The Ottawa Charge are in a tightly contested three-team race for the final spot in the Walter Cup Playoffs, and they get a chance to claim key points in a game against the Seattle Torrent on TSN.
The Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet and Minnesota Frost have already locked up the top three spots in the playoffs already. The Charge (33 points) are battling the Toronto Sceptres (34 points) and New York Sirens (31 points) for the final slot.
Each of the three teams has five games remaining on the schedule, and by the luck of the schedule, many of those games will be played between the three teams involved in the race - the Charge have two games coming up against the Sceptres and one against the Sirens, while the Sceptres have two against each team in their final five games.
That makes this game all the more important for Ottawa, who have already beaten the Torrent in three of their four matchups this season.
Seattle defeated the Charge 4-1 in their first-ever battle on Dec. 17, but the Charge have claimed three consecutive victories over the Torrent since.
That included two victories in Ottawa on Jan. 28 and Mar. 4, where the Charge have been much better overall on the year - they have a 5-2-1-4 record at TD Place.
The matchup against Seattle will mark the first game with Haley Irwin behind the bench, as she was named interim head coach earlier in the week after it was announced head coach Clara MacLeod was stepping away for breast cancer treatment.
The Torrent enter this game on a three-game losing streak, and have lost seven of their past eight games.
The Charge will need to take advantage of a softer opponent on the schedule before a key clash against the Sceptres on Saturday.
