OTTAWA - Needing just a single point to clinch a spot in the Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey League playoffs, the Ottawa Charge were shut out 3-0 by the Minnesota Frost on home ice Wednesday night.
鈥淵eah, we knew what the opportunity was, of course,鈥 said Charge coach Carla MacLeod. 鈥淎nd 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.鈥
MacLeod struggled to justify or explain her team鈥檚 lacklustre performance.
鈥淚 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,鈥 said MacLeod. 鈥淪o, 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.鈥
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.
Ottawa, clinging to the league鈥檚 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.
鈥淭he group that was there last year I think we definitely want to learn and take that as a lesson,鈥 said forward Emily Clark. 鈥淏ut honestly, being someone that was here last year, that鈥檚 not in my mind. I鈥檓 all in on this season and this group and it鈥檚 a different story.鈥
Clark added that the team will need to move past Wednesday's loss.
鈥淚 think it would be silly if we tried to start from scratch and lost the belief that we鈥檝e been building,鈥 Clark said. "Bottom line, we鈥檝e got to win in Toronto in a couple days. We鈥檙e still in this, we鈥檙e still in this fight.鈥
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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e all have to step up a little bit next game,鈥 said Philips. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e all pretty comfortable doing that, you know, we鈥檙e all pulling for each other.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published April 30, 2025.
