SAINT PAUL, MN (January 21, 2025) – Ottawa rookie Gwyneth Philips earned her first career PWHL win and shutout on Goalie Appreciation Night in Minnesota, leading the Charge to a 1-0 victory over the Frost at Xcel Energy Center. With the win, the Charge broke their three-game losing streak while extending the Frost’s skid to a season-high three games. Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner’s first goal of the season at 3:19 of the first period held up as the winner as both goaltenders stood tall the rest of the game. Philips stopped all 22 shots for the Charge while Maddie Rooney stopped 18 of 19 in the loss for the Frost. The victory moves Ottawa up to third place in the overall standings, just three points behind Minnesota.
QUOTES
Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips on her comfort level on the ‘Goalie Appreciation’ theme night at the Xcel Energy Center: “You know, it's only my third game. I’m still trying to feel things out, but little taps from my teammates telling me I'm playing the puck well. It’s just that little reassurance that goes a long way to build my confidence. I let my teammates know how important that is to me, but you know little things like that really helped me be comfortable in this game.”
Ottawa Head Coach Carla MacLeod on Philips’ performance: “It’s exciting to collect a first win with a shutout. It's nice to see a young player step into this league with confidence, and this is a tough league. It doesn't matter who you are, but I think goalkeeping is one of the tougher positions too. So, I think it's incredible to see the level of confidence Gwyneth entered with. It’s great to witness the mutual respect from the players through our goalies in our group.”
Minnesota Head Coach Ken Klee on regaining the scoring touch: “I think it’s staying with our structure, keep putting pucks to the net, do good things. It seems like we’re getting scoring chances but we’re having bad puck luck right now, we’re not bearing down on our bottom hand. It’s hard to say exactly what it is but we’re trying. It’s not like we’re not putting shots to the net, it’s not like we’re not battling and getting to the front of the net. We just need to continue to do it, you know that’s hockey sometimes. It’s tough and it’s not fair but that’s the way it goes.”
Frost forward Kelly Pannek: “I thought we did a really nice job, especially in the second and third, of getting to the front of the net. That’s something in the locker room we had talked about, being willing to get to the net front and make it messy. Like Coach said, sometimes you just need a bounce. We talked about it before, every team has great goaltending in this league, so you have to make it really hard for them. But I like the adjustments that we made, and I think really the last four periods of hockey that our team has played have been really solid.”
NOTABLES
Gwyneth Philips becomes the first rookie goaltender in PWHL history to earn a shutout in her first professional season. Ottawa’s third-round pick, who made her PWHL debut in Minnesota back on Dec. 19, also earned her first career victory in her third start. She is the second goaltender in the PWHL to record a shutout this season following New York’s Corinne Schroeder with two.
Philips’ milestone comes on the same night her alma mater, the Northeastern Huskies, posted a 4-0 shutout victory over Boston University to win the 46th Beanpot title. Philips is a three-time Beanpot champion and earned Top Goalie honors in both 2023 and 2024.
This was the first regular-season game in PWHL history to end 1-0 in regulation. The last 1-0 result this season was an overtime decision on Jan. 12 when New York shutout Toronto.
Brianne Jenner’s goal was her first of the season and counts as the third game-winning goal of her career. The Charge captain scored nine goals in 24 games last season and is now tied for second in team scoring with five points (1G, 4A) in 10 games.
Gabbie Hughes recorded her first assist since the season opener against Montréal on Nov. 30. The Lino Lakes, MN, native ended her nine-game scoreless streak before family and friends in attendance. She also led all players with a season-high 22 faceoffs, winning 10.
Maddie Rooney lowered her goals-against-average to 1.85 and now ranks first among all PWHL goaltenders in the category, ahead of the Sirens’ Schroeder at 1.86.
Taylor Heise led all players with five shots on goal which equals her season high. Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield had two shots on goal and leads the league with 40.
Claire Thompson led all players in time on ice at 26:51 for Minnesota, while Jocelyne Larocque led all Ottawa skaters at 23:22.
Ottawa leads the league with four regulation road wins.
The Charge scored first for the league-leading eighth time in 12 games this season.
Ottawa won despite being outshot for a league-high eighth time in 12 games. This was also the eighth time in 12 games the Charge have scored two or less goals.
Minnesota entered the game with the league’s highest goals-per-game average of 3.0 but were shutout for the second time in seven games at Xcel Energy Center. They previously lost 5-0 to New York on Jan. 4.
The Frost lost for the first time in regulation when outshooting their opponent. They entered the game with four wins and one overtime loss when leading the game in shots.
In honor of Goalie Appreciation Night, the Frost welcomed U.S. Blind Hockey goaltender Evie Jones to announce the team’s starting lineup.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Ottawa 1 0 0 - 1
Minnesota 0 0 0 – 0
1st Period-1, Ottawa, Jenner 1 (Hughes, Clark), 3:19. Penalties-Pannek Min (hooking), 11:56; Tejralová Ott (tripping), 15:17.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Clark Ott (hooking), 3:59.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Cava Min (roughing), 16:37.
Shots on Goal-Ottawa 10-4-5-19. Minnesota 6-11-5-22.
Power Play Opportunities-Ottawa 0 / 2; Minnesota 0 / 2.
Goalies-Ottawa, Philips 1-1-1-0 (22 shots-22 saves). Minnesota, Rooney 5-2-0-1 (19 shots-18 saves).
A-4,165
THREE STARS
1. Gwyneth Philips (OTT) SO
2. Maddie Rooney (MIN) 18 SV
3. Brianne Jenner (OTT) GWG
STANDINGS
Minnesota (4-3-2-4) - 20 PTS – 2nd Place
Ottawa (5-0-2-5) - 17 PTS – 3rd Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Minnesota: Sunday, January 26 vs. Boston at 2 p.m. CT
Ottawa: Monday, January 27 vs. New York at 7 p.m. ET