What a difference a span of four minutes can make.
The last time Ottawa played a game at TD Place, history was made. Last night, fans were once again witness to history in a very unexpected way in the Boston Fleet's 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Charge.
For more than 56 minutes against the Boston Fleet, Ottawa looked as though they were unprepared for their opponent. Chasing pucks, complicating passes, poor zone exits, combined with Boston’s effective neutral zone play, all contributed to the team playing on the defensive side of the puck for most of the first frame. Ottawa found themselves hemmed in their own zone, giving up quality scoring chance after quality scoring chance which unsurprisingly resulted in the team being down 2-0 after the first period on goals from forward Theresa Schafzahl, as well as a jailbreak goal from forward Alina Müller.
That was where the score remained until the final few minutes of the third period.
At the 11:18 mark of the third period, fans rose to their feet in confused excitement, as they witnessed Ottawa Charge forward Tereza Vanišová face off against Boston Fleet forward Jill Saulnier for the league’s first fight. The confrontation only lasted around 15 seconds, but the momentum it generated for Ottawa helped to carry the team right through until the end of the frame.
“You could see the intensity of the game and that’s the fun part of this league,” said head coach Carla MacLeod. “Neither player backed down, they both were intense and I suspect there will be a little bit of buzz around it and that’s never a bad thing for the game either.” Asked whether it gave the players on the bench a bit of a boost, defender Ronja Savolainen added “Oh yeah. Totally. I like fighting so I think that was a big boost for the team. Every player stood up and cheered for her.”
Then came the late game heroics. First up was Savolainen who scored at 16:27, then Vanišová, who found a way to outdo herself from the earlier fight by scoring with a mere 2.9 seconds left on the clock, which sent the game to overtime.
“We knew we needed to find a way to dig out of it,” said MacLeod. “The resiliency that we showed with a big kill at the end of the third and being able to pot two at the end there was really great.”
Ottawa entered the extra frame with all of the momentum and played like a newly rejuvenated team, generating multiple high grade scoring chances and sustaining offensive zone pressure, but found themselves on the wrong side of a giveaway, resulting in a Susanna Tapani breakaway goal at 4:12. Final score was 3-2 Boston.
Despite the loss, Ottawa remains on a three game point streak as they prepare to face off against the league leading Montreal Victoire on Saturday afternoon. Montreal has dominated play between the two teams, going a perfect 4-0 this season, including a 4-1 victory on January 29th, their most recent matchup, which featured a Marie-Philip Poulin hat trick.
Fans have the opportunity to view “The Inaugural Six,” a sculpture designed by Canadian artist Briony Douglas, during this game, which can be found between Gate 1 and Gate 2.