Philips Backstops Ottawa to 2-0 Road Win in Seattle
PWHL Ottawa Charge

Philips Backstops Ottawa to 2-0 Road Win in Seattle

Published on March 30, 2026 under Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL)
Ottawa Charge News Release


Ottawa Charge react after a goal against the Seattle Torrent
Ottawa Charge react after a goal against the Seattle Torrent
(Ottawa Charge)

SEATTLE, WA - Gwyneth Philips earned her first shutout of the season with a 25-save performance, backstopping the Ottawa Charge to a 2-0 win over the Seattle Torrent Sunday night for their first regulation victory on the road in 2025-26. Rookies Sarah Wozniewicz and Peyton Hemp provided both goals to lead the offense as the Charge move up to fourth place in the PWHL standings, two points ahead of Toronto with a game in hand. The crowd of 16,586 at Climate Pledge were energized by the return of Torrent and Team USA captain Hilary Knight to the lineup in her first game since winning Olympic gold in Milan. Corinne Schroeder stood tall with 27 saves despite the loss, including a critical penalty-shot save on Charge captain Brianne Jenner early in the third period to keep the Torrent within two. Wozniewicz got the winning goal when she battled net-front to bury a rebound off a Kathryn Reilly shot from the point at 9:09 of the first period. Hemp added the insurance marker at 18:37 of the middle frame on a centering feed from Gabbie Hughes. Seattle had its chances throughout the night, including six missed opportunities with the player advantage. The Charge will look for a third straight win out west when they take on the Sceptres in Takeover Tour action in Calgary on Wednesday, while the Torrent will regroup ahead of the league's Madison Square Garden debut next Saturday against the Sirens.

QUOTES

Ottawa goalie Gwyneth Philips on her first shutout of the season: "The team has been moving in a positive trend. I think I had a little bit of a hiccup coming back from the Olympic break. It was on me to follow in the footsteps of my teammates. They showed up really well today in front of me. I just had to make the first save. They were boxing out and following the system. I could cover the puck or send it to the corner."

Charge rookie Peyton Hemp on her first PWHL goal: "Stephanie Markowski got the puck deep at the start of the play, and then Gabbie Hughes was taking the puck wide. Brooke McQuigge was driving the net, so it left me open. Hughes made a beautiful pass. I just had to put it away. It's been super fun to play on that line with Hughes and Michela Cava lately."

Torrent forward Sydney Langseth on keeping momentum in a high penalty game: "It's tough because it kind of changes the momentum of things, but that's when you have to stay grounded and stick to your game plan. Every shift is a new shift, so once you get things settled, you're going back out there, back to square one to go to work and get things done."

Seattle Head Coach Steve O'Rourke on the Torrent's power play performance: "I thought we just didn't get off to a great start tonight and then the power play didn't click. We worked on it a little bit yesterday, and we're adding different pieces in to find that combination, and it just didn't click tonight, not for lack of trying. We didn't get enough pucks to the net with it, we didn't move it fast enough, which is the death of power plays, and that's what happened tonight."

NOTABLES

Seattle has now recorded three crowds of over 16,000 fans, with tonight's attendance of 16,586 the second largest in team history and fifth highest of the PWHL season.

Ottawa won for the first time in regulation in 14 games played away from its primary home venue, becoming the last team in the PWHL to do so in 2025-26. This was the first time in four games of the season series that the visiting team emerged victorious.

The Charge have won consecutive games with only two goals scored after defeating Montréal 2-1 in overtime last Sunday in Winnipeg. They also beat Boston by a 2-1 score in a shootout in Halifax on Jan. 11.

The Torrent are the first team in PWHL history to lose 14 games in regulation. They are tied for the league lead with four shutout losses along with New York, Toronto and Vancouver, and have been shut out three times in their last five games. Their last shutout loss at Climate Pledge Arena was in the inaugural home opener, on Nov. 28, 3-0 to Minnesota.

Ottawa tied its season high with seven minor penalties tonight (also Jan. 20 at New York), while this was the third time Seattle has been assessed five minor penalties (Dec. 3 vs. New York and Jan. 7 at Boston). The two teams were a combined 0-for-9 on the power play. The Charge lead the league with 85 minors, while the Torrent are tied for fifth with 70.

Two of the season's five penalty shots have occurred in the last two games of the season series, with Alex Carpenter scoring the only penalty shot goal in PWHL history against Ottawa back on Mar. 4.

Gwyneth Philips' 25 saves were the most in any of her three career shutouts and brought her league-leading save total to 582, just nine back of Aerin Frankel's 2024-25 single-season record (591). She is the only goaltender in the PWHL to face more than 600 shots this season (630), and her 12 wins in 21 starts ranks third in the league.

Sarah Wozniewicz is now tied with teammate Rebecca Leslie for the league lead with four game-winning goals, becoming the fourth rookie to score five goals and eighth to reach 10 points, achieved in 23 games this season. Ottawa's third-round draft pick is just the second rookie in team history to hit double digits in points following Gabbie Hughes (12) in the inaugural season. Two of her 10 points this season have come against Seattle (1G, 1A) and six have been recorded on the road (4G, 2A).

Peyton Hemp's first career goal was scored in the 23rd game and on the 28th shot of her rookie season. The Charge fourth-rounder has points in consecutive games for the first time in her career, with an assist last Sunday in Winnipeg, giving the forward seven points.

Corinne Schroeder made her 13th start of the season and recorded her third highest save percentage with a mark of .931. She made the second penalty shot save of her career tonight, previously stopping Minnesota's Grace Zumwinkle in overtime as a member of New York back on Jan. 14, 2024. The only other goaltender with two penalty shot saves is Vancouver's Emerance Maschmeyer, who stopped both in the inaugural season with Ottawa.

Kathryn Reilly has recorded all three of her career points against Seattle, with a primary assist tonight following a pair of helpers for the rookie defender in Ottawa's 4-3 home win on Mar. 4.

Kateřina Mrázová picked up her seventh assist and eighth point in 23 games, surpassing the seven points she contributed in 14 games last season (3G, 4A). The last three times the Czech forward has found the scoresheet has been against the Torrent, with two assists on Mar. 4 and one on Jan. 28.

Hughes, who was on the receiving end of a Hemp pass in Winnipeg, returned the favor tonight for her ninth assist and 13th point of the season. It's the fourth time the veteran forward has recorded points in consecutive games this season, still looking for her first three-game streak.

Stephanie Markowski picked up her third assist and fourth point in 23 games, one shy of the five points she recorded in 28 games as an Ottawa rookie last season (1G, 4A). Her helper snapped a season-high eight-game point drought.

Brianne Jenner became the fourth player in the PWHL to surpass 400 faceoffs (408) this season and led tonight's game with 15 wins at the dot.

Rebecca Leslie led all skaters with six shots on goal tonight to bring her Charge-leading total to 70, exceeding the 66 she amassed in her first two seasons combined.

Cayla Barnes had five shots on goal for the third time this season, tied for the Torrent lead tonight with Carpenter, who led the team with 12 faceoff wins.

Hilary Knight played 21:40 and recorded four shots on goal in her first PWHL game since Jan. 28, skating on the team's top line with Carpenter and Theresa Schafzahl.

Vita Poniatovskaia cracked the lineup for the first time in her PWHL career as the Charge's seventh defender.

THREE STARS

1. Gwyneth Philips (OTT) 25/25 SV

2. Sarah Wozniewicz (OTT) GWG

3. Peyton Hemp (OTT) 1G

STANDINGS

Ottawa: 33 PTS (6-7-1-9) - 4th Place

Seattle: 22 PTS (6-1-2-14) - 8th Place

UPCOMING SCHEDULES

Ottawa: Wednesday, Apr. 1 vs. Toronto (in Calgary) at 7:30 p.m. MT / 9:30 p.m. ET

Seattle: Saturday, Apr. 4 at New York (Madison Square Garden) at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

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Ottawa Charge react after a goal against the Seattle Torrent
Ottawa Charge react after a goal against the Seattle Torrent
   



Professional Women's Hockey League Stories from March 30, 2026


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