Emily Clark scores OT winner, Charge beat Frost 2-1 in PWHL Final opener

Emily Clark scored in overtime, leading the Ottawa Charge to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Frost on Tuesday night, giving the home team a 1-0 series lead in the PWHL Finals.

Clark’s goal came just 2:47 in the extra frame after the Charge forward carried the puck along the boards in the Frost zone, wristing a shot under the blocker of Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley for her second of the postseason.

The game went to overtime after Frost forward Klara Hymlarova scored five minutes into the third period to tie the game at one. The goal came after Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who was named a finalist for PWHL Goaltender of the Year last week, coughed the puck up and Minnesota took advantage, with Katy Knoll feeding Hymlarova a pass and burying it to make it 1-1.

Rebecca Leslie, who joined the Charge in the offseason, opened the scoring midway through the second period after taking a pass from Tereza Vanisova and going top shelf past Hensley to make it 1-0.

Minnesota outshot Ottawa 26-19, while both teams failed to score on the power play, each going 0 for 2. Philips made 25 saves to earn the win, while Hensley stopped 17 of 19 shots.

Three of Minnesota’s defenders — Lee Stecklein, Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques —finished with at least 24:28 of ice time.

The official attendance for Tuesday’s game was 6,184.

Game 2 is Thursday in Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET, then the series shifts to Minnesota with Game 3 in Saint Paul, Minn. on Saturday.

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