Latest news with #GwynethPhilips
Ottawa Citizen
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
What to expect for the Ottawa Charge ahead of PWHL expansion
Article content Looming over the Ottawa Charge playoff run, even with the opportunity to capture the Walter Cup hanging in the balance, was the knowledge that the team was playing its final hockey together. Article content The PWHL's foray into Seattle and Vancouver, just two years after the league's inception, hung in the minds of Charge players as they battled for a championship. Article content As close-knit as the team became, Ottawa — just like the five other PWHL franchises — will surrender four players between the two new teams' exclusive free-agent signing window and the expansion draft. Those two processes will give Seattle and Vancouver 12-player rosters ahead of the annual draft later in the month. Article content Article content For Ottawa's part, it will have the limited ability to defend itself by protecting just three players before the signing window, followed by one more protection once they have lost two players between the signing window and the expansion draft. Article content That means losing more than just depth players, but frontline contributors to the club's surprising finals run. Meanwhile, the league's newest members will enter next season with fully stocked cupboards and real championship ambitions. Article content Article content Ottawa will make its three-player protection list public at noon on Tuesday. From there, Seattle and Vancouver will open their exclusive signing window starting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday until 5 p.m. on June 8, in which they can sign up to five players each. Article content Free agents are ineligible to be protected by their teams, making them available for contract signings with the league's West Coast franchises and eventually the rest of the league should they remain unsigned. Article content Article content The signing window introduces an interesting wrinkle compared to the expansion processes typical of the NHL. That's because for every player that Seattle and Vancouver sign in their exclusive window, it also means one less player that they can pick up in the expansion draft on June 9. Article content Article content While some teams have a relatively simple set of decisions to make regarding their protections, Ottawa seemingly has any number of directions it could go after protecting playoff MVP and goaltender of the year nominee Gwyneth Philips — that's the only no-brainer.
Toronto Star
4 days ago
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Rooney, Schepers, Philips named PWHL's three stars of the week
TORONTO - Ottawa Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips, Minnesota Frost goaltender Maddie Rooney and forward Liz Schepers have been named the PWHL's three stars of the week. Philips capped her standout rookie campaign with 36 saves in a 2–1 overtime loss in Game 4 of the Walter Cup final on Monday, earning the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award despite the Charge dropping the best-of-five series.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rooney, Schepers, Philips named PWHL's three stars of the week
TORONTO – Ottawa Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips, Minnesota Frost goaltender Maddie Rooney and forward Liz Schepers have been named the PWHL's three stars of the week. Philips capped her standout rookie campaign with 36 saves in a 2–1 overtime loss in Game 4 of the Walter Cup final on Monday, earning the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award despite the Charge dropping the best-of-five series. She led all post-season goaltenders with a 1.23 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage, following a regular season where she posted a 2.11 GAA and .919 save percentage. The 24-year-old started the season as Emerance Maschmeyer's backup before the latter went down with a lower-body injury in mid-March. Rooney was stellar on the other side, making 33 saves in Minnesota's title-clinching win to finish the playoffs undefeated at 5–0. She turned aside 30 or more shots in three straight games for the first time in her career, closing the post-season with a 1.75 GAA and .932 save percentage — both third among playoff goalies. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Schepers scored the overtime winner on Monday to secure a second straight Walter Cup for the Frost. The 26-year-old's goal was her only point of the playoffs and came on her lone shot in Game 4. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.
National Post
27-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Despite Charge's loss, Gwyneth Philips named PWHL playoff MVP
Article content While the Ottawa Charge failed to drag the Minnesota Frost back to TD Place for a winner-take-all Game 5, the team is not coming home empty-handed. Article content Article content After a virtuoso performance that kept her team alive much longer than it had any right to, rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips was awarded the Ilana Kloss award as the PWHL's playoff MVP. Playing in all eight of Ottawa's playoff games, Philips posted a league-best 1.23 goals-against average and .952 save percentage. She made 257 saves, and never lost a game in regulation. Article content 'I thought it was a great choice,' Minnesota goaltender Maddie Rooney said. 'She definitely gave her team the best chance to win.' Article content It was a performance reminiscent of the show that the Boston Fleet's Aerin Frankel put on in last year's playoffs, where she turned in a 1.45 goals-against average and .953 save percentage in eight games, also losing to Minnesota in the finals. Philips was Frankel's understudy for several seasons at Northeastern University during their college careers. Article content This was the crowning moment for Philips' season after a meteoric rise since taking over for starter Emerance Maschmeyer, who suffered a long-term injury on March 11. Philips has played every game since, helping the Charge make the playoffs and even being nominated for the PWHL's goaltender of the year award, despite playing just 15 of Ottawa's 30 regular-season games. Article content 'She came into a tough spot when their No. 1 went down,' Minnesota coach Ken Klee said. 'We even thought, 'Okay, they might be in trouble, this is a girl who's never really played a regular amount of games in our league.' All of a sudden, she got pressed into action, and she was phenomenal.' Article content Article content In the NHL, the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP has been awarded to a player from the losing team just six times. In the PWHL's second season, Philips gave the selection committee no other choice. Article content Philips' shining moment in Game 4 was an incredible left-pad stop on Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield with five minutes left to keep the score knotted. Article content Moments like that became commonplace in the final, where Philips was often the only force keeping the dam from bursting. She gave up just seven goals on 135 shots against the Frost, who led the PWHL in regular-season scoring and scored a whopping 18 goals in four games against the Toronto Sceptres in their semifinal series. Article content 'She was unreal,' Klee said. 'I thought three out of the four games, if she doesn't play the way she played, I don't think we go to overtime in any of them, to be honest with you.' Article content The respect for Philips transcended the Ottawa fanbase. The rookie netminder received a standing ovation from the crowd at Xcel Energy Center as she accepted the award, and started chanting her name as she and her teammates vacated the ice. Article content 'It's an honour, and I think it's a tribute to this league, and how everyone can respect each other,' a tearful Philips said post-game. Article content 'The individual award is superseded by the team loss,' she continued. 'My accomplishments are attributed to the players in front of me. Maybe tomorrow it'll be nicer, but I really wanted that win.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Back to back: Frost beat Charge in overtime to successfully defend Walter Cup crown
The Minnesota Frost are PWHL champions once again. Liz Schepers scored at 12:00 in overtime of Game 4 to give Minnesota a decisive 2-1 win over the Ottawa Charge on Monday, and a second Walter Cup in as many years. The Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award was given to Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips. Each game in the best-of-five series went to at least one overtime and finished 2-1, with Game 3 going to triple overtime, the longest game in PWHL Finals history. WATCH | Schepers' goal helps Frost beat Charge, win 2nd straight Walter Cup: The teams played 81 minutes, eight seconds of extra time in the series. The fourth game came exactly a year after Minnesota fell to Boston 1-0 in a Game 4 double overtime before going on the road to win the inaugural Walter Cup. Katy Knoll went along the wall and fed Schepers in front of the net. Goaltender Gwyneth Philips parried the first shot but Schepers poked home the rebound to clinch back-to-back Walter Cup titles for the Frost. Maddie Rooney had 33 saves for Minnesota. WATCH | Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield lifts the Walter Cup: Midway through the second period Claire Thompson pinched in from the left point and fed Kelly Pannek alone on the right side of the net. Pannek beat Philips high for her second playoff goal. The goal marked the first time in the finals the Charge trailed in regulation. The Charge trailed until the middle of the third period when Tereza Vanisova was left alone in front of the net and Danielle Serdachny fed her from below the end line. It was the first point of the post-season for Vanisova, who led Ottawa with 15 goals. Philips had 36 saves. The rookie had 148 saves in overtime in the postseason. Ottawa's Aneta Tejralova, on a rush, hit the left post with a shot about five minutes into overtime and the Frost's Taylor Heise hit the right post about four minutes later. 11,024 fans were in attendance at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., to witness Game 4.
