Minnesota reaches PWHL final with Game 5 win over Toronto

Taylor Heise scored the eventual winner 8:30 into the third period as fourth-ranked Minnesota eliminated top-seeded Toronto with a 4-1 victory in the winner-take-all Game 5 to advance to the Walter Cup Final.

Sophia Kunin potted an empty-netter for Minnesota's third tally with 1:12 to go, and then Heise added another with 15 seconds left. Kendall Coyne Schofield assisted on both of Heise's goals.

Goaltenders Maddie Rooney and Kristen Campbell each made 27 saves. Toronto's Campbell faced one more shot than her Minnesota counterpart.

Minnesota will face Boston in the championship round. Boston - also a lower seed at No. 3 - swept second-ranked Montreal in the other semifinal.

Toronto was playing its second game without the league's leading scorer, Natalie Spooner, who sustained a knee injury in Game 3. Spooner, who buried 20 goals in 24 games during the regular season, contributed a goal and an assist in three playoff contests.

Minnesota lost the first two games of the series by a combined score of 6-0 before winning three straight by a combined margin of 7-1.

The Walter Cup Final begins Sunday at 5 p.m. ET in Massachusetts. It's a best-of-five series much like the semifinals.