Ottawa Charge salvaged its PWHL season when it was divided

Ottawa Charge players celebrate after Friday’s 2-1 win against the Montreal Victoire gave them a four-game triumph in the semifinals and a berth in the PWHL final against the Minnesota Frost. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIAArticle content

A month before thousands of fans at TD Place ushered the Montreal Victoire into an early offseason with haunting chants of “You Chose Us,” any PWHL team would have picked the Ottawa Charge as a first-round playoff opponent.

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Before the first week of April, the Charge was as inconsistent as Toronto Blue Jays bats.

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With a record of 10-1-4-11 (wins, OT wins, OT losses, regulation-time losses) that included the wild swing of an 8-3 victory and 5-0 loss against the Minnesota Frost, Ottawa was in serious danger of missing the postseason tournament for the second straight year.

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Then came back-to-back victories leading into a women’s world hockey championship that seemed to be coming at a bad time.

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As it turned out, it did not.

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It was the three-week interruption of the PWHL schedule — when half the team’s players were in Czechia to represent their countries and the other half held short-staffed practices at TD Place — that is being remembered as the turning point.

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Gwyneth Philips from the Ottawa Charge makes a save against the Montréal Victoire during second-period action at TD Place in Ottawa on Friday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /PostmediaArticle content

With veterans like Shiann Darkangelo and Rebecca Leslie leading the way, those who stayed home treated the “break” like a training camp and worked harder than ever while vowing to salvage the season.

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When the global tournament was over, the group reunited and league action resumed, the Charge made a strong push to qualify for the playoffs by winning two of its last three games.

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That determination was never more evident than in the first round against Montreal, when Ottawa directed the Victoire to an early exit by taking the best-of-five in four games.

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“Those three weeks were long weeks,” Leslie said Friday night. “We (didn’t) play games. We were grinding every single day, practising. Our teammates who were out representing their countries were doing great things, but we knew (they’d be drained) and we kind of had to lead the way when they came back.

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“So I think that we really bonded, the group that was here. We took the energy and the good vibes, and we just brought them into the group when we came together. Those three weeks were really important for us.”

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Emily Clark, a key member of Team Canada, agreed.

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“As a player that was gone for the international break, that was a huge turning point,” she said. “Coming back, knowing how much work they put in and how much energy they had coming out of that break was super inspiring and filled our tank right away. So it’s a huge testament to the players that were here.”