The Ottawa Charge are back in the Walter Cup Final after eliminating Boston, leaning on resilience, playoff experience and Gwyneth Philips in net.
The Ottawa Charge are headed back to the Walter Cup Final with another chance to finish what they could not a year ago.
Ottawa advanced to the championship series for the second straight season after a 4-3 double-overtime win over the Boston Fleet, a game that tested the team’s composure after Boston scored three times in less than two minutes. Defender Brooke Hobson tied it late in the third period, and Michela Cava scored less than two minutes into the second overtime to end the semifinal series.
The Charge will face the winner of the other semifinal between the Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Frost. That deciding Game 5 had been scheduled for Monday but was postponed because of illness, according to CBC Sports’ report; a new date had not been announced in the captured report.
For Ottawa, the return trip carries obvious weight. The Charge lost last year’s Walter Cup Final to Minnesota, and head coach Carla MacLeod said this year’s group is highly motivated to write a different ending. Several important pieces from that run are back, including captain Brianne Jenner, alternate captains Jocelyne Larocque and Emily Clark, and goaltender Gwyneth Philips.
Jenner said the team’s ability to reset under pressure has been intentional, crediting mental performance coach Kim Thompson for helping build that part of Ottawa’s game. “The fact that we were able to put that in the rear view and just keep going, that's something that we try to cultivate in our locker room,” Jenner said. “That’s stuff that we work on.”
Philips again gave Ottawa the foundation it needed. She allowed three quick goals during Boston’s push but stopped everything after that and finished with 43 saves. Through the playoffs, she owns a 1.62 goals-against average, the best mark among the four goaltenders who have played this postseason, despite facing more shots than any of them.
Ottawa also has new postseason contributors. Cava, acquired in a January trade from the Vancouver Goldeneyes, scored her first goal with the Charge at the most important possible time after winning back-to-back championships with the Frost. Fanuza Kadirova has become another major factor, leading the league with five playoff points in four games, including two assists in the clincher against Boston.
Boston head coach Kris Sparre pointed to Ottawa’s playoff experience after the loss, noting that many Fleet players were going through postseason hockey for the first time. He also connected the Charge’s resilience to MacLeod, who has coached this season while dealing with breast cancer.
“They’re resilient just like their coach who is going through some things right now with her health,” Sparre said. “We wish her and obviously the Ottawa Charge all the best.”
The Charge now wait to learn whether their next opponent will be Montreal or the Minnesota team that beat them for the championship last year. Either way, Ottawa’s second straight final will test whether last season’s lessons can become this season’s title run.
Comments (0)