Boston no match for urgent Frost
Jan 26, 2025
While it’s still relatively early in the season, there was a sense of urgency surrounding the Frost’s game against the Boston Fleet on Sunday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center.
Of utmost importance was ending a three-game losing streak, and the Frost did just that, as Taylor Heise scored a pair of goals in a 5-2 victory over the Fleet before an announced crowd of 7,838.
“We (haven’t been) playing bad,” Heise said. “We battled, we were really good ‘D’ zone-wise. And getting shots off. I think today we were in the right spots offensively. We’ve been working on shifting around in practice, being in the right spots for people.
“I thing today you could feel that energy, and I hope we can continue to bring that.”
Frost coach Ken Klee said it was important for the team to have been able to get in a couple of days of practice, something a bit schedule hasn’t allowed.
“It was nice to have some regular practice, to get everybody on the same page,” Klee said. “Everyone’s trying, and it’s not like we’ve been playing horrible. Today we were obviously clicking.”
The win allowed the Frost to move into a tie for first place with the Montreal Victoire. Both teams have 23 points, but the Victoire have played three fewer games.
The Frost entered the game having lost four of their first eight games at home, which is not normally a recipe for success when it comes to finishing on top in the standings. Winning on a road is a challenge for any team, and after Tuesday’s home game against Toronto the Frost play four consecutive games on the road.
“We’re just trying to get points; we’re not really paying attention to the standings,” Klee said. “We know the last five games of the year we are going to have to get points to get into the playoffs.
“We know we’re going to have bumps, we know we’re going to have good things and bad things. We just don’t want to be stuck at the end of the year having to make up points, because that’s tough.”
Nicole Hensley started in goal for the Frost, and getting her back in a groove was on the Frost’s to-do list. Hensley made only her second start since Jan. 2, missing time due to a lower body injury. In her first game back she gave up four goals in a loss at Montreal on Jan. 17.
“I thought she was outstanding today,” Klee said. “I thought it was her best game of the year. She’s kind of been close, and for me, for her to get over the hump where she didn’t have a soft goal today, just mentally she’s just sharpening up.
“She’s been really good in practice. Just her overall confidence level is ramping up since her last injury. Hopefully we want to have the 1A and 1B (with Maddie Rooney) where it doesn’t matter who’s in the net.”
The Frost opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Heise and Brooke McQuigge. They were able to respond quickly both times the Fleet cut their lead to one — once in the second period and again in the third.
Heise scored her second of the game in the second period less than two minutes after the Fleet scored to make it a 2-1 game. Frost defender Sophie Jaques made one of the key plays in the game in the third period after Boston’s second goal of the game.
She was able to keep the puck in the Boston zone along the blue line, carried the puck down the left wing and found a breaking Katy Knoll for her first goal of the season.
“Obviously a great play by Soph,” Knoll said. “I thought it might be offsides for a sec there. But she kept it in and made a great play across. So, happy to contribute to the team’s win. “Like Heise said, everyone was rolling today.”