The Minnesota Frost are eager to defend their PWHL title after an eventful summer with the trophy

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Taylor Heise and her Minnesota Frost teammates had the time of their lives celebrating the inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League championship throughout the summer, taking the Walter Cup with them wherever they could.

“If someone hasn't seen it,” Heise said, “they just weren't in the right place.”

One of those outings was to the Minnesota State Fair, where the sterling silver trophy posed for pictures, saw the sights and even served as a receptacle for serving the group a margarita during a four-hour tour on a August afternoon.

"I had scrapes up and down my arm," Heise said, flashing a mischievous smile: "That was my offseason lifting.”'

Goalie Nicole Hensley took the cup back to her native Colorado, including a visit to her favorite concert venue, the venerable Red Rocks amphitheater. Shipping from player to player was meticulously arranged via UPS so everyone had a turn.

“It was pretty cool," Hensley said. "Door to door service.”

The entire team has more to carry when the PHWL's second season begins on Nov. 30, with new logos and nicknames for every club after branding was largely skipped over in the hasty launch a year ago. Winning a title breeds fiercer competition, particularly in a six-team league with so much familiarity between players from their college and international careers.

“We have a spot on our back,” said Heise, who led the team with five goals in 10 playoff games. “Everyone's going to look at us a specific way.”

There's been no shortage of attention for this team. One week after the dramatic win over Boston in the finals last spring, Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz — an icon for women's hockey in this hockey-rich state — was removed from her post by the PHWL. She was later replaced by Melissa Caruso. Ken Klee, who took over on the fly when the initial hire Charlie Burggraf resigned a week before the season began, was retained as head coach. The Athletic, citing unnamed sources within the league, reported there was a rift between Darwitz and Klee and thus between certain players who were supporters of each.

“For me it’s just about getting our group back together,” Klee said on Thursday after practice. “We’re focusing on the future. Pro hockey things happen, some unfortunate things and some things out of our control, and we’re just really looking forward and excited to get the season going.”

Neither PHWL officials nor Frost leaders or players have been willing to speak publicly about the situation.

“Those were league decisions,” said Frost forward Kendall Coyne Schofield, who was second on the team in scoring last season. “We’re here to play hockey.”

Whatever issues might've bubbled up in the aftermath of the championship were either nonexistent or tamped down in the leadup to the title.

“We had an unbelievable locker room. We had an unbelievable group, an unbelievable staff,” Klee said. “If we didn’t have those things, we wouldn’t have won.”

The PWHL is a centralized league that owns all six franchises and is financed by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, with an eye on expansion for 2025-26. The Frost have relished the opportunity to lean into their new name and wear the new threads featuring several shades of purple and the “F” logo with icicle-like points on the lettering.

“Last year was a lot about building our league, building up our fan base, having all the little girls have the best time,” Heise said. “Now I think we can focus on that as well as focus on the ice and everything that we can do there. We want to bring a better team out every single time we come out there.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Minnesota Frost forward Brooke McQuigge (3) skates during a PWHL hockey practice Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota Frost head coach Ken Klee, right, and general manager Melissa Caruso, center, talk with reporters following PWHL hockey practice Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota Frost forward Grace Zumwinkle (13) shoots the puck during a PWHL hockey practice Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota Frost goaltender Maddie Rooney (35) tracks the puck during a PWHL hockey practice Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota Frost head coach Ken Klee watches over his players during a PWHL hockey practice Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

FILE - Minnesota Frost's Grace Zumwinkle, left, throws out a ceremonial first pitch as teammate Taylor Heise, right, watches before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins, Sept. 9, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

FILE - Minnesota coach Ken Klee watches a video screen during a challenge in the second period of Game 2 of a PWHL hockey championship series against Boston, May 21, 2024, in Lowell, Mass. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell, File)

FILE - Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield celebrates with the trophy after beating Boston in Game 5 of the PWHL Walter Cup hockey finals, May 29, 2024, in Lowell, Mass. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Trevor Lawrence took the Jacksonville Jaguars back to the playoffs with his nearly flawless work through the air.

On Sunday, he used his legs to put the Jags on the cusp of a division title.

Lawrence ran for two scores, Cam Little made a tiebreaking, 42-yard field goal with 6:58 to play, and the Jags beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 to move within one victory of their first AFC South crown since 2022.

“We are a very confident group. We feel like, ‘Why not us?’ We feel like it should be us,” Lawrence said. “We’ve got to go and finish the job next week. It’s a huge game — a division game to win the AFC South. We know what we have to do, and we know what we have ahead of us.”

Their celebration was put on hold for another week after two-time defending division champion Houston beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-16 on Saturday. That result also eliminated the Colts (8-8) from the postseason.

Still, it didn’t diminish what the Jags (12-4) did Sunday.

Jacksonville won its seventh straight to remain one game ahead of the Texans. The Jags are also in the mix for the AFC's top seed under Liam Coen, who became the first coach to win 12 games after taking over a team that won four games the previous season.

Lawrence had a workmanlike performance, completing 23 of 37 passes for 263 yards — ending his streak of four straight games with 275 yards, two TDs and a passer rating over 100. He also threw his first interception in five weeks.

The numbers weren't important to Lawrence.

“We’ve got the confidence that when we play well, we can beat anybody,” he said. “Who cares who thinks who is the best team? We’ll actually have the chance to prove it. We’ll have our shot.”

Jackonville kept 44-year-old Colts quarterback Philip Rivers winless in three games since he returned to the league following a five-year retirement.

Indy (8-8) has lost six straight and seven of eight to become the sixth team since 1970 — and the first since the 1995 Oakland Raiders — to miss the postseason after starting 8-2.

“We were talking in there and I think the start, the hot start, is what probably makes this whole thing hurt even more,” Rivers said. “If it had been one of those kinds of back-and-forth years the whole year — you look up and you find a way to win eight, nine games and you go, ‘Shoot, just kind of a grinding kind of year.' But the fact they were at eight (wins) so soon and it's just been a tough last six-game stretch or so.”

Rivers went 17 of 30 for 147 yards with one TD and one interception. His pick set up Jacksonville's go-ahead score.

The fourth-oldest quarterback to start an NFL game relied on his wisdom to put Jacksonville in an early 10-0 hole. A long opening kickoff return by Ashton Dulin set up a field goal, and the Colts converted a Jags turnover into a 3-yard TD run from Jonathan Taylor.

Lawrence answered with a 4-yard TD run and again in the third quarter with a nifty 6-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter to make it 14-10.

Dulin's second long return, a 56-yarder, set up Rivers' 5-yard TD pass to Mo Alie-Cox that put Indy up 17-14 with 5:58 left in the third.

Then Little tied the score with a 34-yard field goal, broke the tie with his 42-yarder and extended the margin with a late 53-yarder before the Jags sealed it by intercepting Riley Leonard's final heave into the end zone.

More celebrations could be coming soon for the Jags.

“We haven’t addressed making the playoffs as a team,” Coen said. “We haven’t talked about goals, about the division, the conference, the Super Bowl, none of that. We’re focused on being 1-0 each week and keeping the mindset as singular as we can.”

Jaguars: Etienne rushed 17 times for 76 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his four seasons. ... Parker Washington caught eight passes for 115 yards.

Colts: Taylor tied his single-season franchise records for TD runs (18) and total TDs (19), matching his totals from 2021. ... The Colts lost their final three home games after winning their first six, including a game in Berlin.

Indy receiver Michael Pittman Jr. left briefly in the first quarter with a calf injury, and two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner did not return after aggravating the calf injury that kept him out the previous three weeks.

Jaguars: Can win the division title with a victory over visiting Tennessee next weekend.

Colts: At Houston next weekend to conclude their fifth straight season without a playoff berth.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws under pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars safety Eric Murray (29) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Germaine Pratt (53) intercepts a pass intended for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) celebrates after scoring during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) scores past Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross (20) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) catches a pass as Indianapolis Colts cornerback Mekhi Blackmon (29) and safety Nick Cross (20) defend during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence scores past Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore (95) and safety Camryn Bynum (0) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)