After she tied the game with 15 seconds to go in the third period, Minnesota’s Britta Curl-Salemme’s overtime winner was the last thing the home crowd in Ottawa’s TD Place Arena wanted to see during Game 2 of the Walter Cup Final on May 22.
Throughout the championship series so far, Curl-Salemme has become a villain for Ottawa Charge fans and a hero for the Frost.
“She’s an outstanding player, outstanding person, an outstanding teammate,” said Frost head coach Ken Klee. “No one’s happier for her than our entire team.
“She’s obviously had to deal with some adversity and stuff and she just rises above it and she just goes out, competes hard, and she’s a great person, great player and we’re lucky to have her.”
Controversy around the 2024 PWHL draft pick has been shaped by a number of moments in the past two seasons, most notably regarding Curl-Salemme’s public apology for social media activity targeting LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.
On the ice, a Game 1 collision with Charge forward Kateřina Mrázová, who was sidelined in Game 2, only added fuel to the home crowd’s displeasure with Curl-Salemme, booing her every time she touched the puck.
For the second time in this series, the Charge and Frost went scoreless through the first period.
The Charge left the dressing room firing in the second period, registering 16 shots. Although Ottawa couldn’t find the back of the net, they recorded the highest shooting tally for a single period so far in the playoffs.
But the Frost had an answer in goaltender Maddie Rooney, who watched her team lose Game 1 from the bench. Taking the crease in Game 2, Rooney stopped 37 shots, continuing her perfect 3-0 record in the 2025 playoffs.
“Today was Maddie’s night to go and she was excellent,” Klee said. “She kept us in that game.”
Ottawa’s hometown hero Rebecca Leslie spoiled Rooney’s clean sheet, forcing a turnover behind the Minnesota net and cycling the puck to a streaking Jocelyn Larocque who outwaited the netminder to finally open the scoring. The veteran defender’s first of the playoffs looked like the dagger, as the clock drained into the final minute.
But that was when Charge forward Tereza Vanišová was booked for her third penalty of the game, giving Minnesota a six on four advantage as Klee exchanged Rooney for an extra attacker.
“That’s not an ideal scenario for us by any stretch of the imagination,” Charge head coach Carla MacLeod said.
As the clock reached 15 seconds to go, the Ottawa crowd witnessed their worst nightmare on ice, as Curl-Salemme buried the game-tying goal to force another overtime in Game 2.
The Charge still had a shot at taking a 2-0 series lead, putting up eight shots through more than 16 minutes of overtime play. But that night, the hockey gods had a flair for the dramatic.
With about three minutes remaining in the first overtime, even as Clark tried to tie her up, a falling Curl-Salemme fired a slot shot under Philips’ blocker to thoroughly silence the home crowd.
Curl-Salemme was unavailable for a post-game press conference, as head coach Ken Klee told reporters she was in the trainer’s room. Curl-Salemme has not been made available to media all season.
“She’s just taking care of herself,” Klee said. “It’s the playoffs, everyone’s banged up, and that’s just the way it is tonight.”
Heading on the road for Game 3 in Minnesota on May 24, the Charge will have to take on the Frost without the boisterous support of their sold-out home crowd.
“We’ll definitely miss them,” Larocque said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a hockey game, so we’re excited to get on a plane and go play in their barn.”
Even as they’ve held the reigning champions to just three goals in two games, Rooney’s stellar play poses a challenge for a Charge group that has struggled to score all season.
“I think we’re in a good spot, we just gotta keep going to the net,” MacLeod said. “I don’t think you change a lot, I think you just continue to do what we’re doing tonight.”
Featured photo by PWHL.
