Charge aim to clinch playoff spot tonight vs. Frost on TSN
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The Ottawa Charge look to clinch a playoff spot tonight against the Minnesota Frost Wednesday on TSN.
Watch the Charge host the Frost LIVE tonight at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN5 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Needing a single point in tonight’s contest, Ottawa can clinch a postseason spot after missing out last year. The Charge (42 points) are four points up on the Frost (38) and are two points back of third-place Boston (44).
Charge forward Tereza Vanisova has emerged as a top scorer in the PWHL as she is tied for second in goals alongside Fleet captain Hilary Knight with 15.
Winger Shiann Darkangelo has had a bounce-back year for Ottawa. A successful player in the NWHL/PHF, the 31-year-old struggled to find the scoresheet with just one assist in 25 combined games between PWHL Boston and Ottawa last year.
This season, she has eight goals and 16 points in 27 games.
With No. 1 goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer on long-term injured reserve, backup Gwyneth Philips has stepped in and backstopped the team to three straight wins. She is coming off of a 25-save performance on Saturday, helping the Charge beat the league-leading Montreal Victoire in a 3-2 win.
In 13 appearances this season as a rookie goaltender, Philips is 7-4-1 with a .916 save percentage and 2.23 goals-against average.
Meanwhile for Minnesota, the Frost have struggled to string together consecutive wins, having not won twice in a row since early March and have just one win in their last five games.
Goaltending hasn’t been a bright spot for the Frost this season. Maddie Rooney has seen the lion’s share of the starts with 19, going 8-7-1 with a .907 save percentage and 2.07 GAA.
Nicole Hensley, who backstopped Minnesota to the inaugural Walter Cup last year, has appeared in only nine games this season with her numbers taking a significant drop. In 2024, she had a .919 save percentage and 2.19 GAA. This year, she has an .880 save percentage and 3.00 GAA.
On the flip side, Minnesota has a team that can score their way out of problems. Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield leads the team with 10 goals and 22 points while Taylor Heise has 21. The blueline duo of Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson has been productive, with 19 and 18 points respectively.
This season, Ottawa has had the head-to-head advantage, going 3-2 against Minnesota.