Souhan: Frost rookie Brooke McQuigge goes to work in big playoff victory

As an office, it doesn’t look like much. No windows, no coffee machine, no ergonomic chair. Looks a bit crowded, too.

You wonder how Brooke McQuigge gets anything done in such a spartan space, but she was highly efficient Sunday night.

The Frost’s gritty rookie forward set up shop in front of the Toronto net and scored two goals to help her team win 7-5 at Xcel Energy Center in what turned out to be an advertisement for the PWHL’s skill and speed.

The Frost took a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five semifinals, in their attempt to defend their inaugural-season championship.

McQuigge is from Ontario, played collegiately at Clarkson and was the Frost’s fourth-round draft pick last year, after playing in the SDHL, a professional league in Sweden.

“She’s been kind of a beast in front of the net for us all year,” Frost coach Ken Klee said, before mentioning a goal McQuigge scored this season from her stomach. “She’s had a tremendous year for us. When we drafted her, we thought she was going to be a player that would add some sandpaper to our group, and she also has a good scoring touch.”

Sandpaper, and strength.

“We were just talking about her,” said Frost forward Michela Cava, who also scored two goals against the Sceptres on Sunday. “She’s so strong on her stick, so strong in front of the net, it’s so hard for people to move her. We were just saying, like, if I’m going to score goals like that, I’d have to have my hand literally at the bottom of my blade to be able to get it in. So she’s pretty incredible in front of the net and a huge addition to our team.”

Added forward Liz Schepers: “She’s a huge part of our power-play success. And our five-on-five game.”

McQuigge said the PWHL is filled with bigger, stronger, faster, more skilled players, which is the way this is supposed to work. The PWHL is the showcase for the best players in the world. Like the WNBA, the league is still small enough — with only six teams — that every team is stocked with stars.

So maybe a fast-break hockey playoff game shouldn’t be surprising.

The Frost took a 3-0 first-period lead before Toronto took a shot.

They scored on seven of their first 20 shots.

They won the highest-scoring game in PWHL history.

Somewhere there is a basketball team wishing it could make this many shots.

After the game, McQuigge tossed a puck to a fan.

“There was this young girl making eye contact with me, so I decided to throw it to her,” McQuigge said.

The way the game went, you almost expected it to wind up in the net.

“All through my college years, I was net-front, so I’m kind of used to that position,” McQuigge said. “We practice situations a lot, and then we do a lot of skill stuff, working on rebounds and getting to the gritty areas. So I feel like that’s definitely what’s helped me.”

In an IndyCar-type of game game, McQuigge spent the night in the passing lane. She had not scored in the first two games of the series, yet she was looking for a hat trick by the middle of the second period.

She scored her first goal by camping in front of the net as the Frost won a faceoff. She flicked home a perfect pass from Grace Zumwinkle to make it 2-0.

In the second period, McQuigge jumped on a rebound on a Frost power play to make it 4-2, diving between a defender and Toronto goalie Kristen Campbell to punch the puck home.

“We got off to a really hot start,” McQuigge said. “I think this kind of game just shows the kind of talent that we have in this league. I think that’s why we scored so many goals today, because we just jumped on them and kept coming at them.”

On Sunday at the X, the Frost made scoring look easy in part because McQuigge was so tough.