Minnesota Frost celebrate second Walter Cup with downtown St. Paul parade and party

The Minnesota Frost celebrated their second straight championship Wednesday night with a parade in downtown St. Paul and a party at Xcel Energy Center, making fans feel like they were a part of something special.

“We’re experiencing history,” said Craig Rasmussen of Savage.

The Frost’s second Walter Cup in the first two years of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), which they won Monday, had fans drawing comparisons to the Green Bay Packers’ victories in the first two Super Bowls.

The party Wednesday was also about the good feeling that comes with cheering for a winning Minnesota team.

“People give Minnesota a bad time — ‘You haven’t won a title since the Twins.’ Yeah we have!” Rasmussen said. “Women’s sports are carrying the state.”

The victory parade, from the Tria Rink to Rice Park in drizzling rain, drew a crowd of about 150 dedicated Frost fans. Their cheers echoed as Frost players in black T-shirts climbed the statue of legendary U.S. Olympics coach Herb Brooks and hoisted the Walter Cup.

They whooped and chanted: “Brrrr! It’s cold out here! There must be some frost in the atmosphere!”

Some fans said they wished the celebration would have been ... bigger.

“Imagine downtown if the Wild had won,” said Elizabeth Lienesch of St. Paul. For her, it was important to show up and be part of the group celebrating the Frost’s championship.

“It’d be great if they’d shut down the streets, like they’d do for the men,” said Sandy Forseth of Eden Prairie.

“We’re getting there,” replied Warren Yamaguchi of St. Paul.

Fans trickled onto the arena floor in the Xcel Energy Center. Two-tone purple Frost jerseys mingled with last year’s darker purple Minnesota jerseys — the Frost moniker is new this season — plus a few Team USA jerseys bearing Frost players’ names, and a smattering of Wild and Vikings jerseys.

Dozens lined up to take photos with the Walter Cup and pose for selfies with players.

For some fans like Lindsay Cranston of White Bear Lake, the smaller celebration was in certain ways more fun than a giant parade. Instead of waving from towering floats, the players were walking with the fans, cheering, signing jerseys and taking photos.

And the Walter Cup was right there at eye level, something real to see and touch.

“I don’t think they realize how cool this is,” said Cranston, who brought her daughters Ruby, 11, and Lucy, 13. “It’s amazing girls this age can watch it [the PWHL] and dream about it.”

Experiencing the energy at Frost games last year got Rachel Stohlmann of West St. Paul hooked on hockey. The lifelong Twins fan bought season tickets and started bringing her nephew Hugo Ruiz, 10.

“There’s something about the way these women work,” Stohlmann said. “Maybe they can go talk to the Timberwolves and the Wild and give them some advice.”

For Eric Hellner of Brooklyn Center, being a Frost fan is an easily accessible way to root for a Minnesota team. The Frost offered an affordable way to watch elite players on the ice, some of them Olympians and collegiate national champions.

“It’s good hockey!” Hellner said.

Game tickets were less expensive than comparable seats for the Wild, he said. And he didn’t have to shell out for premium cable channels to watch away games; they were streamed free on YouTube.

From the stage, coach Ken Klee said the team appreciated the fans as much as the fans love the Frost.

“Thank you for continuing to support us,” he said, “and getting us another ring.”