SAINT PAUL, MN (January 2, 2025) – The Minnesota Frost regained control of first place in the PWHL in front of their home crowd, propelled by Britta Curl-Salemme's overtime winner over the Boston Fleet Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center. After a scoreless first period, the Frost broke open the scoring midway through the second with back-to-back goals just 43 seconds apart from Claire Butorac and Brooke Bryant. To start a high-energy third period, Hilary Knight netted the Fleet’s first goal of the night for her fourth of the season, and Minnesota’s Brooke McQuigge found the back of the net just two minutes later. Down 3-1 with three minutes left in the game, Fleet forward Susanna Tapani scored back-to-back goals just 49 seconds apart to tie the game and force overtime. The Frost snuffed the Fleet from completing the comeback in overtime despite the Fleet’s last-minute push, as Minnesota goalie Nicole Hensley stopped 25 of 28 shots in the Frost victory – at the other end of the ice, Boston goalie Aerin Frankel stopped 18 of 22 shots in the overtime loss.
QUOTES
Minnesota forward Britta Curl-Salemme on her thoughts during the game winning goal: “Don’t collapse, I guess, I was so tired I didn’t think I was going to make it down the ice, but luckily I had a head start and thought I would make a move on her. I don’t want to watch the replay, people told me I looked like I was skating on an incline.”
Minnesota head coach Ken Klee: “It’s tough, obviously we’ve got players dropping quickly but I’m proud of this group for finding a way to win. I mean, I would have obviously liked to have three points in regulation, but Boston is a good team and they’re going to keep fighting to the end and they did. Luckily we were able to battle it out in overtime and Britta scored a big goal for us.”
Boston defender Emma Greco on the loss: “I’m super proud of the group for coming back from a two-goal deficit. Obviously, we would like another point on the road, so it’s tough.”
Boston head coach Courtney Kessel on turning the page to Seattle: “I think it’s going to be a great experience. I don’t think many of us have been to Seattle and I think we’re going to get a good physical game against Montréal like we always do.”
NOTABLES
Minnesota’s Claire Thompson recorded two assists in the game to give her nine on the season, three more than any other skater across the league. The defender now has ten points, moving her into sole possession of first place in the scoring race for the PWHL. Thompson’s assist also extended her point streak to five games (1G, 8A).
Boston earns a point on the road for the first time this season. They also outshot their opponent for the first time through their first seven games.
Britta Curl-Salemme scored her second game-winner of the season and fourth goal overall. The rookie now sits tied for first in goals in the PWHL and first in the category among all rookies. She joins New York’s Alex Carpenter as the only player with more than one game-winner so far this season.
Daniela Pejšová, selected seventh overall by Boston in the 2024 PWHL Draft, recorded her first PWHL point, a primary assist on the game-tying goal, scored by Susanna Tapani in the third period.
Fleet captain Hilary Knight scored her fourth goal of the season, tying her for the league-lead with Carpenter. She also added an assist, which moved her into fourth place in league scoring (7 points). The game was Knight’s first multi-point effort of the season.
Tapani recorded two goals in a game for the second time in her PWHL career – and for the first time with Boston. The forward had a two-goal game with Minnesota on Jan. 17, 2024.
Tapani’s pair of tallies were the fastest two goals by a single player in PWHL history – the previous fastest this season was 3:26 by Minnesota’s Michela Cava on Dec. 7.
With her assist on Knight’s third period goal, Fleet defender Megan Keller moved into a tie for fifth in league scoring with six points (2G, 4A).
Frost forward Claire Butorac scored her second goal of the season, doubling her regular season total from last year. With her second assist of the season on the play, defender Mellissa Channell-Watkins matched her regular-season point total from last year.
Frost forward Brooke Bryant scored her first goal of the season, equaling her regular season total from the inaugural season. Defender Lee Stecklein recorded the primary assist on the goal, her first point of the season.
Frost rookie defender Mae Batherson recorded her first-ever PWHL point with an assist on Minnesota’s first goal. The Frost selected the defender in the sixth round of the 2024 PWHL Draft.
Frost rookie forward Brooke McQuigge scored her second goal of the season—and first on the power play. While the Frost entered the matchup with the top power play in the league, they were 0/4 on the advantage in the game, prior to McQuigge’s goal.
Minnesota's two goals in 43 seconds and Boston's two goals in 49 seconds are both teams' fastest back-to-back tallies this season. For Boston, the pair of goals were the fastest since Jan. 27, 2024 against Minnesota when the team scored two first period goals in a span of 30 seconds. For Minnesota, their tallies were the fastest since Mar. 24, 2024 against Montréal, scoring two second period goals in a span of 24 seconds.
Kaitlyn O’Donohoe made her PWHL debut for the Frost, logging 13:01.
Minnesota goaltender Lucy Morgan dressed for her first PWHL game, backing up Frost starter Nicole Hensley. Morgan signed a 10-day contract with the Frost earlier in the day.
Kelly Babstock made her season debut for the Fleet, logging 5:02. The forward, who played four regular-season and eight playoff games with Boston last season, signed a 10-day contract with the Fleet earlier in the day.
Each team captain co-led the game in the shot category, with both Knight and Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield recording five shots apiece.
Thomspon (MIN) led all players in ice-time, logging 25:32. Tapani logged 23:27, the most amongst all Boston skaters.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Boston 0 0 3 0 - 3
Minnesota 0 2 1 1 - 4
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Bard Bos (tripping), 3:50; Curl-Salemme Min (roughing), 9:01.
2nd Period-1, Minnesota, Butorac 2 (Channell-Watkins), 9:06. 2, Minnesota, Bryant 1 (Stecklein, Batherson), 9:49. Penalties-Brandt Bos (roughing), 2:00; Greco Bos (interference), 6:18; Babstock Bos (cross checking), 11:23; Curl-Salemme Min (tripping), 16:43.
3rd Period-3, Boston, Knight 4 (Keller), 7:05. 4, Minnesota, McQuigge 2 (Curl-Salemme, Thompson), 9:35 (PP). 5, Boston, Tapani 2 16:43 (PP). 6, Boston, Tapani 3 (Pejsova, Knight), 17:32. Penalties-Shirley Bos (hooking), 9:27; Stecklein Min (roughing), 15:59.
1st OT Period-7, Minnesota, Curl-Salemme 4 (Coyne Schofield, Thompson), 4:47. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Boston 8-6-13-1-28. Minnesota 6-7-7-2-22.
Power Play Opportunities-Boston 1 / 3; Minnesota 1 / 5.
Goalies-Boston, Frankel 2-3-1-0 (22 shots-18 saves). Minnesota, Hensley 2-0-1-0 (28 shots-25 saves).
A-5,066
THREE STARS
- Britta Curl-Salemme (MIN) 1G, 1A
- Susanna Tapani (BOS) 2G
- Brooke Bryant (MIN) 1G
STANDINGS
Minnesota (3-2-1-1) - 14 PTS – 1st Place
Boston (2-0-1-4) - 7 PTS – 5th Place (Tied)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Minnesota vs New York: Saturday, January 4, 1:00 p.m. CT (Xcel Energy Center)
Boston at Montréal: Sunday, January 5, 1:00 p.m. PT (Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA)