The Ottawa Charge earned their third straight win with a 3-2 shootout victory over league-leading Boston Fleet. After falling behind in the second period, Ottawa relied on a late third-period goal from Fanuza Kadirova and clutch shootout efforts from Brianne Jenner to rally.
The Ottawa Charge returned home from their 10-day road trip to face the league-leading Boston Fleet in the teams' first matchup of the season.
The game marked the return of fan favourite Zoe Boyd, who was also announced in the Fleet's starting lineup and received a loud ovation from the TD Place crowd, a reminder of her impact during her time in the nation's capital.
Ottawa opened the scoring in the first period on Stephanie Markowski's first goal of the season. Boston responded in the second with two goals, first from Olivia Mobley, followed by Haley Winn's first PWHL goal to give the Fleet the lead. Fanuza Kadirova scored at 17:02 of the third period to tie the game and force overtime. A shootout was needed, where Brianne Jenner scored on her final two attempts to secure a 3-2 victory. This marked the team's third consecutive win, all in extra time.
The Good
Ottawa entered the game having rallied in each of its previous two games, leaning on strong third-period performances to force overtime. That pattern continued against Boston, as the Charge once again needed a late goal to extend the game. The difference this time was that Ottawa avoided digging itself into an early hole, keeping the game within reach heading into the final period.
Markowski's first-period goal helped settle things early and addressed Ottawa's slow starts, allowing the team to play a game that more closely resembled their own. Getting contributions from the back end, which Ottawa has relied heavily on this season, was also an important part of the win.
Head coach Carla MacLeod has been emphasizing the team's "layered attack" in practice, and it was on better display for longer stretches in this game. While it wasn't perfect and didn't always prevent Boston's push, it did help the Charge better manage momentum in both directions.
The Bad
The Charge remain league leaders in shots against, and that trend continued against a Boston team capable of rolling four lines and capitalizing on chances. The Fleet did just that in the second period, scoring twice and gaining momentum. While Ottawa managed to rally and ultimately win, consistently allowing that volume of shots leaves a very low margin for error and requires Gwyneth Philips to perform at her best every game. Both could be unsustainable over the course of a full season, especially if the team has playoff aspirations.
Quotables
"I think we've shown on the road trip and now coming back home that we are a team that does not quit, and I think we can take a lot of confidence from this game. At the same time, we're not fully satisfied with that effort. There's a lot that we know that we can clean up, but when it comes to the mentality that we can get back in any hockey game, I think we've proven that we believe in ourselves." - Brianne Jenner
Next Game
Ottawa will next face the Minnesota Frost on January 3 at TD Place in their third meeting of the season. The series is split, with Ottawa most recently earning a 4-3 overtime win in Chicago as part of the league's Takeover Tour.