In the end, they don’t ask how — they ask how many. For the Ottawa Charge on Friday night, the ‘how’ was a bit odd — but the ‘how many‘ mattered more. A last-minute goal by Ronja Savolainen gave the Charge a 2-1 win and a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Ottawa Charge defender scored on an odd play with just 29 seconds left in regulation. Michela Cava passed the puck to Savolainen, who released a shot from the top of the slot. The puck bounced off the end boards, then off Aerin Frankel, and trickled into the net.
Savolainen didn’t even initially realize the puck went in — or that she’d actually scored. When she saw teammate Kateřina Mrázová celebrating, Savolainen thought she’d scored.
“I had no idea,” Savolainen said in the post-game press conference. “I didn’t see how the puck went in, I just wanted to shoot the puck somehow to the net. We were lucky it bounced in there, and obviously a relief … that was a crazy goal.”
Crazy or not, the goals count just the same. Savolainen noted after the game that the Ottawa Charge have practiced shooting into the boards at Canadian Tire Centre, to familiarize themselves with how the boards live and how pucks could bounce off them.
Friday night, the bounce went the Charge’s way. Another night, it could go the Fleet’s way. Regardless, the Charge know there are other components of their game to improve on in hopes of sealing the series.
“There are two tremendous goalies on both ends, and I think that we can do a better job of taking shots on net,” said Ottawa Charge forward Rebecca Leslie after the game.
“We passed a lot up in the slot, so I think that finding ways to get more shots on net is only going to help us,” she added. “That starts with contributing on the power play, getting more shots on net … We just need to get back to finding ways to take those shots rather than pass them up.”
It’s been a recurring theme for the Ottawa Charge thus far in this series: taking more shots, and higher-quality shots. The team put up 22 shots on Frankel in Friday’s win, more than either of the previous two games. Comparatively, though, the Fleet put up 37 shots on Gwyneth Philips — including a 17-5 margin in the second period.
On Friday night, all it took was one shot. Now, all the team needs is one win.
The Ottawa Charge know that they can’t rely on the bounces going their way to win a game, or the series. Now, with the Fleet on the brink of elimination, the team’s focus is clear.
“We need to find ways to be more consistent,” Leslie said. “Get pucks to the net, be more offensively threatening, and take care of our d-zone a little bit better.”
The Ottawa Charge can eliminate the Fleet and punch their ticket to the Walter Cup Final with a win on Sunday. Puck drop is set for 3 PM ET at Canadian Tire Centre.