The Minnesota Whitecaps have played in the semifinals in each of their first four Premier Hockey Federation seasons and are on the cusp of clinching a berth in the league’s final four a fifth-straight year.
The 2019 Isobel Cup champions currently rank third in the league’s overall standings and will surely get a taste of playoff-type hockey over the schedule’s final three weekends where they’re matched up at home against second place Toronto, then in Boston to face the first place Pride, and back home where they’ll wrap up the 2022-23 campaign against fourth place Connecticut.
Sidney Morin would have it no other way.
“Our focus right now is to get one more win to keep our fate in our own hands so that we don’t have to rely on other teams,” said Morin. “Clinching in the top four would be fantastic. We’re trying not to look too far ahead but just play every game like a playoff game. Any of those teams could be our opponent in the playoffs which sets us up for success moving into the postseason because we’re going to be playing at a high level against good teams and have to make sure we’re playing the right way.”
Playing the right way starts by rebounding from a pair of home losses to Buffalo that snapped the team’s record six-game winning-streak. The Whitecaps now take on T6 for the first time since two one-goal losses north of the border on opening weekend, beginning with a 3-2 overtime loss where Morin scored Minnesota’s first goal of the season in her PHF debut.
“We played them our very first two games of the season and I think we’re a completely different team now than we were then,” she said. “We had probably half our team brand new to the PHF when we first played them and had some wide eyes at the time. Being more comfortable playing with one another has gotten a lot better as the season has come along. They’re obviously a terrific team with a great goaltender and high scoring offense so it’ll definitely be a challenge for us with a playoff feel.”
The All-Star defender is a Whitecaps alternate captain and one of 11 players adjusting to new teammates and life in their first PHF season. The team started the campaign with four-straight losses then won 10 of their next 12 including six-straight on the road to start 2023. The travel schedule provided time to bond and created a memorable stretch that Morin believes helped turn the tide.
“We had a pretty long Christmas break where we got to recharge the batteries and reflect on what we were doing,” she said. “We played six road games after the break with three long travel weekends where we got to spend more time as a team and came up with a huge six wins that really boosted us and put us in a good spot in the standings. I think that was huge for our team looking back. Just going to work on the road with no other worries other than playing hockey, getting to spend time with your teammates, and taking care of business on the ice was a big turning point and showed us we are capable of making a run.”
Before last weekend’s losses, Minnesota’s offense was averaging more than three goals-per-game. They were also finding success despite surrendering the game’s first goal. The Whitecaps have only scored first five times in 18 games with six of their 10 wins counting as comebacks.
“I think we have an underdog and comeback mentality and it’s worked for us,” said Morin. “We’ve played down a lot and we’ve been able to comeback the majority of the time and pull out wins. We’re never going to give up and we’re going to work hard until the final buzzer.”
Even though the team’s road record outweighs their performances so far in Richfield, Morin believes there’s still no place like home.
“We have great crowds at Richfield Arena and expect more this weekend so the atmosphere will be great,” she said. “The crowds have gotten better as the season has gone along and they’ve really embraced our home. A lot of new fans and former fans continuing to support us has been terrific. It’s just a great atmosphere with fans wrapped around the whole bowl. We’re extremely lucky to have all the facilities that we do and a lot of team staff putting in the work to make sure we’re taken care of and can focus on playing hockey.”
After graduating from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2017, the 27-year-old from nearby Minnetonka, MN played five years overseas including four seasons in Sweden and one in Switzerland. So far in her first professional season in North America, Morin leads all PHF blue liners with seven goals and ranks second with 15 points through 18 games. She also leads her position and all Whitecaps skaters with 81 shots on goal.
“While I was in Europe I had a more offensive mindset and that’s where my offensive game really developed and now I’ve been able to bring that back here,” she said. “I like to shoot the puck. If you’re not shooting, nobody is scoring, so if I can get pucks through from the point then hopefully there’s another chance for somebody else in front or it creates chaos in the opponent’s end where we can maintain possession and get another look at the net. I definitely have a shoot first mentality and I think players on my team are able to read off that when I have the puck.”
The smaller ice surface might not present the same opportunities to showcase her superior skating, but Morin still believes its her strongest asset that’s helped adapt to the competitiveness of the PHF.
“I think that my skating stands for its own and I can skate with just about anybody and get back into position with just a few strides,” she said. “I think I lean on my skating quite a bit and how I read the game with that quarterback mentality of seeing the ice and watching plays develop before they actually do. It’s been fun playing at a higher level with the speed of the game here. Everybody has the skills to make plays so it’s been fun to go to battle every night where any team can win.”
Not only is Morin developing her vision for the game on the ice, but off the ice she’s six months into her role as a Pro Scout with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes where she’s gained new perspectives. She can often be found at Minnesota Wild games keeping an eye on them and their opponents, filing reports on players in the lineup, or watching games featuring the team’s drafted and pro prospects to evaluate and track their progress.
“I watch so many guys on any given day, a lot of NHL players, and I especially pay attention when I watch defensemen,” she said. “The way they compete every single night is something really special. There’s no way you can take a shift off when you’re playing in the NHL, you have to bring it every single time. I think that’s something that’s definitely stood out for me.”
Of course Morin is no stranger to competing at the highest level in her own regard as a member of the 2018 U.S. National Women’s Team that won Olympic gold in PyeongChang. This past week marked the five-year anniversary of the historic victory and gave her pause to reflect.
“I can still picture pretty much everything about that final moment which is really exciting, but also crazy how fast time flies and that it’s been five years already,” she said. “It’s a moment that many people still remember all across the world, and to be a part of that team was something truly special and bringing home that gold medal for the second time in U.S. Women’s Olympic history was an awesome feeling and I was super happy to be part of it.”
Now Morin wants to make more championship memories in Minnesota and add to the Whitecaps legacy she grew up idolizing.
“It’s special to see how far the team has come,” she said. “A lot of players that are new this season grew up playing on the Minnesota Jr Whitecaps. We watched the professional Whitecaps, got stickers on our helmets and really felt like we were going to be the next in line to be superstars in Minnesota one day. It’s funny that it’s come full circle, but for a lot of us it’s really special to represent our hometown and home state.”
Cover photo by Kayla Franz
