Minnesota Frost snag PWHL shootout victory over New York Sirens

NEWARK, N.J. - Nicole Hensley worried she might not be popular among her teammates after the second period Sunday.

By the end of the game she had taken steps to ease that concern.

Hensley made back-to-back saves in a shootout after standing strong in overtime, helping the Minnesota Frost take their fourth straight victory, 4-3 over the New York Sirens.

The Frost are the only team in the PWHL without a regulation loss.

It was the fourth time in seven meetings that a game between the teams was decided in OT and the second this season. New York won the season opener in Xcel Energy Center.

Kendall Coyne Schofield scored two first-period goals for the Frost. That led to Kayle Osborne replacing Sirens starter Abigail Levy in the net to start the second period.

Taylor Heise scored on her quickly, two minutes into the second period, giving Minnesota a 3-0 lead.

But Osborne did not allow another goal in regulation while the Sirens (2-1-1-1) rallied.

Brooke Hobson and Elizabeth Giguère each scored in the second period and Alex Carpenter lifted a shot over Hensley’s shoulder from deep in the faceoff circle to tie the score midway through the third period.

Hensley, twice an Olympian and a six-time participant in the world championships, turned away four close-in, open shots in overtime, two on breakaways.

“During the second period our team could have been frustrated with me, but they weren’t,” Hensley said. “We came together in the locker room, and they came out and did everything they could, and I just tried to do my job and get us some points out of the game. In a season like this, especially when you’re on the road, it’s important to get points.”

Minnesota (3-1-1-0) got goals from Denisa Křížová, Grace Zumwinkle and Heise in the shootout. Noora Tulus and Carpenter scored in the shootout for New York, but Hensley came up with a save on Sarah Fillier before stopping the final two shooters.

“When you have people like Carp and Abby [Roque] coming down on you, I played with them a long time and so it’s one of those, ‘You know what I know and I know what you’re going to do,’ so I just try to stay in front of it,” Hensley said.

Hensley finished with 33 saves on 36 shots. Osborne made 18 saves on 19 shots over her 45 minutes in goal for New York. Carpenter’s two-goal effort lifted her past Coyne Schofield and into the league lead with four goals in her first five games; she has a league-leading seven points.

This story contains material from the Associated Press.