Clark's Overtime Winner Propels Ottawa to 1-0 Series Lead in PWHL Finals

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PWHL Ottawa Charge

Clark's Overtime Winner Propels Ottawa to 1-0 Series Lead in PWHL Finals

May 20, 2025 - Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL)
Ottawa Charge News Release


OTTAWA, ON - Emily Clark was the overtime hero at TD Place in Ottawa on Tuesday, lifting the host Charge to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Frost in Game 1 of the PWHL Finals, presented by Scotiabank. After a scoreless first frame, Ottawa native Rebecca Leslie broke the deadlock midway into the second period to give the Charge a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission. Klára Hymlárová capitalized on a turnover and tallied to even the score for the Frost five minutes into the third period. Less than three minutes into the overtime frame, Clark rushed down the ice and buried a shot short side to secure the win for Ottawa in front of a home crowd of 6,184 fans. Rookie Gwyneth Philips secured her third consecutive win between the pipes for Ottawa with 25 saves on 26 shots, while Nicole Hensley turned aside 17 of 19 shots in net for Minnesota in her third start of this postseason.

Game Two of the best-of-five PWHL Finals, presented by Scotiabank, is set to take place on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at TD Place.

QUOTES

Frost Defender Lee Stecklein: "They are a fast team-- physical and relentless. We were prepared for that, and we've faced teams like them all season so luckily there was nothing crazy. We just have to stick to our game and find a way to get the puck in the net."

Frost Head Coach Ken Klee on the Schepers/Knoll/Hymlárová line: "They've been really strong in the playoffs. They have great depth, and they simplify the game, get pucks deep and they go to work. They know what their job is, they all read off each other well and have good sticks. It's been great for us to have them just to help with our scoring because we need everybody and we know it."

Ottawa Head Coach Carla MacLeod on Emily Clark's impact. "She just plays her heart out. Every single game, every single shift, she absolutely loves playing here in Ottawa. You back it up to her final two shifts in the third period and you could just see that she just found another gear. So, it was special that she was able to corral that puck and carry it out the ice and get the game winner."

Charge Forward Emily Clark on getting the overtime done a lot quicker than the four overtime game in the first round. "We made some jokes about trying to get it done in less than four, but no, we were just trying to stick to our game plan. But obviously, the relief that we get to go to bed a lot earlier than last time."

NOTABLES

Gwyneth Philips has allowed one goal or fewer in three consecutive postseason games. The rookie goaltender now has eight such performances this season-including the regular season-which ties Ann-Renée Desbiens for the most in the PWHL.

The Charge improve to 4-0 in the postseason when scoring the game's first goal and have won both playoff games in which they have been leading after two periods.

Emily Clark scored her second goal of the postseason and became the first player in PWHL history to record back-to-back playoff game-winning goals. She joins Taylor Heise, Michela Cava and Susanna Tapani (BOS) as the only players with multiple game-winning goals in PWHL postseason history, and the only player so far these playoffs. Clark now has four postseason points (2G, 2A) moving her into sole possession of the team lead in playoff scoring.

Rebecca Leslie scored her second goal of the playoffs and now has markers in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. The Ottawa native has two goals in five playoff games this season - surpassing the one she scored in 27 regular-season games. Through two PWHL seasons, Leslie has three goals in 10 playoff games and three in 51 regular-season appearances.

Tereza Vanišová tallied her third assist of the playoffs, tying her for second among Charge players in postseason scoring. The helper was the forward's first point since Game 2 of Ottawa's semifinal series against Montréal.

Jocelyne Larocque recorded her second assist of the playoffs, doubling her postseason point total from last season with Toronto (1A) through five games.

Klára Hymlárová scored her first career playoff goal for her third point of the playoffs, surpassing her regular season point total (1G, 1A) through 29 games.

Katy Knoll recorded her second assist for her third point of the postseason, surpassing her regular season point total (1G, 1A) through 21 games.

Charge center Shiann Darkangelo won 17 faceoffs with a 52.9% success rate. The forward has posted a faceoff percentage above 50% in four of five playoff games, including three games above 60%.

Minnesota was held to fewer than two goals for the first time this postseason. It also marked the first game since Game 1 against Toronto in which they scored fewer than four.

Ottawa has not scored a power play goal since their first player advantage in Game 1 against Montréal. Since then, they have gone 0-for-10 on the power play, including two opportunities in tonight's game.

Ottawa allowed 10 shots or less in 15 consecutive periods, spanning across four games. This streak came to an end in the second period, when Minnesota fired 11 shots on goal.

The first period marked the first time Minnesota has played in a scoreless period this postseason. Ottawa, in comparison, played in six scoreless periods through the first round of the playoffs, including the three scoreless overtime periods in Game 2.

Minnesota has never secured a Game 1 win through four attempts spanning across two seasons, with each series opener being played on the road. Ottawa has won both series openers this season.

Ottawa's three third-period shots match the lowest shot tally in any period by any team this postseason.

SCORESHEET RECAP

Minnesota 0 0 1 0 - 1

Ottawa 0 1 0 1 - 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Markowski Ott (slashing), 7:45; Cava Min (hooking), 13:23.

2nd Period-1, Ottawa, Leslie 2 (Vanišová, Larocque), 11:34. Penalties-Vanišová Ott (illegal body checking), 9:23; Petrie Min (hooking), 18:24.

3rd Period-2, Minnesota, Hymlárová 1 (Knoll), 5:24. Penalties-Pannek Min (holding), 13:52; Leslie Ott (cross checking), 13:52.

1st OT Period-3, Ottawa, Clark 2 2:47. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Minnesota 4-11-10-1-26. Ottawa 9-6-3-1-19.

Power Play Opportunities-Minnesota 0 / 2; Ottawa 0 / 2.

Goalies-Minnesota, Hensley (19 shots-17 saves). Ottawa, Philips (26 shots-25 saves).

A-6,184

THREE STARS

1. Emily Clark (OTT) GWG

2. Gwyneth Philips (OTT) 25/26 SV

3. Rebecca Leslie (OTT) 1G

SERIES

Ottawa leads Minnesota 1-0

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Game 2: Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. ET (TD Place)



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