Welcomed home by thousands of fans at a sold-out TD Place on Saturday afternoon, the Ottawa Charge fell 3–2 in a shootout to the league-leading Boston Fleet in their first game back from the Olympic break.
“It was a really good hockey game,” head coach Carla MacLeod said after the game. “They’re such a great team, and so are we. We’ve seen that every time we’ve played each other.” The first two faceoffs of the season ended in shutouts.
The Charge came out with a jump in the opening frame, generating quality shots and controlling possession early. Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel — fresh off a gold medal performance with the United States — held Ottawa off the board.
“She’s obviously an elite-level goaltender,” MacLeod said. “If she can see it, she’ll typically save it. We wanted to dig in more for those secondary opportunities.”
Boston opened the scoring at 14:52 of the first period, when Abby Newhook streaked through Ottawa’s defensive zone and cleanly netted a one-timer past Gwyneth Philips to make it 1-0.
Phillips — also returning with an Olympic gold — responded with a series of steady saves to keep the deficit at one.
The second period was a defensive chess match. Ottawa recorded just one shot halfway through the frame, with both teams trading structured play and limited odd-man rushes.
Ottawa’s power play generated movement but couldn’t convert, and the Charge entered the third still trailing by one.
MacLeod admitted the middle frame wasn’t her team’s sharpest.
“Didn’t love our second,” she said. “It felt like we were defending a little bit differently versus being on our toes.”
But the Charge surged out of the intermission, breaking through almost immediately.
Just eight seconds into a power play to start the period, Rebecca Leslie drove the puck into the back of the net, marking her ninth goal of the season to tie the game.
From there, the momentum snowballed.
Moments later, the hometown hero struck again, capitalizing on Ottawa’s continued pressure. Thanks to her 10th goal of the season, the Charge gained their first lead of the afternoon.
“She’s just been phenomenal all year,” MacLeod said. “She’s so composed with the puck. She lets the game come to her. If the puck’s on her stick, she knows she’s in a good spot, and we know we’re in a good spot.”
Leslie admitted she was frustrated earlier after missing two breakaway chances.
“You get a breakaway, two breakaways, and you want to finish those,” she said. “But I think as a team we just have to get back to the basics, better passing, better execution, talking.”
Boston answered late in the third, capitalizing on a power play opportunity at 15:26 to tie the game 2-2. A string of plays led to four-on-four action and momentum swinging on both sides before Alina Muller evened up the game.
Overtime showed trading chances and big saves from both goaltenders, but neither side could solve the other. (That’s how a face off between two gold medal goalies shakes out!)
In the shootout, Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner scored in Round 3 to briefly give Ottawa life, but Boston converted twice late to steal the 3-2 win.
The Charge earned a point but were left wanting more.
“The effort was there,” Jenner said. “But I think we have to figure out a way to get back to better overall execution. We’ve shown that when we can put together 60 minutes, we’ve had success. It’s about finding that consistency.”
MacLeod emphasized tight games like Saturday’s will define the playoff race.
“Games in this league are going to be close. That’s what you signed up for,” she said. “Now it’s about mentality. Who’s willing to sacrifice? Who’s willing to manage the puck at the right level? It’s not rocket science, it’s executing consistently.”
Ottawa remains in the playoff mix — only one point out of the last playoff spot — but the sentiment is clear: Details matter more than ever in the season’s second half.
“This back half is going to be tough for everybody,” Leslie said. “We just have to execute more on the details.”
The Charge continue their homestand on Wednesday night when they take on the Seattle Torrent.
Featured image by Josh Kim/Ottawa Charge
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