The Ottawa Charge, despite a major improvement over last season, find themselves in a remarkably similar situation with their playoff fate, which will likely not be sealed until the final weekend of the season again. With a record of 11-1-4-11, the Charge have taken advantage of the PWHL’s 3-point system to hold a playoff position despite being 3 games below .500 with a points percentage of 0.481 due to their ability to close games out in 60 minutes (22 Charge games have ended after 60 minutes, the most in the league). The Charge got here through compensating for the lack of a top 10 scorer (PPG) through an immense amount of depth scoring.

               In their forward group, Tereza Vanisova, Emily Clark, Gabbie Hughes, Kateřina Mrázová, Shiann Darkangelo, and Brianne Jenner have all produced above the league average this season for the Charge. On defense, Jincy Roese and Ronja Savolainen have also managed to be above the league’s center point. Effectively, Roese’s emergence as a fringe star on defense gave this team it’s replacement for Savannah Harmon’s offense from last season, and Savolainen being one of the most impactful rookie defenders in the league this year has been a key difference in regards to Ottawa’s improved scoring depth. This ties the Charge with the Frost for the most skaters above the mean scoring efficiency in the league. Despite this, the Charge are tied for last in the league with the Sirens in Goals For, but the Charge have performed marginally better in close games, and as such are sitting in a playoff spot (something, something, your depth players tend to come up big in the biggest moments). In goal, Emerance Maschmeyer was playing incredibly well with a GSAA (Goals Saved Above Average) of 2.14 (4^th in the league) before an injury sidelined her for the most recent stretch of the season. Rookie Netminder Gwyneth Philips has posted a respectable 1.66 GSAA in her 12 appearances for the Charge and has done her job to keep their playoff hopes alive.

               Heading into the final stretch of the season, Ottawa’s only way to control their fate will be through victory. With Montréal, Minnesota, and Toronto remaining, the Charge’s focus will be on winning out, since only one of their remaining opponents is competing with them for a playoff spot (I know Toronto has not clinched yet, but the odds are incredibly high that they will). Obviously, the game against the Frost on April 30^th is the most important game remaining for both teams as it could be a six point swing in the standings.