Charge Win First Ever Playoff Game, 3-2 Over Victoire
GO CHARGE GO
Well, well, well.
The PWHL's method of letting the top regular season team choose their opponent really adds to the drama of the playoffs, doesn't it? The Charge went into this series as heavy underdogs against the Victoire, who chose to play them despite the fact they were ahead of Minnesota in the standings. And yet, look who won game 1. The series is far from over, but that was a pretty nice start.
The Charge and Victoire were very much themselves in the first period. Ottawa seemed to have possession most of the time, but Montreal looked a lot more dangerous on their chances.
Ottawa got the game’s first powerplay, and looked incredible. Vanisova was absolutely on fire, shooting the puck at every opportunity. Eventually, the powerplay did break through, but it wasn’t Vanisova who scored; it was captain Brianne Jenner! How fitting for her to get the franchise’s first ever playoff goal. 1-0 Ottawa.
🚨 Brianne Jenner (1)
— x - Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) May 8, 2025
🍎 Tereza Vanišová
🍏 Aneta Tejralová pic.twitter.com/GbpTCi8frn
Gwyneth Phillips turned away several stellar scoring chances, and suddenly the underdog Ottawa Charge weren’t looking like that much of a longshot. They legitimately looked like the better team.
Unfortunately, it couldn’t last. The Victoire got a powerplay of their own, and despite some truly heroic saves from Phillips, the puck did end up in the back of the Ottawa net. 1-1.
The rest of the first period continued more of less in that vein. A few scary chances for Montreal, a few good saves for Ottawa, not enough good chances in the Montreal zone. The Charge got another powerplay, but it wasn’t as successful as the first. The teams were tied heading into the first intermission.
The Victoire looked very good to start the second period, but the Charge kept playing their game. Unfortunately, playing their game does involve giving up a few good chances.
It’s all good though, because Ottawa capitalized on a monster shift from Danielle Serdachny. It was Bell who eventually found the back of the net, but it was a great team effort, and a well-deserved assist for last year’s #2 overall pick. 2-1 Ottawa.
🚨 Ashton Bell (1)
— x - Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) May 9, 2025
🍎🍏 Danielle Serdachny pic.twitter.com/BCo01n8Ili
It didn’t last. Eventually, Montreal got another powerplay, and they scored on that one too. Poulin, of course. 2-2.
The play wasn’t nearly as lopsided as the shot clock might suggest, but the Charge were not dominating by any metric. A familiar scene for Ottawa hockey fans in the playoffs.
The third period did not start well. Montreal looked like the better team by far, completely dominating play and clearly pushing for the go-ahead goal. It felt like maybe they’d been holding back and we were finally facing their full power.
Not so fast! Despite the team being badly outplayed, Shiann Darkangelo stepped up and got the go-ahead goal. 3-2 Ottawa.
🚨 Shiann Darkangelo (1)
— x - Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) May 9, 2025
🍎🍏 Emily Clark pic.twitter.com/YaGz4waTu9
Ottawa looked a lot better from that point forward. They played a solid game, not dominating exactly but not stealing a win by any means. The Victoire waited until the very end to pull the goaltender and didn't look dangerous at all with the extra attacker. The Charge held on for the win.
Game notes
- It was a solid team game, but Gwyneth Phillips was Ottawa's best player. She made some truly heroic saves. We are so lucky that she's stepped up in Maschmeyer's absence.
- Serdachny was an absolute beast. I'm going to be thinking about that second goal for a long time.
- Other than that, I felt like it was a solid team effort all around. Everyone was good.
Fun fact of the day: la Victoire de Montréal have yet to win a playoff game. They're now 0-4. Not exactly living up to their name, are they?
