With new faces in camp, Charge focused on making playoffs in second PWHL season

By Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press on November 12, 2024.

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Charge have some tough decisions ahead, and general manager Mike Hirshfeld is prepared to make them.

The team gathered Tuesday the first day of training camp in preparation for the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s second season.

While there were many familiar faces, there are a number of new additions who will be vying for a roster spot. Ottawa has 29 players in camp, 19 of whom were part of last year’s inaugural team.

Rosters are set at 23, with teams allowed to carry three reserve players, meaning three will need to be released at some point during the process.

“It’s going to be really tough, but that’s what we wanted to create,” Hirshfeld said. “We wanted to have tough decisions, and there’s going to be some players who are disappointed and I’m fully prepared for that and to be the one who breaks the news, but that’s a good situation.”

Ottawa finished last season with nine wins (one in overtime) and 15 losses (six in OT) to finish fifth in the six-team league and narrowly miss the playoffs. Evaluating what was missing from the roster was a driving factor in off-season decisions.

Hirshfeld identified three priorities and is confident they were all addressed.

Emerance Maschmeyer was the backbone of Ottawa’s goaltending last season, taking on the load by starting all but one of the team’s 24 games. However, with the league schedule increasing to 30 games this season, Hirshfeld recognized the need for more depth in net.

Camp will feature a competitive mix of four goalies, led by Maschmeyer. Joining her are Allie Lehmann, from Switzerland, and two recent NCAA graduates – Gwyneth Philips from Northeastern and Logan Angers from Quinnipiac. Each bringing their own strengths.

Maschmeyer, who became a new mom with partner Genevieve Lacasse over the summer with the birth of her son, Beckham, understands the need for additional depth, but thrives on competition.

“I know that whatever goalie is in net, we’re going to be taken care of,” said Maschmeyer. “That’s a really great feeling knowing that if I’m not in net we’re going to be just fine, but, yeah, I’m going to battle every day to get all the ice that I can grab.”

The second priority was to add some depth on defence. a problem last season after losing Zoe Boyd to injury.

Ottawa is confident that the arrival of Finland’s Ronja Savolainen – known for her physical, relentless play – alongside third-round draft pick Stephanie Markowski will bring toughness and depth to its defensive lineup.

“I’m super excited to wear the same jersey as Ronja,” said forward Emily Clark. “I have no doubt she’s going to have an impact right away.”

Clark, who has faced Savolainen numerous times in international play, described her new teammate as “a pain in the butt to play against” and is happy they’ll finally be on the same side.

The final piece was to add some grit and size to the Charge’s lineup – an area Hirshfeld said was lacking last season.

“We knew it would be (physical and competitive), but you had to see it to really understand it,” Hirshfeld said. “We felt like we didn’t compete hard enough, particularly on the defensive end, so size and grit and toughness and compete level was really important for us.”

Savolainen provides both of those, as does Danielle Serdachny, Ottawa’s first round pick.

“I would say I’m a 200-foot player,” said the five-foot-nine Serdachny. “I work hard, but also like to kind of create offence when I can. I consider myself more of a playmaker trying to set people up.”

The pieces are in place and now it will be up to returning head coach Carla MacLeod and the players to put everything together.

MacLeod is a proponent of communication being a driving factor to a team’s success. While training camp may have officially got underway Tuesday, the Charge have been working together for weeks.

“The last sort of four to six weeks we’ve been able to lean into who do we want to be and what are we looking to be and try to lay a foundation,” MacLeod. said “We’re ready to go. We’re not learning names; we’re not learning who people are. We’re connected already.”

The Charge will have their on-ice session Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 12, 2024.