Bank Street to become 'Charge Avenue' as Ottawa faces Montreal Victoire in PWHL playoffs
The 'playoff vibe' truly sunk in with Ottawa Charge players after Tuesday morning's practice at TD Place when media scrums surrounding players being interviewed included at least 10 reporters, when typically there are no more than two or three on a good day.
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'I'm a little bit overwhelmed,' goalie Gwyneth Philips beamed as she waited in front of the cameras and microphones for questions. 'This is kinda nuts. But I'm excited for the playoffs.'
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That level is about to reach new heights after Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe announced on TSN1200 that the city will be installing 'Charge Avenue' signs on Bank Street, from Sunnyside Avenue to First Avenue, on Wednesday.
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'That's awesome,' said captain Brianne Jenner, whose team makes its PWHL playoff debut with a best-of-five first-round series against the Montreal Victoire that begins Thursday night in Laval. 'That's really exciting. You saw the energy in the city when the Sens were in the playoffs and how great they performed, and how proud the city was. So, we're excited that the city's behind us and we want to do them proud.'
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By finishing atop the regular-season standings, Montreal earned the right to choose its opening-round opponent and opted for third-place Ottawa over the Minnesota Frost, which wound up in fourth.
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The reasons are logical — Ottawa is a two-hour drive from Montreal while Minnesota is a two-hour flight and the Frost won the Walter Cup last season after coming in fourth, which means its players have the playoff experience Ottawa lacks.
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Still, Ottawa players now have the opportunity to adopt a 'be careful what you wish for' rally cry as they prepare for an opponent that dominated them for most of the league's first two seasons, but also one they defeated the past two times they met.
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'At this point of the season, you take motivation out of anything,' veteran forward Emily Clark said. 'We're excited for the matchup, excited that they're just down the road. And, yeah, no matter who we're playing, we're gonna definitely be getting up to play them. So we're excited to head to Montreal.'
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Giving the Charge another emotional lift has to be the return of No. 1 goalie Emerance Maschmeyer to the rink.
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Maschmeyer suffered a lower-body injury in early March that was projected to keep her out of action for at least six weeks and, while she is not yet taking part in drills with the team, she has been on the ice before practice.
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If she does get back to the game roster before the series with Montreal ends, it almost will certainly be in a backup role as Philips has played very well in her stead. But Maschmeyer, a beloved team leader, can provide a boost just by her presence in the room and on the bench.
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