Liz Schepers and Minnesota Frost win back-to-back Walter Cup titles

Photo Credit: Ellen Schmidt/AP Photo

For the second consecutive season, Minnesota Frost forward Liz Schepers scored the game-winning goal in the deciding game of the Professional Women’s Hockey League Finals. The Minnesota native helped her hometown team lift the Walter Cup for the second straight year, this time on home ice.

Schepers jammed home her own rebound during a net-front scramble to win Game 4 and seal the Walter Cup title 12 minutes into overtime. All four games in the best-of-five championship series between the Frost and Ottawa Charge went to overtime.

“Hats off to Ottawa. That was a hell of a series,” said Liz Schepers following Game 4. “I could not be more proud of our team. It’s unbelievable.

“It was just the start of my shift. I knew Katy (Knoll) and Hymla (Klara Hymlarova) were working really hard behind the goal line, and I just tried to get lost. They made a great play to the front of the net, and I was able to get a couple whacks at it and saw the puck go in. And then I was on my back, and the celebration was on.”

The Frost sneaked into the postseason on the final day, clinching the fourth and final PWHL playoff spot, and finishing tied on 44 points with the Charge. Minnesota defeated the Toronto Sceptres in a four-game semifinal series to earn back-to-back trips to the PWHL Finals. After losing Game 1 to the Charge in overtime, the Frost rallied off three of their own overtime wins to take home consecutive Walter Cup titles. The Frost got overtime goals from Britta Curl-Salemme in Game 2, Knoll in the third overtime of Game 3, and Schepers in the series-deciding Game 4. All games in the series finished 2-1.

While Schepers isn’t known for her scoring, she has a knack for scoring the biggest goals of her team’s season. In the league’s two-year existence, the 26-year-old has scored the championship-winning goal each year. Last year, Schepers had no goals in 19 regular-season games and just one playoff goal. However, her lone playoff goal came in the fifth and final game of the 2024 PWHL Finals. Schepers scored the opening goal of Game 5 in the Frost’s 3-0 win over the Boston Fleet in Boston.

This year was a little different. As one of 16 returning players, the Ohio State alumna scored two goals in the regular season and doubled her point total from her rookie year. Schepers scored two goals in the 2025 playoffs, including the championship-winning goal. She also scored the first goal of a Game 3 win over the Sceptres in the semifinals. In two PWHL seasons, Schepers has one less playoff point (8) than regular-season points (9).

“A little surreal,” Schepers said. “I would have been happy with anyone scoring, but we were so happy to be here, to win here in front of our fans. Being from Minnesota, it’s really special. I always have a ton of family and friends. I don’t take that for granted. I was really happy we were able to get it done today.”

Her postseason success shouldn’t come as a surprise. Schepers owns the Ohio State Women’s Hockey record for career postseason assists (12) and points (18). She made the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s All-Tournament team in 2022, her final season at Ohio State. In that same season, Schepers helped lead Ohio State to its first women’s hockey national championship.

Thanks to Schepers and her teammates, the Frost have become the first PWHL dynasty, but how long will it last?

With two new expansion teams coming next year in Seattle and Vancouver, there will be major changes to each existing roster. The six current teams have till June 3 to submit their protected lists for the upcoming PWHL Expansion Draft on June 9. Teams will be forced to lose four players through a signing period and the expansion draft.

Will the Frost be able to continue their dominance, or will the expansion roster changes put an end to the league’s first dynasty?