Stecklein scores twice, leads Frost past Sceptres to tie series 1-1

Lee Stecklein scored twice and Sophie Jaques buried one late, leading the Minnesota Frost to a 5-3 win over the Toronto Sceptres on Friday, tying their first-round, best-of-five series at one.

Jacques goal came with six minutes to go in the third period, taking a give-and-go with Taylor Heise and squeaking a wrister past Kristen Campbell to give the Frost a 4-3 lead.

Mellissa Channell-Watkins scored an empty netter with a minute to go to seal a 5-3 victory and guarantee a Game 4 in Minnesota.

Hayley Scamurra opened the scoring midway through the first period getting a shot on net with traffic out front, deflecting off Channell Watkins and giving Toronto a 1-0 lead. The Frost responded with three straight goals to open the second, led by Stecklein potting two and Michela Cava scoring the other.

Down 3-1, the Sceptres scored two goals in 27 seconds, with Savannah Harmon blasting one from the point, then Allie Munroe cutting in front and snapping it past Maddie Rooney to tie the game at three.

Quick stats

• Defender Renata Fast led all skates in shots for the second straight game, finishing with five.

• Six of the game’s eight goals were scored by defenders.

• Rooney got the start for Minnesota, despite Hensley making a season-high 34 saves in Game 1. Ronney ended up stopping 27 of 30 shots for the Frost.

• Campbell allowed five goals on 25 shots, the first time she’s allowed a handful since Dec. 7 when the Sceptres lost 6-3 to … the Frost.

The series shifts to the State of Hockey as the Frost will host the Sceptres at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul for Game 3 on Sunday. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. EDT.

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