Minnesota Frost grab overtime PWHL victory over Boston

Thursday’s winning goal in overtime might have been just like Frost second-round pick and rookie Britta Curl-Salemme said it was, the slowest breakaway goal in hockey history.

But she still had 13 seconds to beat the Boston Fleet with it, 4-3 in a careening, shorthanded victory at Xcel Energy Center.

Teammate Claire Thompson made the sprawling play that broke up a 2-on-1 on one end. Kendall Coyne Schofield made the pass at the far blue line that caught Boston overcommitted and freed Curl-Salemme. She made the deke and beat Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel despite being on rubbery legs after a long night already and 3-on-3 hockey for those final five overtime minutes.

But the slowest breakaway goal? Ever?

“It had to be,” she said afterward. “I don’t want to watch the replay. People told me I looked like I was skating on an incline.”

Curl-Salemme scored at 4:47 of overtime, her fourth goal of the season, and the Frost moved into first place in the six-team league, in the first game of 2025. It has done so with 14 points earned in seven games while Montreal has 13 in six games.

She had the advantage of being out ahead of the last Fleet defender on a night when the Frost played without star Taylor Heise and goaltender Maddie Rooney and then lost scorer Grace Zumwinkle to injury in the first period.

BOXSCORE: Frost 4, Boston 3 (OT)

That was one of Thompson’s two assists Thursday. She has nine this season, three more than any other skater in the league. She has 10 points and is in sole possession of the league’s scoring race. She has a point — one goal, eight assists — in each of the past five games.

She was drafted third overall last summer after she took a break from medical school in New York.

On Thursday, she made the defensive stop that sent Curt-Salemme off and skating.

“Don’t collapse, I guess,” Curl-Salemme said when asked what she thought when time elongated.

The Frost led by two goals twice — 2-0 after they scored twice in 43 seconds midway through the second period, then after Brooke McQuigge answered four-time Olympian Hilary Knight, who had cut her team’s deficit to 3-1.

But former PWHL Minnesota center Susanna Tapani — traded for currently injured Sophie Jaques — quickly scored twice late in regulation to force overtime and that wearying 3-on-3 hockey.

“They got some goals on us, but we had to time to reset,” Curl-Salemme said. “There’s points on the line, so there’s no reason to think about what just happened. Just keep pushing forward.”

They did so despite a viral bug that hit the team hard after everyone went home for their holiday break.

“First practice back from Christmas, we were missing seven players and it’s just working its way through,” Klee said. “It’s tough. We’ve got players dropping quickly, but I’m proud of our group for finding a way to win. I’d like the three points [from winning] in regulation, but Boston’s a good team. They’re going to keep fighting until the end and they did. Luckily, we were able to battle it out in overtime and Britta obviously scored a good for us.”