Frost win to keep PWHL playoff hopes alive, put Charge's chances in jeopardy

Lee Stecklein scored twice as the Minnesota Frost staved off elimination and put the Ottawa Charge's playoff hopes on ice with a 3-0 win Wednesday night in the Professional Women's Hockey League.

The Charge (12-1-4-12) needed just one point to secure their first playoff appearance. Ottawa earning the single point would have ended the defending champion Frost's playoff chances.

It will come down to the final regular season games Saturday.

Ottawa will need a regulation win or overtime win against the Toronto Sceptres on Saturday, or Minnesota (9-5-4-11) to lose its final game against Boston on Saturday in order to clinch a playoff berth. The Charge hold the tiebreaker should the two teams be tied in points.

Leading 1-0, the Frost extended their lead at 5:38 of the third period when Stecklein beat Gwyneth Philips with a wrister from the point. Stecklein added an empty-net goal with 34 seconds remaining for her second goal of the season.

Philips, who stopped 31 shots, and Nicole Hensley, who had a 24-save shutout, were solid in the second with both making a number of big saves.

WATCH | Frost shutdown Charge: 

Charge miss opportunity to secure spot in PWHL playoffs with loss to Frost

4 days ago

Duration 1:02

Minnesota defeats Ottawa 3-0 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Lee Stecklein leads the way with two goals. The Charge, Frost and Fleet will vie for the last two post-season spots on Saturday, the final day of the regular season. Ottawa (42 points) will face the playoff-bound Toronto (47 points) while Minnesota (41 points) takes on Boston (44 points).

Philips stopped Minnesota's Denisa Krizova and then turned away Katy Knoll to keep the game scoreless. Hensley, who made 24 saves for her first shutout of the season, was equal to the task stopping Ottawa's Brianne Jenner and Shiann Darkangelo.

The Charge got into penalty trouble late in the period, but Philips was able to hold the Frost off. With 1:17 remaining in the second Kendall Coyne-Schofield beat Philips through the legs on a partial-screen to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.

A scoreless first saw the Charge fail to capitalize on two powerplay opportunities.

Takeaways

Charge: Failed to capitalize on the power play going 0-for-3.

Frost: Generated lots of chances and just kept putting pucks on net.

Key moment

Stecklein's first goal on a point shot in the third provided the Frost some much-needed insurance.

Up next

Charge: Ottawa heads to Toronto to face the Sceptres on Saturday.

Frost: Minnesota takes on the Boston Fleet on Saturday.