
Ottawa Charge defeated Boston Fleet 4-3 in double overtime, advancing to the Walter Cup Final. Michela Cava scored the decisive goal just 72 seconds into the second overtime, sealing the series 3-1 for Ottawa.
Ottawa Charge eliminate Boston Fleet in double overtime in PWHL semifinal
OTTAWA â The Ottawa Charge are heading to a second straight Walter Cup Final after defeating the Boston Fleet 4-3 in double overtime on Sunday night in Game 4 of the PWHL semifinals.
The game had two high-scoring, back-and-forth periods of hockey before American star goalies Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa) and Aerin Frankel (Boston) shut the door, forcing two extra frames of hockey. The second overtime, however, was short-lived, as Michela Cava needed just 72 seconds to end the game in front of 11,297 raucous fans at the Canadian Tire Centre. The goal, Cavaâs first as a member of the Ottawa Charge, sealed the best-of-five series win 3-1 for Ottawa.
Ottawa opened the scoring nearly seven minutes into the first period after a big Fanuza Kadirova shot on the power play deflected off rookie Sarah Wozniewicz to beat Frankel. Rebecca Leslie doubled the lead in the second period, but the Fleet responded with three goals in under two minutes in a dramatic change of momentum.
Brooke Hobson tied the game 3-3 before the end of a five-goal second frame to set up the late-game goalie battle. Boston heavily outshot Ottawa 37-22 in regulation, but reigning playoff MVP Gwyneth Philips turned away 34 shots for her third straight win requiring at least 30 saves. Philips was perfect in extra time, turning away all nine shots she faced in the win.
At the other end, Frankel made 29 saves on 33 shots and allowed four goals against for the first time in her playoff career.
The loss marks an early end for the Boston Fleet after a stellar a 16-win regular season, which is tied with the top-seeded Montreal Victoire for the most wins ever in a single season. The Charge now await the winner of the Montreal-Minnesota series, which is tied 2-2 heading into a deciding Game 5 on Monday night.
After losing over 30 goals from the lineup thanks to expansion and free agency turnover, Ottawa Charge general manager Mike Hirshfeld decided to take a flier on a small but skilled forward out of the Russian womenâs hockey league.
Fanuza Kadirova was first put on Hirshfeldâs radar by advisor Mel Davidson, who coached Team Canada to gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics. Kadirova was highly productive in Russia, but hadnât played against top North American competition since the 2022 Olympics, due to Russiaâs ban from IIHF competition. And at 5-foot-4, there was a question of how her game might translate to the PWHL.
The final score was Ottawa Charge 4, Boston Fleet 3 after double overtime.
Michela Cava scored the winning goal for Ottawa Charge just 72 seconds into the second overtime.
Ottawa Charge won the best-of-five series against Boston Fleet 3-1.
The semifinal game was held at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

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Still, Hirshfeld was looking to inject more skill back onto his team, and by the sixth round of the 2025 PWHL Draft, he felt the selection was worth the risk.
With a signature hairstyle (sprigs of hair poking out the sides of her helmet), excellent shot and skating ability, Kadirova has been an undisputed hit in Ottawa. She scored 10 goals in the regular season, third on the team, and scored twice in Ottawaâs back-to-back wins against Boston heading into Sundayâs game.
In the first period, it looked like Kadirova scored her third goal in as many games on the power play, but the marker was eventually credited to rookie forward Wozniewicz. Still, with two assists in the contest, Kadirova now has sole possession of the league lead in points (5) in the first round of the PWHL playoffs.
In the regular season, no pair of forwards combined for more goals than Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner and her linemate Rebecca Leslie (16). In Ottawaâs first three games of the postseason, however, Jenner and Leslie had yet to connect; Jenner was held off the scoresheet entirely.
Before Sundayâs game, the Charge had struggled to generate a ton of offense in general against a stifling Boston defense. The Jenner-Leslie line specifically had spent a lot of time matched up against Megan Keller and Haley Winn, two of the very best defenders in womenâs hockey who each play close to 30 minutes per night.
But that scoreless streak finally came to an end on Sunday. 3:25 minutes into the second period, Jenner did well to corral a rebound off Frankelâs pad and instead of forcing a tough angle shot, made a cross-crease pass to Leslie, who crashed the net and got inside position on Keller to deflect the puck into an empty net. The goal was reviewed for a kicking motion, but was quickly deemed legal.
The play was a near-perfect example of the kind of chemistry the duo â who played together in the now-defunct Canadian Womenâs Hockey League back in 2019 â have found this season.
âIâve been really lucky to play with her,â Jenner said before the series. âItâs been fun to have that chemistry with someone that Iâve known for so long.â
It took the Fleet just one minute and 33 seconds to erase Ottawaâs 2-0 lead in the second period and take their first lead in a game this series since Game 1 â which was (somehow) 10 days ago.
First, just over five minutes into the second period, Shay Maloney scored her first career playoff goal, beating Philips with plenty of traffic at the net front. On the next shift, Gabbie Hughes was called for interference, giving a dormant Boston power play a chance to come alive.
And it did, courtesy of a point shot from Megan Keller that bobbled past Philips as she was moving across her crease. It was Bostonâs first power-play goal of the series after failing to score on 12 previous attempts.
âWe have elite players on our power play,â said Boston coach Kris Sparre on Friday. âWe just have to deliver it to the net a little bit more and create that chaos.â
On Kellerâs goal, Jessie Eldridge was battling near the blue paint, while Abby Newhook was parked right in front of Philips, providing the exact kind of chaos Sparre was looking for. The goal stopped Ottawaâs streak of not allowing a power-play goal at 17 straight times short-handed.
52 seconds later, Jill Saulnier placed a perfect shot pass off Philipsâ pad to a driving Sophie Shirley. It was the first time Boston got more than two pucks by Philips all series, and just the second time any team has scored more than two goals in Philipsâ incredible playoff career.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, NHL, Women's Hockey
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