Defending PWHL champion Minnesota Frost face playoff newcomers Ottawa Charge in best-of-5 finals

Kendall Coyne Schofield delivered a cautionary message when assessing the edge in playoff experience she and the defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost enjoy entering the PWHL Finals against the Ottawa Charge.

"Yeah, it helps, but it's not everything," Coyne Schofield said before the best-of-five series begins in Ottawa on Tuesday night. "They just played an incredible four-game series the last week-and-a-half, too, right? And that's experience they just gained."

The Frost have the championship experience in returning to the finals after a four-game semifinal series win over Toronto. The Charge, who knocked off regular-season champion Montreal in four games, are playoff newcomers after missing the postseason in the PWHL's inaugural season last year.

And the real lesson is how the regular season doesn't count for much as the finals once again feature a showdown between the two lower-seeded teams. The Charge finished third in the six-team standings and the Frost fourth - just as they did last year - with both clinching their respective berths with wins on the final day of the season.

"We have a lot of respect for Minnesota. Obviously, they were here last year and they went all the way," Charge captain Brianne Jenner said. "We know it's going to be very hard. But our group has never shied away from hard work. We're pretty excited to get started."

Minnesota's 23-player roster returned 16 from the squad that defeated Boston in five games last year. Ottawa features just four players with previous playoff experience - and they're all former Toronto players who lost a five-game semifinal series to Minnesota a year ago.

"It's just showing the parity that we have in our league," Minnesota coach Ken Klee said, referring to a regular season in which four points separated second-place Toronto and fifth-place Boston, with the Fleet eliminated by a tie-breaker after finishing tied with Ottawa and Minnesota.

The Frost are known for their offense. After scoring a league-leading 85 goals in the regular season, Minnesota outscored Toronto by a combined margin of 18-14. Minnesota features the playoffs' top six scorers, with Taylor Heise leading the list with seven points (one goal, six assists).

The Charge place an emphasis on a hard-hitting defensive style, and finished the regular season tied for last with 71 goals scored. Ottawa is coming off a semifinal series in which it totaled nine goals, with all four games decided by one-point margins, including 3-2 4OT loss in Game 2. With two goals, Jenner is the only Charge player to have scored more than once in the playoffs.

Propelling Ottawa's playoff run is rookie goalie Gwyneth Philips, who has taken over the starting duties since Emerance Maschmeyer was sidelined by a lower body injury in mid-March.

The 25-year-old from Ohio closed the season with a 4-1 record in which she allowed six goals. And she's built on her performance by allowing just six goals on 135 shots in the playoffs, including a 26-save 1-0 shutout in Game 3.

"We have so much confidence in front of her," Jenner said. "When you try to go on a run like this, it takes depth, it takes players stepping up at crucial moments. And Gwen has done that for us since she entered the net."

The Frost continue to go with a rotation in net, with the former U.S. national team tandem of Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley. Rooney went 2-0 against Toronto, while Hensley 1-1, including a 26-save outing in a 4-3 series-clinching overtime win.

The teams split their season series with three wins apiece, and Minnesota outscoring Ottawa 15-14.

Coyne Schofield sees similarities between this season and last year's run to the championship in which Minnesota won both series in a deciding Game 5s, and overcame a 2-0 deficit against Toronto. This year, the Frost clinched their playoff berth by winning their final two games, including a 3-0 victory at Ottawa.

"This playoff feel, kind of goes back to those two games," she said. "We've stepped up to the plate and to the challenge, and we're excited for the next one ahead of us."

The Charge also had to scrap to get to this point in closing the season 4-1 and clinching their playoff spot with Katerina Mrazova scoring to seal a 2-1 OT win over Toronto.

"Really proud of our group just continue to find our way and recognizing that adversity is part of the experience, and it's what allows you to grow," Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod said. "I think we've grown from it and we find ourselves in a nice opportunity now."