By Canadian Press

Charge eye regular-season finale for last chance at clinching PWHL playoff berth

Apr 30, 2025 | 8:46 PM

OTTAWA — Needing just a single point to clinch a spot in the Professional Women’s Hockey League playoffs, the Ottawa Charge were shut out 3-0 by the Minnesota Frost on home ice Wednesday night.

“Yeah, we knew what the opportunity was, of course,” said Charge coach Carla MacLeod. “And you know, at the end of the day, I don’t think it was a lack of effort. I just feel we were just a bit blah.”

MacLeod struggled to justify or explain her team’s lacklustre performance.

“I think at the end of the day, it was just, you know, maybe that, maybe the moment was a little bit bigger than we anticipated,” said MacLeod. “So, yeah, it’s a misstep on our part, that’s for sure. And we’ll make sure that that’s not the case on Saturday.”

The Charge (12-1-4-12) will have one last chance on Saturday to redeem themselves but will need a much better effort from start to finish.

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Ottawa, clinging to the league’s final playoff spot, now faces a must-win showdown with Toronto (12-3-5-9) to keep its season alive.

A win in regulation or overtime would seal a playoff berth. Otherwise, the Charge will have to hope Minnesota, which sits just one point back, comes up short in its final game against Boston.

Ottawa was in the same situation last season and fell short, losing 5-2 to Toronto in the regular-season finale.

“The group that was there last year I think we definitely want to learn and take that as a lesson,” said forward Emily Clark. “But honestly, being someone that was here last year, that’s not in my mind. I’m all in on this season and this group and it’s a different story.”

Clark added that the team will need to move past Wednesday’s loss.

“I think it would be silly if we tried to start from scratch and lost the belief that we’ve been building,” Clark said. “Bottom line, we’ve got to win in Toronto in a couple days. We’re still in this, we’re still in this fight.”

Ottawa has a 2-0-0-3 record against Toronto but has a better road record at 7-1-0-6.

While there were few positives from Ottawa’s performance, the one silver lining was the play of goaltender Gwyneth Philips. The rookie has been solid stepping in while veteran Emerance Maschmeyer recovers from a leg injury.

Philips is no stranger to big games. Most recently, the 24-year-old had to step in during the gold-medal game at the women’s world hockey championship after starter Aerin Frankel was injured. Philips made 17 saves on 18 shots for the U.S., including 10 in overtime, in a 4-3 win.

“We all have to step up a little bit next game,” said Philips. “I think we’re all pretty comfortable doing that, you know, we’re all pulling for each other.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press