The Ottawa Charge’s 3-2 win over the Minnesota Frost came with a disappointing asterisk for the already struggling team after star goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer left the game early, needing help off the ice on March 11 at TD Place Arena.
“It’s unfortunate seeing [Maschmeyer] go out, but we have huge confidence in [backup Gwyneth Philips] going in there,” Charge forward Alexa Vasko said. “I think we rallied as a group and it showed on the ice today.”
The Charge faced the Frost in their last matchup on March 7, when they were shutout 5-0 on the road.
The struggling Charge are on an island of their own in the PWHL standings. In fifth place, they’re eight points behind the Frost who hold the final playoff spot. After missing the playoffs in the PWHL’s inaugural season, a second-straight season out of the running for the Walter Cup would be a disappointment.
A likely culprit of Ottawa’s standing is their lack of offence, as they sit second to last in goals scored among PWHL teams, with just 53 in 22 games. Compared to Minnesota’s league-leading 69 goals, Ottawa’s pace is pedestrian.
Sixteen minutes into the opening period, captain Brianne Jenner had an answer for the team’s no-show in their last game. Jenner cleaned up Gabbie Hughes’ rebound for her third of the season, giving Ottawa a 1-0 lead on the power play.
“I think they had a really good, strong first period,” said Frost head coach Ken Klee of the Charge’s start. “I’ll give credit to them, they came out with a lot of jump, a lot of jam.”
They doubled that lead with six minutes to go in the second period, when forward Natalie Snodgrass stole the puck from Frost rookie defender Claire Thompson and sent a pass to Vasko, who potted her first of the season.
In the third period, an unbeaten Maschmeyer made history, making her 1000th career save in the regular season, becoming the first goalie in PWHL history to do so.
But the elated chanting of her name at TD Place Arena only lasted so long, as Maschmeyer went down after sprawling to make a save on Frost forward Taylor Heise’s goal from the point midway through the third.
Rookie Gwyneth Philips came in to relieve Maschmeyer, who was helped off the ice by trainers. Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod said there was not yet any update on her starter’s condition.
“Since the inception of this league, in our franchise, she’s been a pillar for us and that’s not gonna change,” MacLeod said. “Obviously at the end of the day, we’ll get assessment here and as soon as we can get her back, we’ll get her back.”
Thompson’s tying marker minutes later for the Frost was a controversial one, as Philips was seemingly interfered with on the play. After several minutes of suspense as the play — initially ruled no goal — was under review, the referees confirmed a goal on the play and the home crowd was incensed.
With tempers high, Ottawa once again found themselves shorthanded late in the third and without their trusted starter.
“You never want to see a player get injured on either team, you never wanna see that,” MacLeod said. “But it’s certainly a moment that you just try to rally the girls and just say, ‘hey, let’s go get this one for [Maschmeyer],’ and that’s exactly what the team did.”
It was on that penalty kill that Ronja Savolainen’s outstretched stick sent Vasko on a breakaway for a game-winning jailbreak goal.
With only eight games remaining in the season, and with Maschmeyer’s status unknown, the Charge face some tough questions. If they don’t like their outside chances at a playoff position, they might look to make a splash before the March 13 trade deadline.
The Charge will host the Boston Fleet on March 15.
Featured photo by PWHL.
