Lee Stecklein scored twice as the Minnesota Frost staved off elimination and put the Ottawa Charge's playoff hopes on ice with a 3-0 win Wednesday night in the Professional Women's Hockey League.
The Charge (12-1-4-12) needed just one point to secure their first playoff appearance. Ottawa earning the single point would have ended the defending champion Frost's playoff chances.
It will come down to the final regular season games Saturday.
Ottawa will need a regulation win or overtime win against the Toronto Sceptres on Saturday, or Minnesota (9-5-4-11) to lose its final game against Boston on Saturday in order to clinch a playoff berth. The Charge hold the tiebreaker should the two teams be tied in points.
Leading 1-0, the Frost extended their lead at 5:38 of the third period when Stecklein beat Gwyneth Philips with a wrister from the point. Stecklein added an empty-net goal with 34 seconds remaining for her second goal of the season.
Philips, who stopped 31 shots, and Nicole Hensley, who had a 24-save shutout, were solid in the second with both making a number of big saves.
WATCH | Frost shutdown Charge:
Charge miss opportunity to secure spot in PWHL playoffs with loss to Frost
Philips stopped Minnesota's Denisa Krizova and then turned away Katy Knoll to keep the game scoreless. Hensley, who made 24 saves for her first shutout of the season, was equal to the task stopping Ottawa's Brianne Jenner and Shiann Darkangelo.
The Charge got into penalty trouble late in the period, but Philips was able to hold the Frost off. With 1:17 remaining in the second Kendall Coyne-Schofield beat Philips through the legs on a partial-screen to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
A scoreless first saw the Charge fail to capitalize on two
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