OTTAWA - Under difficult circumstances, the Ottawa Charge found a way to collect three crucial points on Tuesday night.
Ottawasa国际传媒 Alexa Vasko scored a late short-handed goal to lift the Charge to a 3-2 Professional Women's Hockey League victory over the Minnesota Frost.
Ottawa (8-1-4-9) had controlled momentum for much of the game, but then things changed in the third period in an instant.
Holding a 2-1 lead, the Charge struggled as they watched their star goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer leave the game being held up by team trainers.
Maschmeyer has been the Chargesa国际传媒 best player since the team launched operations last season and seeing her leave under duress was difficult. There was no update on her status following the game.
Just moments earlier Maschmeyer had been given a standing ovation for making her 1,000th regular-season career save.
Just as the applause ended Taylor Heise got a shot through traffic to cut Ottawasa国际传媒 lead in half and make it 2-1.
At first glance it looked like Maschmeyer made a rather innocuous save, but silence fell as the 30-year-old was unable to get up on her own and needed to be helped off the ice.
Gwyneth Philips came in with 9:55 remaining and gave up a goal on the first shot she faced. It was initially called off, but a lengthy review proved otherwise and suddenly the game was tied 2-2.
鈥淲e said we鈥檝e got to do this together,鈥 said Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod. 鈥淭heresa国际传媒 all kinds of variables constantly being tossed at us, and that was another one . . . itsa国际传媒 certainly a moment that you just try and rally the girls and say 鈥榟ey, letsa国际传媒 go get this one for Masch鈥, and thatsa国际传媒 exactly what the team did.鈥
Things were made more difficult when Shiann Darkangelo was assessed a tripping penalty with 5:48 remaining, but the Charge came through with a huge short-handed goal.
Ronja Savolainen won a battle along the boards and made a diving pass to get the puck to Vasko for her second goal of the night.
鈥淚tsa国际传媒 unfortunate seeing Masch go out, but we have huge confidence in Gwen going in there,鈥 said Vasko. 鈥淎nd I think we rallied as a group and it showed on the ice today.鈥
Minnesota (7-5-4-7) coach Ken Klee admitted his team could have probably done a better job of taking advantage of the change of momentum.
Philips only faced two shots in relief.
鈥淚t was just a tight checking game,鈥 said Klee. 鈥淥bviously we were super happy to get ourselves back into it after being down two and finding a hard way to score, but it was just one of those games.鈥
With just eight games remaining the Charge desperately needed Tuesdaysa国际传媒 win. Ottawa trails the Frost, who hold the fourth and final playoff spot, by five points but have two games in hand.
MacLeod said shesa国际传媒 not really keeping an eye on the standings.
鈥淚鈥檓 watching our group,鈥 she said. 鈥淚tsa国际传媒 about every day getting us better and itsa国际传媒 about making sure that we enter into these games and we give ourselves the best opportunity to get three points.鈥
Brianne Jenner opened the scoring for Ottawa with a power-play goal beating Maddie Rooney, who made 16 saves. Vasko made it 2-0 in the second taking a pass from Natalie Snodgrass, who took advantage of a Claire Thompson turnover.
Heisesa国际传媒 goal made it 2-1 and Claire Thompson, with her fourth of the season, made it 2-2.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2025.
