Ottawa Charge Recap: Week 2

It's too early to really know how this season is going to go, but things aren't looking too bad for the Ottawa Charge, after playing two more close games and coming away with three points.

Last Week: Charge 3, Sceptres 2

• The Charge hosted Toronto for their home opener at TD Place, and put on a hell of a show.
• One of the big stories of the game was the return of former Ottawa star Daryl Watts, who was loudly booed every time she touched the puck. The Ottawa crowd really doesn’t pull any punches. It sounds like she took it all in stride. 
• Manon McMahon got the first goal of the game - her first in the PWHL!

🚨 Mannon McMahon (1)
🍎 Alexa Vasko
🍏 Aneta Tejralová pic.twitter.com/rtNOCcM1Hd

— Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) December 4, 2024

• Sarah Nurse unfortunately tied things up right at the end of the first period.
• Toronto got the only goal of the second period, putting Ottawa fans in depressingly familiar territory.
• Thankfully, the Charge pulled off the comeback in the third period. Jincy Roese got her first PWHL goal, on the powerplay. I haven’t been very enthusiastic about her being on the first unit, and the fact this was her first PWHL goal despite spending all of last season quarterbacking the first unit powerplay really drives that home, but it was nice to see her finally break through.

🚨 Jincy Roese (1)
🍎 Tereza Vanišova
🍏 Kateřina Mrázová pic.twitter.com/QIZV1vLWFl

— Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) December 4, 2024

• For a moment, it looked like Aneta Tejralová would be the hero of the game, as she beat Kristen Campbell and appeared to have scored the go-ahead goal. The goal horn even briefly went off! It was waved off, though, and video replay showed that she had merely hit the post.
• Instead, it was fellow Czech Teresa Vanišová who got the big goal, about halfway through the third period, off a feed from Katerina Mrázová.

🚨 Teresa Vanišová (2)
🍎 Kateřina Mrázová
🍏 Ronja Savolainen pic.twitter.com/iXpQMyfQ8G

— Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) December 4, 2024

• The last few minutes of the game were extremely stressful, but Ottawa held on for the crucial regulation win.
• One of my biggest standouts of the game was Emily Clark, who really reminded us all why she’s one of the stars of this team. Even though she didn’t get any points, she was noticeable on every shift.
• Danielle Serdacchny also continued to absolutely power through defenders and easily outmuscle anyone she came into contact with. What a player. 
• This was Zoe Boyd’s first (and so far only) game of the season, and she definitely looked rusty, but she was also playing as the 7th defender, so the pairings were a bit confusing. I’m not quite sure what’s going on with the defense this season.

Last Week: Charge 1, Victoire 2

• For their third game of the season, the Charge travelled out to Kanata to take over the CTC. The PWHL tried out occasional NHL arena games last season, and I can see why they’d want to give that a try with the Charge, who had the highest average attendance in the league last season. However, they ultimately ran into the most predictable issue: people who are used to watching games at TD Place don’t want to make the trek to the CTC. Attendance was higher than it can be at TD Place, but nowhere near a sellout. Seems like a good argument for a downtown NHL arena.
• Full disclosure: I was not able to watch this game, so this recap has been crowdsourced from other Silver Seven writers and friends of mine.
• The Charge played very well in the first, but there was no scoring.
• Things went downhill in the second period, when Marie-Philip Poulin scored a shorthanded goal to break the tie and free Dara Greig from the penalty box.
• Thankfully, Ottawa responded. Ashton Bell, who’s had a bit of a quiet start to the year, picked up the puck as it was headed toward the Ottawa zone, turned things around, and was there to grab the rebound after Brianne Jenner created a great scoring chance. 

🚨 Ashton Bell (1)
🍎 Brianne Jenner
🍏 Steph Markowski pic.twitter.com/B1hyx2csm7

— Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) December 7, 2024

• The game was unfortunately not tied for long, as our old friend Mikyla Grant-Mentis took the lead back. She has a real chip on her shoulder against us, for good reason.
• The Charge played well in the third, but just couldn’t get the equalizer. They ended up dropping the game in regulation, which is a huge disappointment. It felt like a game they could have at least taken to extra time.
• This was Jenner’s return to the lineup, and I understand she played an excellent game.
• At least Laura Stacey didn’t score on us this time?

The Week Ahead

• The Charge are taking to the road for the next little while, as they have to free up their arena for the World Juniors. Their first stop will be in Boston on Tuesday.
• The Fleet currently sit last in the league, having lost their first two games in regulation. They’re coming off a big regulation win against New York, where Megan Keller scored two goals.
• That game will be another Amazon Prime broadcast, starting at 7pm EST.
• Then, on Thursday, the Charge pay a visit to the defending Walter Cup champs the Minnesota Frost.
• Minnesota has had a red-hot start to the season, with two regulation wins and an overtime loss.
• The Minnesota game will be broadcast on TSN, starting at 8pm EST.
• Ottawa will then finish off the week in New York for a Sunday afternoon game - 1pm and broadcast on TSN.
• New York has also had a good start to the season, after finishing last by a pretty wide margin last year. That’s mainly thanks to Sarah Fillier, who has been every bit as good as people expected her to be.
• For more info on the opposing teams, I’d highly recommend checking out The Ice Garden, which has great all-around women’s hockey coverage.