On Saturday, Dec. 27, the Ottawa Charge hosted the Boston Fleet for their first matchup of the 2025-26 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. The Charge scored first, but the Fleet took the lead in the second. Towards the end of the third, the Charge tied it up. Although it took five minutes of overtime and eight rounds of the shootout to determine the winner, the Charge won the game with a 3-2 final score.
Game Recap
Late in the first period, Fanuza Kadirova passed the puck to Gabbie Hughes in the neutral zone. She skated it on a two-on-one into the Charge’s zone. She dropped the puck down to Stephanie Markowski, who scored her first goal of the season to put the Charge on the board.
In the middle of the second, Boston evened the score. Riley Brengman sent a pass behind her to Susanna Tapani in front of the net. She took a shot, but Gwyneth Philips made the initial save. Olivia Mobley picked up the loose puck and sent it past Philips to even the score.
With a minute left in the middle frame, Megan Keller tried to score from the blue line, but Philips made the save. The rebound found Keller once more, and she passed it to Haley Winn. She skated it into the faceoff circle and took a shot. It went past Philips to score her first PWHL goal and give Boston the lead.
With just three minutes left in the game, Ronja Savolainen knocked the puck loose from Tapani. It went down the boards to Kadirova, who passed it to Hughes. She passed it back to Kadirova, who made a drive for the Charge’s zone. As she got in front of the net, she took a shot to tie the game.
Winn netted the first goal of the shootout for the Fleet in the second round. In the third, Katerina Mrazova evened the score.
After several scoreless rounds, both Hannah Brandt and Brianne Jenner scored. In the eighth round, Jenner went again and scored to secure the 3-2 win.
Next Up
Both teams will be back in action in the new year on Saturday, Jan. 3. The Charge will host the Minnesota Frost while the Fleet will host the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
