Few predicted an Ottawa Charge versus Minnesota Frost final for the 2025 Walter Cup, but that's exactly what PWHL fans are about to get. The Frost, reigning Walter Cup champions, upset the Toronto Sceptres for the second straight season .
On the other side of the PWHL playoffs, the first place Montreal Victoire, who selected the Charge as their opening round opponents, were unceremoniously sent home in four games.
How did the Ottawa Charge manage their upset?
Philips Spectacular In The Crease
If the PWHL playoff MVP award were handout out today, it would be a unanimous selection of Ottawa Charge netminder Gwyneth Philips. Philips posted a 1.14 GAA and .956 save percentage in their four game series. Those otherworldly numbers came for a rookie goaltender playing in her first ever playoff series. It wasn't just the numbers, it was the calibre of saves Philips made in big moments. She shut down Laura Stacey and Marie-Philip Poulin, among others, on point blank chances, and making stretching or sliding saves as the puck moves across the royal road. Philips' only loss in the series was a 53 save quadruple overtime marathon. It could have been a turning point, but instead, Philips responded with a 26 save shutout in game three.
Chemistry Pays Off For Ottawa
While Montreal relied heavily on their top line for the second straight season, Ottawa relied on chemistry. It wasn't necessarily about the star power of their players, but rather how those players mixed and matched. While Ottawa's stars including Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, and Katerina Mrazova all played some of the best hockey of their season, it was rookie Mannon McMahon, and veterans like Shiann Darkangelo and Rebecca Leslie who made the difference. Even Ottawa's players who saw less time, like Austria's Anna Meixner made their mark when they were on the ice.
Perhaps there was no greater chemistry pay off for Ottawa than the addition of Jocelyne Larocque. While the deal looked to favour Toronto on paper, Ottawa found Larocque to be a key ingredient to their recent success. Larocque looked like a new player following her arrival in Ottawa. Her game looked like a better fit for Ottawa alongside the likes of Aneta Tejralova, Ashton Bell, Ronja Savolainen, Zoe Boyd, and Stephanie Markowski. The physical group played smart defensive hockey measuring their risk, and Larocque was undeniably at the core of this. Perhaps unencumbered leaving Toronto's system and meshing with Ottawa's, Larocque has been everything and more that Ottawa hoped they were getting.
Coming In Hot
There's no denying it, the World Championships has for back-to-back years had a significant impact on results in the PWHL. It almost looked like, in both years, that everything that happened prior to the World Championships didn't matter. With only three games to get things back on track following Worlds this season, the break disjointed momentum at the worst time for some, and best time for others. Minnesota and Ottawa used strong finishes with desperate play to translate into an improved level of preparedness for playoffs. Toronto and Montreal backed into playoffs and could not find their groove once they arrived. Montreal struggled for much of the final month of the season, and in Toronto, it was the lacklustre performance of many of their stars that sunk their hopes. Meanwhile Minnesota and Ottawa received output, whether it was on the scoresheet or in momentum shifting plays, from their depth. They entered their final three games playing for their lives, and it helped them prepare for the playoffs and immediately gain control of the short best-of-five series.