Shiann Darkangelo, Gwyneth Philips help Charge to Game 1 win over Victoire

The underdogs have drawn first blood.

Thanks to a couple of timely goals and some strong work on the defensive end, the Ottawa Charge came away with a 3-2 win over the top-seeded Montreal Victoire in Game 1 of their PWHL Semifinal series.

The Victoire looked as if they were going to run the Charge out of the building. Montreal peppered rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips early and often. Yet, the former Northeastern star seemed unphased by going up against one of the best offenses in the league.

Lost in the early barrage from the Victoire was Ottawa striking first, as Brianne Jenner finished off a nice feed from Tereza Vanišová, on the power play, briefly quieting the home crowd.

However, Place Bell sprung back to life later in the first when Victoire winger Maureen Murphy scored a power-play goal of her own, her first tally in almost two months.

While only four power plays were handed out in a fairly physical contest, both teams’ power plays looked impressive. Ottawa went 1-for-2, but Montreal cashed in on both of their chances. A little over two minutes after Ashton Bell gave the Charge its second lead of the game, relentless pressure from the Victoire power play led to captain Marie-Philip Poulin powering a shot through Philips to level the score.

Heading into the third period of a playoff game, you would think both teams would bunker down defensively in order to avoid making a mistake. Yet, the Charge and Victoire continued to press on.

A little before the halfway mark of the final frame, a broken offensive rush benefitted the Charge, as Emily Clark found a wide-open Shiann Darkangelo wide open in the slot. The Brighton, Michigan native didn’t waste the opportunity, ripping a shot by Ann-Renée Desbiens to put Ottawa in front once again.

The Victoire ramped up the player in the late stages of the game, but Philips made a couple of clutch saves to secure the victory.

For the second time in a matter of weeks, Philips outdid Desbiens. The right-handed catching backstop turned away 31 of the 33 shots she faced, while Desbiens made 24 saves in the losing effort.

For the Charge, a team few seemed to give any hope for in this series, they did exactly what they needed to do – take away home-ice advantage. They didn’t look like a team that was intimidated, even pushing the Victoire on their heels at certain points of the game.

If Montreal doesn’t find a way to increase its offense and put more pressure on Philips, it could face a similar situation to last year.

The two teams will have an extra day off before the second game of the series, as the Victoire hosts the Charge on Sunday in Laval. Puck drop’s scheduled for a little after 2 p.m. ET.

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