Ottawa Fails to Clinch a Playoff Spot, Again, in Epic Second-Period Collapse Against New York

For much of this inaugural PWHL season, there haven’t been any truly “bad” teams. Minnesota was supposed to be bad, and then they weren’t. Toronto was briefly bad, and then they weren’t. Ottawa lost a lot of games, but they were never truly “bad.”

Recently, New York has looked like a bad team.

This was especially obvious in the first period of this game, which New York barely seemed interested in playing. Ottawa scored the first goal of the match, when Shiga carried the puck into the zone and passed it to Harmon, who sent it to the front of the net for Shiga to tap in. That’s Shiga’s second goal of the year!

🚨 Akane Shiga (2)
🍎 Savannah Harmon
🍏 Natalie Snodgrass pic.twitter.com/v9eo6ceZnC

— PWHL Ottawa (@PWHL_Ottawa) April 30, 2024

Ottawa completely dominated the rest of the period, and eventually Scamurra’s unbelievable slapshot pulled through to double Ottawa’s lead.

🚨 Hayley Scamurra (5)
🍎 Ashton Bell
🍏 Gabbie Hughes pic.twitter.com/POSxGs98Vv

— PWHL Ottawa (@PWHL_Ottawa) April 30, 2024

Those first twenty minutes were so easy that a win felt inevitable. They would just have to coast through the last forty minutes. No big deal, right?

Look. I don’t know what happened, either. It was score effects, but even more extreme. The second period was the total opposite of the first. New York was relentless. Ottawa looked like they stopped trying after the first period. New York scored to bring the game within 1. Then they tied it up. Then they took the lead. By the end of some of the longest 20 minutes of hockey I’ve ever watched, they were leading 4-2.

Guess they really want that first overall pick?

Ottawa looked slightly better in the third, but it wasn’t enough. Daryl Watts made it interesting by scoring in the final minute, but in the end all that did was give us false hope. It was another regulation loss.

🚨 Daryl Watts (9)
🍎 Kateřina Mrázová
🍏 Savannah Harmon pic.twitter.com/79eoqEABXs

— PWHL Ottawa (@PWHL_Ottawa) May 1, 2024

Game Notes

• Scamurra and Clark continue to be absolute money. What a combination.
• It was also a great game for captain Brianne Jenner, who had a sort-of breakaway in the first that was unfortunately stopped.
• Savannah Harmon was another standout. Her assist on Shiga’s goal was amazing, and she was vital in that last-minute push for the equalizer. She also lost her coverage on the go-ahead goal for New York. Experience Savannah Harmon hockey!
• I hate to say it, but Maschmeyer will want some of those goals back.
• I’m trying to find any other player to scapegoat for that awful second period, but watching those goals back, it just looks like awful team defense. So many missed assignments. So many players left wide open. What were they thinking?
• With that win, New York has clinched the first overall pick in the 2024 draft.
• Ottawa can still clinch the playoffs if Boston loses in regulation on Saturday. If that doesn’t happen, a win in their final regular season game will do it.