The PWHL couldn’t have scripted it better.
For the second year in a row, the league’s playoff picture comes down to the last day of the regular season.
Three points separate second-place Boston from third-place Ottawa and fourth-place Minnesota. Only two will make the Walter Cup playoffs.
The chaos begins on Saturday with Ottawa on the road in Toronto at 12 p.m. ET, as the Charge looks to clinch its first franchise playoff berth.
Ottawa’s provincial rivals have already locked down a playoff spot, and have the opportunity to play spoiler for Charge fans for the second year in a row.
It comes after the Charge let a playoff spot slip away on Wednesday in front of a home crowd at TD Place. The Frost shut Ottawa out 3-0, despite a solid performance in net by rookie Gwyneth Philips.
WATCH | Charge miss opportunity to secure playoff spot in loss against Frost:
Minnesota defeats Ottawa 3-0 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Lee Stecklein leads the way with two goals. The Charge, Frost and Fleet will vie for the last two post-season spots on Saturday, the final day of the regular season. Ottawa (42 points) will face the playoff-bound Toronto (47 points) while Minnesota (41 points) takes on Boston (44 points).
Ottawa allowed turnovers all night and struggled to get the puck out of its zone. Eventually it caught up with the team.
“I don’t think it was a lack of effort,” head coach Carla MacLeod said after the game. “I just feel we were a bit ‘blah’ today, and you don’t want to see that in a moment like this. Certainly that’s a misstep on our part.”
MacLeod encouraged her players to meet the moment, and to be excited to earn a playoff spot rather than scared to lose.
The team will be in the driving seat again on Saturday. Ottawa needs a win over Toronto (12 p.m. ET) or a loss by Minnesota to make the cut. Should the Charge tie the Frost, Ottawa’s cushion of regulation wins would be the tiebreaker.
In other words, win and you’re in. It’s as simple as that.
“We have the ticket in our hands still,” MacLeod said. “That hasn’t changed. It’s just making sure that we’re learning from this experience and recognizing now we’re a little bit up against the wall.”
Championship game rematch
A Walter Cup final rematch is on tap at 1 p.m. ET when the Boston Fleet host the Frost. Both teams are in the hunt for a playoff spot, but the Fleet sit a full three points ahead of Minnesota. Making it to overtime should be enough for the Fleet to get in.
The Frost went into a loud TD Place in Ottawa on Wednesday having lost four of the last five games. But the team’s veteran leaders showed up.
Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield opened the scoring, before assistant captain Lee Stecklein extended the lead with a laser of a shot from the point. Stecklein also added an empty netter.
Minnesota limped into the playoffs last season. The team lost five in a row, and then the first two playoff games, too.
But we all know what happened after that. Minnesota stormed back to stun Toronto and then earned a hard-fought game five victory over Boston to win the first Walter Cup.
You can never count them out.
“They’re a good team,” Stecklein said after her team’s regular-season finale against the Fleet. “We saw them quite a bit last year, too. We know it’s going to be a battle. I think it’s going to be a different game than any of the others we’ve played before because we’re playing a bit desperate.”
Montreal looking to lock up top spot
The day ends with the New York Sirens hosting the Montreal Victoire at 2 p.m. ET. You can watch the game on CBC Gem and streaming on CBCSports.ca.
On the surface, it may not seem like much is on the line. The last-place Sirens have been eliminated from playoff contention and have secured the first-overall pick in June’s entry draft.
Montreal, meanwhile, is sitting in first place with a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.
But the game could determine whether the Victoire go into the post-season in the driver’s seat.
With that, comes power. Once again, the first seed will get to pick its opponent between the third- and fourth-place team.
But after struggling to find secondary scoring over the last month, Montreal could use the momentum that comes with going into the playoffs on a winning streak.
Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie said the game will also be important to continue to get her players into a rhythm after the international break. Defender Kati Tabin will also be returning from a two-game suspension.
“Any way you kind of look at it, it’s going to be an important game for our group,” Cheverie said.
Toronto, meanwhile, rallied behind beloved third goaltender Carly (CJ) Jackson for a shootout win over New York earlier this week. Head coach Troy Ryan described it as one of his team’s most important wins of the year because of what Jackson brings to the team.
“Sometimes that little extra motivation that a person like CJ brings out in your group is really important,” Ryan said after the win.
Now, they need to carry that into one last game. Only a regulation win by Toronto and a regulation loss by Montreal will be enough for Toronto to leapfrog into first.
The best-of-five semifinal round of the Walter Cup playoffs begin next week.