Charge place Jincy Roese on long-term injured reserve, sign Sam Isbell for playoffs

A team is making some adjustments in personnel prior to a crucial game in the PWHL Playoffs.

On Tuesday, the Ottawa Charge announced the team had placed defender Jincy Roese on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. In response, the team has signed fellow blueliner Sam Isbell to a standard player contract.

Isbell is expected to be in the lineup for the Charge’s first home postseason game in franchise history, hosting the Montreal Victoire in a pivotal third game of the best-of-five semifinals.

Roese was noticeably absent from the first two games in Laval. The team didn’t specify when the O’Fallon, Missouri native suffered the injury, but Roese did appear in the Charge’s final regular-season game on May 3. She played less than 14 minutes, a season-low for her.

Roese had been one of Ottawa’s most dynamic players on its D-corps this year. Though she had her share of slip-ups in her own zone, the U.S. Olympian finished the regular season with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 27 games. She led all Charge defenders in scoring, sitting fifth among PWHL blueliners.

Isbell has signed a pair of 10-day contracts this year. The first stint saw the Thunder Bay, Ontario native play three games back in January. She signed another short-term deal in April, though she didn’t see any ice time in her latest appearance in the lineup against Montreal on April 26.

Isbell, who joined Ottawa during the team’s inaugural season after a brief stint in Boston, has yet to register a point in her PWHL career. The 27-year-old has a plus/minus of -1 this season while averaging close to six minutes of ice time per game.

With Roese out of action, the Charge has been using 13 forwards and six defenders in the first two games of the series. The addition of Isbell might mean that forward Taylor House will be taken out of the lineup before Game 3.

Ottawa is looking to bounce back after losing one of the greatest games in league history. While the Charge managed to erase a two-goal deficit on Saturday, Catherine Dubois’ goal in the fourth overtime gave the Victoire a 3-2 win in the Mother’s Day Marathon, evening the series at a game apiece.

Puck drop on Tuesday night is scheduled for a little after 7 p.m. ET.