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The Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge face a crucial showdown on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET at Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum, battling for the last playoff spot in the PWHL. A regulation win would give the Sceptres a three-point cushion in the standings. Meanwhile, any victory—regulation or overtime—for Ottawa would propel them ahead of Toronto for the final playoff spot.
New York sits just behind the pair, three points from Toronto and two from Ottawa, adding extra weight to this rivalry. The game will be broadcast live on CBC TV and CBC Gem.
“You’re going to see two teams really go at it,” said Ottawa interim head coach Haley Irwin following a recent defeat to Seattle. “If you look at our last two games, we’ve done great things. We need to keep that level consistently for 60 minutes.”
The Sceptres won their last meeting with Ottawa 2-1 on April 1 in Calgary, and the teams meet again on April 25, the final day of the season.
Toronto defender Renata Fast expects a physical contest. “They play a hard game,” she said. “They’ve played similarly for three seasons, making it tough by finishing every hit and giving you bumps on the ice.”
The Sceptres have found a new energy since the Olympic break. Before the hiatus, they were struggling, having lost seven of eight games. But the players who stayed behind created a positive vibe and adopted the motto “back-14 team” to focus on the remaining 14 games.
Fast described the mood after the Olympics as a fresh start. “The group really rallied behind that mentality,” she said, determined to turn things around.
In their previous win against Ottawa, Toronto’s penalty kill was key, shutting down four of Ottawa’s power plays, anchored by captain Blayre Turnbull. Turnbull also assisted both goals in that game.
Turnbull has tallied eight points since the break and has been praised by head coach Troy Ryan for taking charge. “She controlled the game in every aspect—penalty killing, faceoffs, defense, offense, and leadership,” Ryan said.
Fast added that Turnbull keeps the locker room balanced and connected. “She always brings calmness and this year has balanced caring for the team with strong individual play. When Blayre goes, we all go.”
For Ottawa, captain Brianne Jenner leads the charge as they aim to return to the postseason after falling short in last year’s Walter Cup final. Jenner and Rebecca Leslie have driven the offense, though Jenner has not scored in four games. Depth scorers Fanuza Kadirova and Sarah Wozniewicz, both last season’s draft picks, have contributed steadily.
Goalie Gwyneth Philips has carried much of the workload between the pipes for the Charge.
Ottawa had a prime chance to leapfrog Toronto on Wednesday against the Seattle Torrent, but Seattle snatched a late power-play goal and an empty-netter to win 5-3, a huge setback for Ottawa’s playoff hopes.
Saturday’s game is now a must-win for the Charge. A loss in regulation would put Toronto firmly in control and deepen Ottawa’s playoff challenge.
“If we stick together, play for each other, and commit every shift, I have no doubt we’ll pull through,” said Charge forward Gabbie Hughes after the Seattle loss. “We just have to do the right things every single shift.”
Both teams understand this is their last shot to make a run with their current lineups before next season’s expansion and free agency shake up rosters across the league.
That uncertainty only fuels Fast’s hunger for a deep playoff push. “No one really knows what’s coming or what rules will be. There’s so much out of our control. We’re blocking it out but know the urgency to do it now because the future is uncertain. No one knows where they’ll be.”
