Frost activate Natalie Buchbinder from long-term injured reserve
A key presence on the blue line is returning to action for the final week of the regular season.
On Sunday, the Minnesota Frost announced that defender Natalie Buchbinder has been activated from long-term injured reserve. In response, the team placed defender Madison Bizal on the reserve list.
Buchbinder will be in the lineup for the Frost’s final home game of the regular season on Sunday, playing host to the Toronto Sceptres. It will be her first game since March 25, when she suffered an upper-body injury against the Montreal Victoire. In that game, she fell after an awkward collision with Victoire forward Jade Downie-Landry, forcing Buchbinder to exit the game prematurely.
In 22 games this year, Buchbinder has potted a goal and an assist, last finding the back of the net on March 21 against the Vancouver Goldeneyes. She has a plus/minus of +12, which ties her for seventh in the PWHL. Across 65 regular-season games in the first three seasons of the league, she scored three goals and seven assists for 10 points, with another two assists in 18 postseason contests.
Bizal has been on the main roster for the entire season, appearing in 16 of the Frost’s first 27 games of the campaign. She has registered two assists, both coming last month. The former Ohio State Buckeye has a -1 rating while averaging just under seven minutes of ice time per game. The Elk River, Minn. returned to the PWHL this season after spending the 2024-25 campaign with SDE HF of the SDHL in Sweden. Bizal spent the league’s inaugural season with PWHL Montreal. In 37 regular-season games, she has registered four assists.
Minnesota (13-3-4-7) enters Sunday third in the PWHL, nine points back of the Boston Fleet for second. The team needs a regulation win over Toronto to stay in contention for the second seed in the Walter Cup Playoffs. Puck drop between the Frost and Sceptres is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET.