On Wednesday, April 2, the Boston Fleet hosted the Ottawa Charge for their sixth and final game of the 2024-25 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. Although the Fleet already won the season series, the Charge held nothing back. They took the victory here 4-0. Gwyneth Philips earned her second career shutout, and with this victory, the Charge catapulted themselves into a playoff spot.
Game Recap
Right out of the gate, Sydney Bard took a seat for interference just 31 seconds into the game. 14 seconds later, the Charge capitalized on their power play opportunity. Aneta Tejralova held the puck at the blue line and passed up the ice to Anna Meixner. She skated across the ice from one faceoff circle to the next. Meixner spotted Shiann Darkangelo in front of the net and passed the puck to her. With a tip-in, Darkangelo scored the first goal of the game.
Seven minutes into the second period, Ronja Savolainen began driving the puck to the net. She dropped it down for Darkangelo, but continued skating towards the net. In doing this, Savolainen cleared a path for Darkangelo to shoot the puck through the empty space. She did just that, and Darkangelo scored her second goal of the night.
With four minutes left to go in the second period, Taylor House had the puck at the boards while two Fleet players tried to steal it from her. House was able to pass the puck to Jincy Roese at the blue line before the Fleet could gain control. Roese skated towards the center of the ice, where she took a shot to score the third goal of the night for the Charge.
At the start of the third period, Emma Soderberg was in net for the Fleet in place of Aerin Frankel.
Five minutes into the third period, Alina Muller headed to the box for boarding. 23 seconds later, Meixner sat for tripping. On a 4-on-4, Aneta Tejralova had the puck in the Fleet’s offensive zone. She passed to Danielle Serdachny, who skated the puck through the neutral zone and into the Charge’s offensive zone. At the faceoff circle, she had three Fleet players pressuring her. She passed to an open Darkangelo at the center of the ice. With a shot, Darkangelo scored her third goal of the night to earn her first PWHL career hat trick.
Eight minutes into the third period, Zoe Boyd received a five-minute major for a check to the head on Alina Muller. Luckily, Muller was alright. Boyd also received a ten-minute game misconduct and did not return for the rest of the game. The Fleet were unable to make the most of their five-minute power play opportunity.
Despite both the Fleet and the Charge taking another minor penalty each, neither team scored on the extra-player advantage. The game came to a close with a 4-0 final score.
PWHL Heads to the Break
The Charge and the Fleet will play again after the PWHL returns from their break for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament. Both teams will play again on Saturday, April 26. The Fleet will host the Toronto Sceptres, and the Charge will host the Montreal Victoire.
