The Ottawa Charge are headed back to the Walter Cup Final.
Michela Cava scored 1:12 into the second overtime period Sunday evening to push the Charge to a 4-3 win and 3-1 series victory over the Boston Fleet.
Sunday’s game likely wasn’t what anyone expected. When you’ve got two top-tier goaltenders in a potential elimination game, you don’t expect 6/7 goals. But the offense on both sides poured it on, particularly in the second period.
The Charge led 2-0 early in the middle frame on goals from Sarah Wozniewicz and Rebecca Leslie. But, as we saw in game one, Ottawa then proceeded to give up a few quick goals. This time, it was three goals in a span of just 1:33.
Although that changed the tide of the game and gave Boston the lead, Ottawa did well to respond as Brooke Hobson tied it a few minutes later. The momentum evened out in the third, and the teams headed to overtime.
“I think it says a lot about us,” said Brianne Jenner after the game. “When you go up 2-0 and then in the span of five minutes, you let that lead go – I think a lot of teams would fold. The fact that we’re able to put that in the rearview and just keep going – that’s something we try to cultivate in our locker room.”
“We’ve got a great mental performance coach, Kim Thompson, who works with us on that all year,” Jenner added. “To see it come out in a big game where it’d be easy to hang our heads right after those five minutes, but we kept going and found way.”
After a fruitless first overtime period, the Charge took control to start the second. They outshot the Fleet 3-0, with Cava’s series-winning goal – her first as a member of the Charge and first since December 20 – coming off a rare blunder from Boston netminder Aerin Frankel.
“That was a big one,” Cava said in the post-game press conference. “I’ve been trying… just felt like I had bad puck luck, and I was so close. It feels really good to get this one for the girls.”
If anyone knows what it takes to win, it’s Cava. She’s won five consecutive professional hockey championships across the SDHL, ZhHL, PHF and PWHL and will now seek a sixth.
“Playoffs is [sic] the funnest time of the year,” she said. “You go through a lot throughout the season, but the strongest teams… we’ll do anything for each other to try and get to this moment.”
That type of experience, and the value Cava brings to the team, is invaluable to the Charge.
“Whether she was scoring or not, she’s had a huge impact on this team as a leader,” said Jenner of Cava. “She’s very cool in all situations and has great messages for the team, and I think she’s given so much to us.”
Head coach Carla MacLeod agrees.
“She’s a competitor,” MacLeod said. “When you watch her out there, she’s got a knack for the net. She’s got a poise with the puck. It was nice to see her be rewarded here tonight with such a big goal.”
“You just look at her career; she’s been a part of winning teams throughout her entire career, and she’s been a key component of those winning teams,” MacLeod added. “She brings a lot of experience. She’s a fun woman to be around, too. A good sense of humor, but [also] just a heck of a hockey player.”
Cava and the Charge now await their Walter Cup Final opponent. The semifinal series between the Minnesota Frost and the Montréal Victoire resumes Monday for a 7 PM ET puck drop.