Ottawa Charge practice on January 13, 2025. The team is being encouraged to shoot the puck. There was one clear message at this morning’s practice: "Shoot!" That message came after a tough 2-1 overtime loss to the Boston Fleet on Saturday following a really successful road trip resulting in a three game winning streak. Head coach Carla MacLeod said, post game, that she thought the team had a good game, but “there were variables within the game that we think we can be better at and shooting the puck is probably the primary. We need to get to 30. That has to be the objective every game and get that mentality going.” Drill after drill all morning long was centred around a “shoot first” mentality, rather than either trying to find the perfect shot or passing the puck. She could be heard on numerous occasions stating that she wanted this “shoot first” mentality to be a part of the team’s identity, to go along with clear and consistent communication on every shift. This focus on shooting comes as the Ottawa Charge are tied for last place in the league in “Goals For” with 20, which is a full dozen fewer than the league leading Minnesota Frost. Approaching games with this mentality may also help the team in extra time, where they remain winless and is a trend that has carried over from last season, in which the team only came out victorious on one occasion in seven attempts. Expect the team to continue to focus on this approach, especially when one considers that last season, Ottawa led the league in power play percentage (25%). This season has been a very different story, as they have fallen to the bottom of the league, sitting at 11.1% heading into their matchup with the Toronto Sceptres on Tuesday evening, a Sceptres team who is converting at a 23.8% rate, good for second in the league. As the saying goes “It doesn’t matter how, it just matters how many.”
