Saturday, March 29, 2025 | 1:00 p.m. CT | Enterprise Center (St. Louis)
WATCH LIVE: Matrix Midwest, NESN, CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International)
Jamie Hersch (Play-by-Play), Gigi Marvin (Analyst), Natalie Noury (Reporter)
OTTAWA CHARGE
9-1-4-11 | 33 PTS | 5TH PLACE
Top Scorer: Tereza Vanišová – 25 GP, 13-5-18 PTS
Last Game: 6-3 L vs. NY on Mar. 25
BOSTON FLEET
8-6-4-7 | 40 PTS | 3RD PLACE
Top Scorer: Hilary Knight – 25 GP, 15-13-28 PTS
Last Game: 4-2 L vs. TOR on Mar. 26
2024-25 SEASON SERIES: BOSTON LEADS 10-2 IN POINTS (BOS WON 9-6 IN 2024)
Dec. 17 at BOS: 3-2 BOS | Jan. 11 at OTT: 2-1 BOS (OT) | Feb. 20 at OTT: 3-2 BOS (OT) | Mar. 15 at OTT: 5-2 BOS | Apr. 2 at BOS
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
St. Louis is the ninth and final stop on the PWHL Takeover Tour™. Boston has won both of their games on the tour, picking up shootout wins over Montréal on Jan. 5 in Seattle and New York on Feb. 23 in Buffalo. Ottawa is seeking their first tour win after losing in Québec City (Jan. 19 vs. Montréal), Edmonton (Feb. 16 vs. Toronto) and Raleigh (Mar. 7 vs. Minnesota). Last season, Boston beat Ottawa 2-1 in a shootout in Detroit on Mar. 16, 2024, the league’s first-ever neutral site game.
Toronto can become the second team to clinch a berth in the PWHL Playoffs if Boston beats Ottawa (either in regulation or in overtime/shootout), or if the Charge defeats the Fleet in a shootout.
The Charge lost to the Sirens, 6-3, on Tuesday despite entering the third period with a 3-0 lead. Ottawa is the only team this season to allow at least four goals in a period twice this season – allowed four in the third period against the Fleet on Mar. 15. The Charge have scored four in a period once, putting four past Minnesota in the second period on Feb. 13.
Emily Clark scored for the second straight game on Tuesday, bringing her season total to nine goals, more than double her total from last season (four in 24 games). Five of Clark’s nine goals have come in her six games against the Sirens – she has four goals in 19 games against all other opponents, including zero in four games against the Fleet.
Danielle Serdachny has scored three out of her seven points (3A) against Boston which is tied for the team lead in points in the season series with Tereza Vanišová (2G, 1A). The Team Canada member and second overall draft pick has gone five straight games without a point and hasn’t scored a goal since Jan. 7 against New York.
Jincy Roese, born in O’Fallon, returns home where she’s expected to play in front of 30 family members and friends. The Charge’s top scoring defender (2G, 10A) played alongside St. Louis’ notorious hockey brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk in her youth.
Gabbie Hughes, from Lino Lakes, MN, will have her mother Miki Hughes and her Californian side of the family in attendance. Her Grandparents have attended all of the team’s Takeover Tour games.
Five Charge players will arrive to Enterprise Center wearing St. Louis Blues jerseys: Gwyneth Philips, who played hockey with Blues legend Al MacInnis’ daughter Lauren, will be wearing his retired No. 2. Stephanie Markowski will be wearing fellow Albertan Colton Parayko’s jersey. Hughes will represent fellow Minnesotan and Minnesota-Duluth alum Justin Faulk. Finnish defender Ronja Savolainen will salute Swedish defender Philip Broberg. Roese will honor her youngest sister Joy Dunne by wearing her Lady Blues jersey.
Boston has won all four meetings between these teams this season (2-2-0-0). The only other PWHL matchup this season that has seen one team win every game is the Fleet’s 4-2-0-0 mark against the Sirens. The Fleet and Charge will meet again on Wednesday in Boston for the final game before the league schedule pauses for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
The Fleet fell to Toronto, 4-2, at home on Wednesday, snapping their nine-game point streak (4-3-2-0). Boston now has more regulation losses in five games against Toronto (1-0-0-4) than they do against all other opponents combined (7-6-4-3). The Fleet’s last regulation loss against a team other than Toronto came on Jan. 26 in Minnesota.
Hilary Knight tied a PWHL career high with seven shots on goal on Wednesday (done two other times) and scored both Boston goals, giving her multiple points for the third consecutive game. The Fleet captain is the first PWHL player to reach 28 points – Natalie Spooner, last season’s league leader, finished with 27. Knight’s 92 shots on goal are second most in the league behind Montréal’s Laura Stacey (98).
Knight and Hannah Brandt have both scored a goal and three assists in four games against Ottawa to lead the season series in points. Aerin Frankel has played all four games in goal, posting a 1.71 GAA and .929 SV%.
The Fleet spent the past two days in St. Louis and attended Opening Day for the Cardinals, explored the iconic Gateway Arch, and forward Jamie Lee Rattray joined NBC’s Show Me St. Louis on Friday morning.
Shay Maloney, a native of McHenry, IL, feels right at home in St. Louis having played in several tournaments here throughout her youth hockey career.
Enterprise Center hosted the final U.S. game of the PWHPA Dream Gap Tour back on May 17, 2021. Knight and Brandt helped Team adidas (Minnesota) earn a 4-2 victory over Team Women’s Sports Foundation (New Hampshire) – a squad that featured Roese and Fleet defender Megan Keller.
St. Louis’ Centene Community Ice Center hosted two games of a pre-Olympic series back in December 2021, with Canada beating the United States twice in overtime. Twelve players from the Charge (7) and Fleet (5) competed in the games, with Brandt, Keller, Knight and Roese representing the U.S. Canada’s roster included Boston’s Rattray and Jill Saulnier, and Ottawa’s Clark, Victoria Bach, Ashton Bell, Brianne Jenner, Emerance Maschmeyer and Jocelyne Larocque – who assisted on both OT goals scored by Montréal’s Marie-Philip Poulin.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We get back-to-back games against the same opponent that gives it a playoff feel. We’re excited to take charge here. We’re only two points out of the playoffs. We’re right there and we still do control our own fate. It will be important to have that mindset as we approach our two final games before the international break.” - Charge Head Coach Carla MacLeod.
“It’s always exciting going into new markets. We get the opportunity to play in an arena full of fresh faces and extend the game to places that aren’t typical within our regular season. We loved the opportunity to play in Seattle and Buffalo, and now playing in front of a new crowd in St. Louis, we’re definitely excited for it as a team.” - Fleet forward Shay Maloney.
SATURDAY’S GAME: Enterprise Center becomes the 15th NHL venue and 25th venue overall to host a PWHL game all-time. The first eight games of the PWHL Takeover Tour™ generated a total attendance of 115,023. The PWHL is proud to welcome Alex Cavallini to perform today’s ceremonial puck drop with her 2-year-old daughter Isabella. The St. Louis Blues Ambassador was a cornerstone of the U.S. Women’s National Team, backstopping her country to five World Championship titles, Olympic gold in 2018, and Olympic silver in 2022. Cavallini will visit the Fleet locker room pre-game to read the team’s starting lineup. Laila Anderson, whose fighting spirit and positivity inspired the Blues and hockey fans everywhere during the team’s 2019 Stanley Cup run, will read the Charge’s starting lineup. Now 17 and cancer-free, Laila attends Jincy Roese’s summer hockey camps. The PWHL has partnered with local nonprofits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri, Girls on the Run St. Louis, Boys Hope Girls Hope of St. Louis for today’s game. The initiative aims to promote gender equity and empower the next generation of leaders by offering access to live women's sports experiences. By partnering with organizations focused on youth development, the PWHL aims to inspire confidence, break barriers, and encourage girls to see themselves in sports, whether as players or leaders. Today’s game is airing on Matrix Midwest, St. Louis’ only free and independent sports and entertainment network, available free over-the-air on channel 32 and channel 6 on Spectrum/Charter.