads the 2025 PWHL postseason stat sheet — where an astounding seven of the league's top eight points-getters hail from the Frost.
Unlike Minnesota's 2024 semifinal series with Toronto, which required a full five games, the Frost completed the job early this year, earning some extra rest as they await the winner of the other 2025 semi.
Ottawa takes charge as Montréal faces elimination
Unlike the record-setting scoring that defined Minnesota and Toronto's series, defense owns the spotlight in the second set of semifinals, where the top-seeded Montréal Victoire are facing elimination, entering Friday's Game 4 against the No. 3-seed Ottawa Charge in a 2-1 series deficit.
At the center of Ottawa's success is rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who stepped up in a big way after the Charge lost first-string goalie Emerance Maschmeyer to injury in March.
Since then, the third-round pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft has put together a star turn, becoming one of three 2025 Goaltender of the Year finalists and leading all postseason netminders with the top save percentage and an astoundingly low 1.18 goals-against average.
Additionally, Philips owns the only shutout of the 2025 Playoffs so far, with Tuesday's 1-0 Game 3 win over the Victoire also registering as the first postseason clean sheet by a rookie in PWHL history.
"I'm getting more comfortable and gaining confidence because I can feel that my teammates are feeling a little bit more confident with me. That's been my key to success," said Philips after Tuesday's shutout victory. "It's just knowing how much I trust my teammates and how much they give it back to me."
How to watch Ottawa vs. Montréal in the 2025 PWHL Semifinals
While the Charge aims to follow in the Frost's footsteps by booking a 2025 PWHL Finals spot in Game 4, Montréal will be hoping for a victory to send the series to a winner-take-all Game 5.
The puck drops on Friday's Game 4 at 7 PM ET, with a potential Game 5 decider set for the same time on Sunday.
Coverage of all PWHL Playoff games will stream live on YouTube.
The Minnesota Frost offense is ruling the ice, as record-setting scoring has the reigning PWHL champions on the brink of returning to the Walter Cup finals, entering Wednesday's Game 4 on a 2-1 series lead over the Toronto Sceptres in the best-of-five semifinals.
Just two days after No. 4-seed Minnesota leveled the series with a 5-3 Friday win — recording the most combined goals ever scored in a PWHL Playoff game — the Frost found yet another gear, winning the highest scoring game in the second-year league's history in Sunday’s 7-5 Game 3 defeat of No. 2-seed Toronto.
In Sunday's barnburner, 21 players earned points across the two teams, but it was Minnesota who claimed victory, never relinquishing their early lead after netting a trio of goals in the game's first eight minutes.
"Minnesota's a great team," Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan said after the loss. "If you're putting yourself in a situation where you've got to chase them, it's an uphill battle."
"I think it’s a fan's dream and a coach's nightmare, a 7-5 playoff game," said Minnesota boss Ken Klee. "We found a way to win and that's the most important thing."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Minnesota skaters now own the league's 2025 Playoffs stat sheet, with four Frost players topping the points race.
More eyebrow-raising, however, is that the league's postseason offensive leader is a defender, as the Frost's Lee Stecklein has burned up the ice with three goals and three assists in the playoffs so far.
Calling her "outstanding" and "world-class," Klee sang Stecklein's praises while acknowledging that the postseason means Minnesota must "find different ways to score goals and different people have to contribute."
"[Stecklein] knows that, she exemplifies that, and that's why she's one of our leaders and one of our best players."
How to watch Minnesota vs. Toronto in the PWHL Semifinals
The defending champion Frost will hope to secure their spot in the 2025 PWHL Finals while the Sceptres aim to stave off elimination in the pair's next semifinals game on Wednesday.
The puck drops on Game 4 of the best-of-five series at 7 PM ET, with live coverage streaming on the PWHL YouTube channel.
As PWHL action returned to the ice following the IIHF World Championship international break, the Toronto Sceptres booked their 2024/25 postseason berth this weekend, leaving just two spots left in this year's Walter Cup Playoffs.
Despite Toronto's 3-0 Saturday loss to the Boston Fleet, New York's 2-0 win over Minnesota on Sunday gave the second-place Sceptres enough of a point differential over the fifth-place Frost to solidify their postseason position.
Meanwhile, Saturday's games saw the Sirens suffer playoff elimination for the second straight year, with New York immediately banking Sunday's victory points toward securing yet another overall No. 1 pick in June's 2025 PWHL Draft under the league's Gold Plan.
Three teams hunt two remaining spots in 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs
With this weekend's results, the Sceptres join the league-leading Montréal Victoire in clinching a 2024/25 postseason berth, leaving three teams — the Fleet, the Frost, and the Ottawa Charge — battling for the final two spots.
Minnesota's Sunday loss, however, has the reigning PWHL champions on the brink of elimination.
With both Boston and Ottawa holding a significant points advantage over the Frost, Minnesota needs to win both of the final regular-season games and have either the Fleet or the Charge lose their two last matchups to squeeze above the PWHL table's cutoff line.
Following the close of the regular season on May 3rd, the 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs — featuring a semifinals round before the Walter Cup final — will begin the week of May 5th.