Ottawa Charge

The Ottawa Charge (Charge d'Ottawa) are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Ottawa and one of the six original franchises in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Their home games are played at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata. The franchise was announced on August 29, 2023, as one of the PWHL's first six teams. Michael Hirshfeld, formerly of the NHL Coaches' Association, was appointed general manager, and TD Place Arena was initially named the home venue. On September 15, Carla MacLeod, a former Canadian national team player and head coach of the Czech women's national team, became the team's first head coach. During the free-agency period before the 2023 PWHL Draft, Ottawa signed Canadian national team members Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, and Emerance Maschmeyer to three-year deals. In the draft on September 18, the team selected 15 players, with American national team member Savannah Harmon as their first pick. Assistant coaches Haley Irwin and Cassea Schols, along with goaltending coach Pierre Groulx, were announced on October 17. The team's colours—red, 'storm' grey, and white—and jerseys were revealed on November 14, 2023. For the inaugural 2023–24 season, Jenner was named captain, with Clark and Jincy Roese as alternates. The franchise's first game, on January 2, 2024, against PWHL Montreal at TD Place Arena, set a professional women's hockey attendance record of 8,318. Hayley Scamurra scored the team's first goal, but Montreal won 3–2 in overtime. Ottawa's first win came on January 13, a 5–1 victory over PWHL Toronto, and their first home win followed on January 23, also against Toronto. The team missed the playoffs after a 5–2 loss to Toronto in the season finale, but led the PWHL in attendance. Their finish earned them the second overall pick in the 2024 PWHL draft. The 2024–25 season was a breakthrough. Finishing third in the regular season with a 12–2–4–12 record, they surged into the playoffs and upset the top-seeded Montréal Victoire in a dramatic semifinal series that included a four-overtime thriller. Led by rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who posted a .952 save percentage and won the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award, Ottawa reached their first Walter Cup Final. They won Game 1 but lost the series to the Minnesota Frost in four games, each decided in overtime.