OTTAWA — In many ways, it’s fitting that the only local player on the Ottawa Charge would score the first PWHL Finals goal in the city.
After a tight first period, it was Rebecca Leslie who opened the scoring 11:34 into the second period of Game 1. Leslie, who signed with the Charge as a free agent this season, only scored one goal in the regular season for her hometown team, but now has back-to-back opening goals in the postseason.
In the end, it was Emily Clark who scored the winner in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Minnesota Frost. Gwyneth Philips made 25 saves on 26 shots to seal her third straight win of the playoffs.
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For Ottawa, the series opener was yet another one-goal game. The Charge have now won 13 one-goal games, the most in the PWHL. For the Frost, it was a major change from the high-scoring semifinals against Toronto, where Minnesota scored 18 goals in four games.
The Charge now have a 1-0 series lead.
Here are four takeaways from the game.
The scoreless opening frame
There were no goals in the first period, and there wasn’t much room in the middle of the ice for either team to generate much offense. Minnesota got the first shot of the game, and didn’t register another until around the five-minute mark of the period. Ottawa didn’t test Nicole Hensley for the first seven minutes of the game.
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The Frost made it tough for Ottawa to get out of the offensive zone, and any time Ottawa tried to set up, Minnesota skaters were jumping on pucks, forcing turnovers and taking away the high-danger areas of the ice, getting sticks and bodies into shooting lanes.
Midway through the period, though, the ice started to tilt in the other direction. The Charge killed off a Stephanie Markowski penalty and held the Frost to just one shot on goal on the advantage. On their own power play a few minutes later, Ottawa put four shots on goal – compared to just three in the first 13 minutes. They didn’t score, but Ottawa generated momentum on the power play that continued to the end of the period, finishing with nine shots, including a great chance by Gabbie Hughes in the dying seconds of the frame.
Minnesota, meanwhile, didn’t get another shot on goal after Michela Cava’s power-play shot at 8:32.
Philips’ miscue
No goalie has been better in the playoffs than Philips, who entered the finals with a .956 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against-average. So it was a bit surprising to see Philips leave her net and play a puck right to Minnesota forward — and Philips’ former Northeastern teammate — Katy Knoll.
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Knoll quickly sent the puck to Klára Hymlárová, who easily put the puck into the open net. It was the third goal scored by Minnesota’s fourth line in the playoffs, once again proving the team has a mix of legitimate star power and depth that can contribute in the biggest moments.
The goal ended Philips’ shutout bid 5:24 into the third period and tied the game 1-1. She appeared to settle back into her crease and did not allow another goal in regulation, despite Minnesota’s fairly consistent pressure in the final frame; shots were 10-3 for the Frost in the third period.
The game-winner
Less than three minutes into overtime, Clark led the rush out of the zone and fired a tough angle shot on Hensley that found its way in the back of the net.
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“I just saw an opportunity to skate it and tried to get it on net,” she said after the game. “Luckily it went in.”
It was Clark’s second straight game-winning goal of the playoffs, after scoring the winner in Game 4 to advance to the Finals. She now leads the Charge in scoring with two goals and four points through five games.
Home ice advantage
Ottawa is now 3-0 in home games in the playoffs thus far, and the home ice advantage is real.
There were 6,184 fans packed into TD Place Arena and they didn’t hold back, from the moment players walked in the building – yes, fans lined up outside just to greet them – to the final buzzer.
It went beyond your typical signs and jerseys throughout the stands. Fans brought kazoos and trumpets, and they prepared cheers to go along with their instruments.
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“They’re loud, they’re passionate,” said PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford. “Watching on TV, you can feel (the) energy that they have. … It’s an amazing building to be in.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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