ST. PAUL, Minn. – Michela Cava and the Minnesota Frost are back-to-back Walter Cup champions.
The 31-year-old Thunder Bay forward, who had nine goals and 19 points in 30 regular season games, and added three goals and two assists in eight playoff appearances, helped the Frost knock off the Ottawa Charge in four games, Liz Scheppers connecting 12 minutes into the first overtime to capture a 2-1 win and the second PWHL championship in franchise history.
Thunder Bay’s Haley Irwin is an assistant coach with the Charge.
Minnesota’s Kelly Pannek scored the game’s opening goal midway through the second, a lead that stood for one second shy of a full period before Ottawa’s Tereza Vanisova evened the score by beating Minnesota goaltender Maddie Rooney at 10:09 of the third.
The Frost outshot the Charge 38-34 on the night.
Cava finished with two shots on goal for Minnesota, including one in overtime, in the championship-clinching game.
Ottawa goaltender Gryneth Philips was named the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP, posting a 1.23 goals against average and a .952 save percentage in eight postseason starts.
“To win in front of our fans, to have over 10,000 come to the (Xcel Energy Center) on a holiday and support our players is just outstanding. It was amazing, even with Gwyneth Philips winning MVP and them all cheering for her. It just shows how great a fan base we have, how much class they have, how much they love the game and how much they love watching the players compete,” Minnesota coach Ken Klee said after the trophy presentation.
