Rooney earns shutout, PWHL Minnesota stays alive with 2-0 win over Toronto

One of the most popular cliches in professional sports? “You’re never out of it until you lose at home.” For PWHL Minnesota on Monday night, if they didn’t win, not only would they be out of it, but their inaugural season would be over.

But goals from Maggie Flaherty and Denisa Krizova in the second period, including an 18-save shutout from Maddie Rooney, Minnesota kept their Walter Cup hopes alive with a 2-0 win over Toronto at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Minnesota now trails 2-1 in the best-of-five series, with Game 4 taking place Wednesday in St. Paul.

Minnesota snapped a seven-game losing streak that stretched back to March 24 during the regular season. They also scored their first goals of the series, having lost 4-0 and 2-0 in Games 1 and 2, respectively.

Just over two minutes into the second period, Minnesota took advantage of a Toronto turnover that led to Schepers feeding Flaherty a pass up top, who fired a puck with eyes past Toronto goaltender Kristen Campbell.

Up until that point, Campbell had a nearly 143-minute shutout streak.

Forward Liz Schepers, who assisted on both of her team’s goals, told reporters after the game what a relief it was to get that first one.

“It’s been a while for our group, we knew we’ve had great chances, and it was only a matter of time before we broke through,” Schepers said. “It started with getting passed off a great shift from the line before us, being able to hold the offensive zone, and a quick little play, low to high, and (Flaherty) made a great shot through the screen.”

A little over six minutes later, Schepers fired a puck at Campbell from the neutral zone before getting off the ice. The Toronto netminder looked confused, perhaps unsure if she caught the puck in her chest, or if it was stuck in her pads, or maybe she thought she had more space than she anticipated, but a forechecking Krizova went after the loose puck, putting it past Campbell and giving Minnesota a 2-0 lead.

Rooney had two shutouts during the regular season and now has three on the year. She saw very little action through the first 40 minutes, only facing nine shots and backstopping a desperate Minnesota team that played some of their best hockey of the season in hopes of staving off elimination.

“Like last game, the team really helped me out defensively,” Rooney said after the game. “A lot of blocked shots today and clear the rebounds when they were there. It was a really fun atmosphere to play in, back in our home building.”

Toronto experienced a scary moment midway through the third period when Natalie Spooner, the league’s Top Goal Scorer and Points Leader in the regular season, took a hit from Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle, crashing hard into the boards and having to crawl off the ice, needing help to the Toronto locker room.

Spooner would not return to the game. Toronto head coach Troy Ryan yelled at officials over the lack of penalty on the play.

After the game, the Toronto coach shared his thoughts on his team’s performance.

“(The game was) a little bit out of character. Our passing was off, our willingness to compete along the walls was off,” Ryan said. “Just not doing the little things that have made our group successful all year. We’ve just got to be better with a doubt — in all areas.”

Game 4 is Wednesday night, with puck drop at 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT. If Minnesota is able to win, the deciding Game 5 will be Friday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Ont.

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