Emily Clark Lifts Ottawa Charge to Overtime Win in Game 1 of The Walter Cup Finals

Emily Clark played the role of team hero on Tuesday night, scoring the overtime winner to lift the Ottawa Charge to a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Frost in Game 1 of the PWHL Walter Cup Finals, presented by Scotiabank.

Courtesy of the PWHL

The game opened with a tight-checking, scoreless first period which is a first for Minnesota this postseason. Ottawa native Rebecca Leslie opened the scoring midway through the second period, finishing a crisp passing play from Tereza Vanišová and Jocelyne Larocque to send the Charge to the intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota then answered five minutes into the third when Klára Hymlárová capitalized on an Ottawa turnover, burying her first career playoff goal off a pass from Katy Knoll. Despite strong efforts, the Frost were unable to get a puck past Ottawa rookie goalie Gwyneth Philips again.

Philips was once again stellar in net, stopping 25 of 26 shots to take her third consecutive win and another standout postseason performance. She’s now allowed one goal or fewer in each of her last three starts.

“She’s just so calm back there,” said Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod. “And then there’s Emily Clark, she just plays her heart out. Every single shift, you could see she found another gear at the end. It was special.”

Clark’s overtime goal marked her second game-winning goal of the playoffs and made her the first player in PWHL history to record back-to-back postseason game-winners. She now leads Ottawa in playoff scoring with four points (two goals, two assists).

Courtesy of the PWHL

When asked about another overtime time for the team, Clark responded: “We made some jokes about trying to get it done in less than four,” Clark said with a grin, referencing Ottawa’s marathon quadruple-overtime win earlier in the postseason. “But no, we were just trying to stick to our game plan. Obviously, the relief is that we get to go to bed a lot earlier than last time.”

For Minnesota, the loss continues a frustrating trend. The Frost are now 0-4 in Game 1s across their four playoff series over two seasons. 

“They are a fast team — physical and relentless,” said Frost defender Lee Stecklein. “We were prepared for that. We’ve faced teams like them all season. We just have to stick to our game and find a way to get the puck in the net.”

Head coach Ken Klee praised the performance of the Hymlárová-Knoll-Schepers line, which has become a consistent contributor during the postseason.

“They’ve been really strong in the playoffs,” Klee said. “They know their roles, they work hard, and they’re helping drive our offense.”

Despite the loss, Hensley was solid in net for Minnesota, turning aside 17 of 19 shots. Ottawa managed just three shots in the third period, matching the lowest single-period total by any team this postseason and was outshot 26-19 overall.

Neither team found success on the power play, with both clubs going 0-for-2. Ottawa, in particular, continues to struggle with the player advantage, having not scored a power play goal since the opening minutes of their semifinal series.

The Charge now improve to 4-0 in the postseason when scoring first and have won both playoff games in which they’ve led after two periods. They’ll look to build on that momentum when Game 2 returns to TD Place on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.