OTTAWA, ON (February 22, 2025) – Emily Clark tallied two goals and an assist to lead the Ottawa Charge to a 3-1 victory over the Montréal Victoire in front of a sold-out crowd at TD Place on Saturday afternoon. Clark found a wide-open Stephanie Markowski in front of the net, assisting on the rookie’s first-ever PWHL goal which opened the scoring and gave the Charge the lead heading into the first intermission. On a Victoire power play, Laura Stacey found the back of the net to knot the game at one. With four minutes left in the second period, Clark tapped in a feed from Mannon McMahon to put the Charge back in the lead heading into the final frame. After a back-and-forth final period with Montréal pushing to find the equalizer, Clark fired the puck down the ice and into an empty Montréal net with just over a minute left to play to secure the win. Rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips picked up her second-career win in net for the Charge, stopping 15 of 16 shots faced. Ann-Renée Desbiens turned aside 25 of 27 shots at the other end of the ice. The win gives Ottawa their first in five games against Montréal this season. The Charge remain in fifth place with 25 points, only three points behind Boston and five up on New York. Montréal falls for the second straight game but remain in the league’s top spot with 34 points and hold a five-point lead on Minnesota and Toronto with two games in hand.
QUOTES
Ottawa defender Stephanie Markowski on scoring her first PWHL goal: “It feels awesome! Obviously, it’s a little later in the season, but to score against such a good team and to be able to contribute in a close game is an amazing feeling.”
Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips on beating Ann-Renée Desbiens in a second straight game counting the Rivalry Series with Team USA: “I wouldn’t say I beat her. She’s in the other net and she’s awesome. This league is so close and every game is like a battle. This one was a little tough to get into because my last PWHL game was against this team and I didn’t play my best. I wanted to prove that I could get a better outing this time. I think I did, but I didn’t have to do a tremendous amount because my team was doing a lot of work for me.”
Montréal Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the effort her team put forward: “I liked our response in the third period. I'm happy with the power play goal. Our penalty kill looked good, too. I did like our special teams, I didn't like our five-on-five in the first two periods, but our third period was really good. That's what we have to continue to build on moving forward from here.”
Victoire defender Cayla Barnes on playing without Erin Ambrose, who was out of the lineup with an illness: “Obviously not having Erin created a huge hole on the back end. She is so solid back there. But we had to adjust, and I think in the third period, we were just looking to push. We needed some jump, and I think we did a good job.”
NOTABLES
Ottawa defeated Montréal on home ice for the first time in four games all-time. The Charge have points in four straight games, collecting eight points since the international break.
Montréal lost against a Canadian team for the first time in eight games this season. This is also the first time all season the Victoire have lost two straight games.
The Victoire have been held to just one goal in their last two games after scoring a season-high six goals against New York last Saturday.
Emily Clark recorded the first multi-goal game and three-point game of her career. She now holds the league’s longest active point streak at five games, recording eight points (3G, 5A) within this stretch while climbing into a tie for the team lead in points with 13, including a new career-high of six goals in 19 games. Clark also recorded four shots on goal today and ranks third overall in the league with 59 shots.
Stephanie Markowski has scored three of her four career points against Montréal, including her first PWHL goal this afternoon and her first career point on Dec. 6 in a 2-1 loss at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Markowski becomes the fifth Ottawa defender to find the back of the net this season – New York leads the league with six defenders who have goals this campaign.
Laura Stacey scored her fifth goal – and third power play marker – of the season and is now tied for third overall in goals on the advantage.
Stacey's goal in the second period put an end to a sequence of 98 minutes and 26 seconds without a goal for Montréal – their longest scoreless stretch of the season.
Mannon McMahon tallied her first-career assist and now sits tied for 10th among rookies in scoring with five points (4G, 1A) – all of which have come at home.
Aneta Tejralová recorded her third assist in four games since the international break.
Marie-Philip Poulin recorded her third assist of the season and moves into a tie for 10th in league scoring with 14 points (11G, 3A) in 17 games. Two of the Victoire captain’s assists have come on the power play and two have come on goals by Stacey. Poulin also tied her season-high with 16 faceoff wins and now leads the league with 204.
Claire Dalton tallied her fifth assist of the season, surpassing her helper total from last season where she recorded four assists in 20 games.
Gwyneth Philips’ win comes in her fifth career start and marks the second time she has held the opposition to fewer than two goals – best among rookie goaltenders.
Ann-Renée Desbiens snapped a six-game winning streak with just her second regulation loss of the season. The Victoire netminder has gone 10 straight games without allowing more than two goals against.
Ashton Bell and Kateřina Mrázová were both scratched from Ottawa’s lineup for the third straight game with day-to-day upper body injuries.
Erin Ambrose was scratched from Montréal’s lineup today due to illness.
Ottawa has now opened the scoring in a league-leading 12 games this season.
Montréal recorded a season-low 16 shots on goal.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Montréal 0 1 0 - 1
Ottawa 1 1 1 – 3
1st Period-1, Ottawa, Markowski 1 (Clark), 9:08. Penalties-Greig Mtl (boarding), 12:54.
2nd Period-2, Montréal, Stacey 5 (Poulin, Dalton), 7:50 (PP). 3, Ottawa, Clark 5 (McMahon, Tejralová), 16:41. Penalties-Hughes Ott (slashing), 6:48.
3rd Period-4, Ottawa, Clark 6 18:53 (EN). Penalties-Keopple Mtl (hooking), 7:02; Savolainen Ott (boarding), 16:35.
Shots on Goal-Montréal 5-4-7-16. Ottawa 12-8-8-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Montréal 1 / 2; Ottawa 0 / 2.
Goalies-Montréal, Desbiens 9-2-0-1 (27 shots-25 saves). Ottawa, Philips 2-2-1-0 (16 shots-15 saves).
A-8,424 (sell-out)
THREE STARS
1. Emily Clark (OTT) 2G, 1A
2. Stephanie Markowski (OTT) 1G
3. Laura Stacey (MTL) 1G
STANDINGS
Montréal (9-3-1-4) - 34 PTS – 1st Place
Ottawa (7-0-4-8) - 25 PTS – 5th Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Montréal: Tuesday, February 25 vs. Toronto at 7 p.m. ET
Ottawa: Wednesday, February 26 vs. New York at 7 p.m. ET