OTTAWA, ON Gwyneth Philips stopped all 26 shots she faced and Mannon McMahon scored the game’s only goal to lift the Ottawa Charge to a 1–0 win over the Montréal Victoire on Tuesday night at TD Place, giving Ottawa a 2–1 lead in the best-of-five series.
The game—which was the first home playoff game in Charge history––opened with two scoreless periods, as both teams traded chances in pursuit of the game’s first goal. Then, at 8:42 of the third period, McMahon buried a rebound off a Gabbie Hughes shot to give her team the lead in front of a roaring home crowd of 7,282 fans.
The Victoire battled to find the equalizer in the game’s dying minutes with an extra attacker on the ice, but they failed to capitalize as Philips stood tall to backstop her team to the victory. Victoire goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 24 of 25 shots in her sixth career playoff start. The Charge have now won three straight home games at TD Place over the Victoire this season.
The Charge look to secure their spot in the PWHL Finals, while the Victoire will look to stave off a semifinal elimination for the second season in a row in Game Four of the PWHL Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at TD Place.
QUOTES
Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips on her progression this season: “I’m getting more comfortable and gaining confidence because I can feel that my teammates are feeling a little bit more confident with me. That’s been my key to success. Personally, it’s just knowing how much I trust my teammates and how much they give it back to me.”
Charge forward Mannon McMahon on lingering fatigue from the Game 2 seven-period game: “The support staff was so great these past few days. They got us everything and more that we could have ever needed. And then, stepping onto that ice today, the crowd was going from the second that the national anthem played. How can you not be energized by that? We needed that tonight, so it’s huge and we know we’ll have that next game too. We’re really thankful that we’re at home now.”
Victoire defender Erin Ambrose on the work that needs to be done to beat Gwyneth Philips: “I think we need to do a better job of taking her eyes away. I think that she is an elite goaltender. She’s shown that in multiple areas, multiple games, both internationally and here. But I also think that we have elite goal scorers on this team, and we’ve just got to find a way to get dirty ones at times. And I think that that’s something that all of us are wanting to do, but just aren’t executing on it, so that’s something that we’re going to continue to focus on.”
Montréal captain Marie-Philip Poulin about the mentality the team needs to have facing elimination: “Every time you end up in these situations, I think it’s whoever is ready to go, not only physically, but mentally. I think those are the big games that you want to play for. That’s why you practice. That’s why you do the extra reps. That’s why you grind all year long. That’s why we have 30 games a season. We need to accept that challenge and go to work.” 
NOTABLES
Tonight’s game was the first of the playoffs — and only the second all season — to remain scoreless through the first two periods. The only other instance came during New York’s 1–0 overtime win over Toronto on Jan. 12. For comparison, last season’s playoffs featured three games that were scoreless after two periods, including two 1-0 victories in double overtime.
Ottawa’s 124:57 stretch without a goal — spanning from their game-tying goal in the third period of Game 2 to their game-winning goal in the third period of Game 3 — is the longest scoreless streak in team history.
Gwyneth Philips becomes the first rookie goalie in PWHL history to post a playoff shutout, and the fifth goalie to do so in PWHL history.
Mannon McMahon became the first Charge rookie to score a playoff goal, and the fifth rookie in the league to find the back of the net this postseason. All five of McMahon’s PWHL goals have come at TD Place, including the team’s first home goal of the 2024-25 regular season.
Gabbie Hughes tallied her first career playoff point with an assist and has six helpers in her last 10 games. The Charge forward took a team-high 13 faceoffs tonight and leads the team with 85 draws this series.
Ronja Savolainen recorded her first career playoff point, becoming the 16th league defender to record a point this postseason through six games. Last year’s postseason only saw 15 defenders get on the scoresheet in 13 total postseason games.
Shiann Darkangelo went 8-for-13 in the faceoff circle to improve her faceoff win-rate to 67.2 percent (39-for-58), best among centers (min. 10 faceoffs) in the series. Alexa Vasko is next best on the Charge with a 57.7 percent success rate in 26 draws.
Marie-Philip Poulin took a game-high 20 faceoffs and leads the playoffs with 97. Her 56.7 percent win rate is best on the Victoire, followed by Kristin O’Neill at 51.7 percent with 60 faceoffs taken.
Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped a career-high 53 consecutive shots over a span of 124:57, a streak that includes the final 33 shots she faced in Game 2 and the first 20 shots she stopped in tonight’s game.
Between Brianne Jenner’s game-tying goal in Game 2 and McMahon’s third-period goal, Desbiens and Philips combined to stop 105 of 106 shots.
This playoff series has featured five scoreless periods across three games (12 total periods), compared to just four scoreless periods during the six-game regular season series between Montréal and Ottawa (18 total 20-minute periods).
Montréal has had 10 players record points so far this postseason, the fewest among all playoff teams. Minnesota leads the way with 15, followed by Toronto with 14, and Ottawa sits third with 11.
The team that led the shots on goal column has lost every game in this series.
Five of the top six shot leaders in the PWHL playoffs are competing in this series, led by Laura Stacey (24), Poulin (23), and Tereza Vanišová (17), with Brianne Jenner and Catherine Dubois each registering 12 shots. The only player from the other semifinal series to crack the top six is Toronto’s Renata Fast, also with 12 shots.
At 9:42 of the second period, Stacey was assessed a major penalty for body checking. The play was reviewed by the on-ice officials, in consultation with the PWHL Central Situation Room, and downgraded to a minor penalty for illegal body checking. 
SCORESHEET RECAP
Montréal 0 0 0 – 0
Ottawa 0 0 1 – 1
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Poulin Mtl (roughing), 18:51.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Tabin Mtl (cross checking), 14:15.
3rd Period-1, Ottawa, McMahon 1 (Hughes, Savolainen), 8:42. Penalties-Boyd Ott (cross checking), 1:54; Stacey Mtl (illegal body checking), 9:42; Hughes Ott (roughing), 9:42; Jenner Ott (hooking), 11:29.
Shots on Goal-Montréal 7-10-9-26. Ottawa 12-7-6-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Montréal 0 / 2; Ottawa 0 / 2.
Goalies-Montréal, Desbiens (25 shots-24 saves). Ottawa, Philips (26 shots-26 saves).
A-7,282
THREE STARS
- Gwyneth Philips (OTT) 26/26 SV
- Mannon McMahon (OTT) 1G
- Ann-Renée Desbiens (MTL) 24/25 SV
SERIES
Ottawa leads Montréal 2-1
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Game 4: Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. ET (TD Place)
