After ending up on the losing side of their first Walter Cup finals appearance, the Ottawa Charge returned to TD Place to open their third PWHL season.
With a deeper roster and unwavering fan support, the Charge took the ice in front of a packed crowd of more than 7,000 attendees on Saturday night.
But despite the energy in the building, it wasn’t the start they were hoping for, as Ottawa remains without a home-opening win in franchise history, falling 4-0 in their season debut against the New York Sirens.
After nearly 48 minutes of scoreless hockey, New York’s Taylor Girard exploded for three goals in less than 10 minutes — the first natural hat trick in PWHL history — to seal the Sirens’ win.
“The game was a little bit of everything, it’s kind of what you expect in a first game,” Charge head coach Carla MacLeod said after the game. “A little bit of good, a little bit of bad and some stuff in between.”
The changed roster for the Charge, notably without their top goalscorer in Tereza Vanišová alongside other strong skaters, failed to find the back of the net at home for the fourth time in franchise history.
Despite trading momentum throughout the night, the third period slipped away from the Charge as they gave up four unanswered goals.
Ottawa lost their grip in the end, conceding a four-goal third period.
“I think in the (defensive) zone, we did a good job, there were some good moments,” goaltender Gwyneth Philips said after the game, shoulders slumped. “Offensively, we had our moments too … It’s frustrating now, it’s frustrating for everyone, but we’ll pick it up and figure it out for the next game.”
The reigning playoff MVP picked up right where she left off from the Charge’s chase for the Walter Cup in May, fending off 38 shots in the contest. With countless sprawling stops on dangerous chances, the sophomore goaltender kept the game even for the Charge for as long as she could.
Sirens first overall draft pick Kristýna Kaltounková was all over it early, hungry for her first PWHL goal.
Kaltounková, selected for both her goalscoring prowess and strength, continued the physical battle. However, her boarding penalty sent the Charge to the power play for the first time this season.
The powerplay — the worst across the league last season — broke the deadlock on its first attempt, with new draft pick Fanuza Kadirova’s shot ricocheting off Gabbie Hughes to put the Charge ahead.
At least, that’s what all the fans at TD Place thought.
After a lengthy review, the goal was eventually overturned for Ottawa having too many players on the ice. The infraction also nullified the man advantage for the Charge, sending a hyped up Kadirova to the box as the teams shifted to 4-on-4 play.
“I was so excited for Fanuza,” Hughes said about the overturned goal. “To see that excitement from her was really fun … but yeah, it’s frustrating.”
More open ice didn’t stop the physicality, either.
Less than a minute later, Hughes delivered an illegal body check, sparking a line brawl in the Sirens’ crease that involved goaltender Kayle Osborne. Hughes joined her teammate in the box, while her duelling partner, Micah Zandee-Hart, was ejected after receiving a five-minute cross-checking major.
“That’s the league: it’s physical, it’s fun,” Hughes said. “It’s good to see the game get physical like that.”
The first two frames saw chances from both sides, but both Philips and Osborne steered away everything they faced.
Osborne, stepping into the starter role this season for the Sirens, entered the game with just two career wins, both in front of the Ottawa crowd.
“I’ve skated here a lot in the summer, so I’m familiar with the place,” said Osborne, who grew up playing in Ottawa. “But our team plays quite well here, so I don’t think it’s just me.”
All the Sirens chipped in defensively, throwing themselves in front of point shots and blocking dangerous scoring lanes up tight, helping Osborne to her second career shutout.
With 12 minutes left in the game, Maddi Wheeler blocked a shot and then raced down the ice, finding herself alone on Philips. Wheeler, chasing her first PWHL goal, was denied by Philips’ acrobatic reach, but Girard was there to slam home the rebound, putting her squad up 1-0.
The pair wasn’t done there.
Minutes later, after Philips denied two consecutive slot shots, Wheeler collected the loose puck and headed for a wraparound attempt. Philips raced Wheeler to the post, but the Sirens’ forward instead reversed a behind-the-back pass to Girard, who bounced the puck off an unsuspecting Philips into the empty cage.
“That girl’s got eyes in the back of her head,” Girard said. “We’re starting to get some chemistry together.”
The pressure kept pouring on from the Sirens’ third line. With three minutes left in the game, Girard poked a loose puck through Philips to complete her first career hat trick.
Osbourne held down the fort for the Sirens until the final buzzer, rounding out her 28-save shutout.
“Our goalie coach, Pierre, did a great job pre-scouting her, and I don’t think we applied his pre-scout to the best of our abilities,” Hughes said. “We got to drive our shoulders into the net a little bit more and get a little bit hungrier to put those pucks in the back of the net.”
This motto will be put to the test on Wednesday night, when the Charge will host one of two newly expanded franchises in the league, the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Familiar faces Tereza Vanišová, Ashton Bell and Emerance Maschmeyer will be returning to the Ottawa crowd. They’ve already made an impact with their new squad.
Playing the physical power forward archetype, Vanišová led the squad in scoring last season with 22. In their season opener, Vanišová recorded an impressive takeaway leading to a spin-o-rama assist for Abby Boreen’s overtime winner.
Bell, although failing to record a point in the season opener, was named as captain of the Goldeneyes, bringing her two years of PWHL experience and previous NCAA captain stature to lead the squad in their inaugural season.
While looking to stop Vancouver’s strong offense, the Charge will also be challenged with solving former goaltender Maschmeyer. Maschmeyer picked up her first win as a Goldeneye in their season-opening 4-3 overtime victory against fellow expansion draft product Seattle Torrent.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Featured image by PWHL
