The Ottawa Charge are in danger of missing the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) playoffs for the second-consecutive season, after a devastating loss to the New York Sirens kept them outside a projected playoff spot.
With five games remaining in the regular season, the Charge are fifth in the six-team league. The top four squads qualify for the Walter Cup playoffs.
The Montréal Victoire, Toronto Sceptres and Boston Fleet have all virtually wrapped up spots in the postseason, while the Minnesota Frost occupy the fourth and final playoff position.
The Charge, who also missed the playoffs in last year’s inaugural season, have never played in the postseason.
Currently, Ottawa is two points behind the Frost, though they have an extra game remaining. As such, if the Charge beat the Fleet on Saturday, they will leapfrog Minnesota and move into a projected playoff spot.
Saturday’s matchup will take place in St. Louis, as it’s the final installment of the PHWL’s ‘Takeover Tour,’ which has brought professional women’s hockey to other markets throughout the year. The league is reportedly interested in expanding beyond the first six franchises as early as next season.
Ottawa could have moved into a playoff position by beating the New York Sirens on Tuesday, but the Charge couldn’t hold on to their three-goal lead in the third period.
New York scored six goals in the final frame, including an empty-netter, to take down a Charge team that was in desperate need of the three points that come with a regulation win.
“We’ve got to dig. We’ve got to find another gear for ourselves. This is a great team. We see it so often. We saw it in two periods today. It’s staying the course for 60 minutes,” Ottawa Head Coach Carla MacLeod said in a league press release. “These are the moments that can easily tear you apart and the rest of the season could be challenging but that’s not this group.”
“We need to reset and figure out what went wrong, what makes us great and how to stay with it for the duration of the game.”
Following Saturday’s game, the Charge will travel to Boston for a rematch against the Fleet next Wednesday, before taking a three-week break for the women’s world championship.
However, it won’t be much of a break for the several members of the Charge who will be participating in the tournament, including forwards Brianne Jenner, Emily Clark and Danielle Serdachny, along with defenseman Jocelyne Larocque, who were named to the Canadian roster last week.
Meanwhile, goaltender Gwyneth Peters will wear the American jersey, likely in a backup role, while defenseman Ronja Savolainen will play for Finland.
Ottawa goalie Emerance Maschmeyer has been a mainstay on the Team Canada roster in recent years, but will be forced to miss this year’s tournament due to an injury.
The championship gets under way on April 9 in České Budějovice, Czechia.
