Frost even championship series by beating Ottawa in overtime 2-1

They did it again.

Faced with going home down two games to none in the PWHL Finals, the visiting Frost forced overtime Tuesday on a tying goal with 16 seconds left in the third period, then scored again 16:24 into overtime to beat Ottawa 2-1 at TD Place Arena.

Frost rookie forward Britta Curl-Salemme played both the hero and the villain.

She scored both goals, forcing OT with a power-play rebound goal from the crease’s edge only 2:19 after Ottawa had taken the game’s first lead. Curl-Salemme scored again in overtime with a sweeping, falling shot as she was knocked down.

The Frost are 5-1 after losing a playoff game. They lost Tuesday’s opener in OT, then bounced back with goals that again seemed to be their dark hour.

“The third period we finally got to our game,” Frost coach Ken Klee told reporters in Ottawa. “We started putting pucks in and playing the way we know how to play. It was a tight game. We know every game is going to be tight. That’s what we’ve come to expect and our ladies are up for it and ready to go.”

Maddie Rooney kept the Frost in the game by stopping 37 of 38 shots.

“She was great today, she was definitely locked in,” Klee said. “She has been that way all season. It’s no surprise when we put Maddie in the net and that’s what we expect. Same with Nicole [Hensley]. Tonight was Maddie’s night to go and she was excellent. No question. She kept us in there and gave us a chance to get our feet under us and get going.”

BOXSCORE: Frost 2, Ottawa 1 (OT)

Games 3 and 4 are at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday and Monday.

Curl-Salemme rescued her team and with her style of play provided a target for a boisterous crowd, who booed her every time she touched the puck — a habit dating to earlier this season.

In Game 1, Curl-Salemme collided with Ottawa’s Katerina Mrazova knee-to-knee, a play that Charge coach Carla MacLeod said she didn’t like and called a dangerous play. Mrazova didn’t play Game 2.

Curl-Salemme didn’t attend the postgame news conference. Klee said she was receiving treatment in the training room.

“She was outstanding,” Klee said. “She’s an outstanding player, outstanding person, outstanding teammate. No one is happier for her than our entire team. She has had to deal with adversity and stuff and she’s been able to rise above. She just goes out and competes hard. We’re lucky to have her.”

About not taking to the media afterward, Klee said: “she’s just taking care of herself. It’s the playoffs. Everyone is banged up now.”

On Thursday, neither team scored until the game’s final four minutes, when they suddenly swapped goals in a matter of moments.

Veteran defender Jocelyne Larocque made a play for Ottawa coming through the slot with a deke and a juke at 17:25 of the third period.

Curl-Salemme answered back, finally solving stubborn Ottawa goalie Gwyneth Philips after the Frost pulled Rooney and the Charge took a tripping penalty with 37 seconds remaining.

Curl-Salemme scored off Claire Thompson’s stopped shot from the point, rapping home from short range a shot that went through Philips’s legs and into the net.