Highlights and Press Conferences available on Ottawa and New York YouTube channels
OTTAWA, ON (April 18, 2026) – The Ottawa Charge defeated the New York Sirens 5-1 at a sold-out TD Place on Saturday afternoon, gaining ground in the race for the final playoff spot in front of 8,605 fans. With the win, Ottawa holds fourth place and moves five points ahead of both New York and Toronto with the regular season set to conclude next weekend. Special teams played a decisive role in today’s outcome, as the Charge scored three times in non-even strength situations, including two shorthanded goals. Jocelyne Larocque netted the eventual game-winner midway through the second period by way of a short-handed tally — Ottawa’s first of two in the contest. New York opened the scoring on the power play at 11:44 of the first period, when Paetyn Levis fired a shot through traffic from the slot to beat Gwyneth Philips low blocker. From there, the Charge took over, scoring five unanswered goals, beginning with Rebecca Leslie’s team-leading 13th goal of the season to tie the game 1-1 with 1:01 remaining in the first, assisted by Brianne Jenner, who had three points in the game, and rookie Sarah Wozniewicz. After Larocque’s short-handed tally put the Charge up 2-1 at 7:54 of the second, rookie Peyton Hemp scored the team’s second ‘jailbreak’ goal of the game to give the home team a 3-1 lead heading into the third period. Ronja Savolainen made it 4-1 early in the final frame, scoring through traffic from the blue line past a screened Kayle Osborne. Jenner capped the scoring with a power-play goal at 12:28. Philips made 23 saves to earn her 14th win of the season, while Osborne stopped 24 shots in the loss. Both teams have two games remaining on the season with the fourth and final playoff spot still to be determined. Today’s attendance of 8,605 set a new record at TD place for the Charge.
QUOTES
Ottawa forward Peyton Hemp on the fans chanting “We Want Playoffs” in the last moments of the game: “It’s just so special. I heard that this was our biggest crowd ever at TD Place. Our fans are one of a kind. It’s so fun to play in front of them. Sometimes, we can’t even hear ourselves thinking because it’s so loud.”
Charge Alternate Captain Jocelyne Larocque on the two ‘jailbreak’ goals: “I think we just both saw opportunities to go. On Peyton Hemp’s goal, she applied the pressure. Alexa Vasko did a great job of anticipating the play. She jumped on the player getting rid of the puck and Peyton drove the net. I did the same when Brianne Jenner had the puck. I knew that she was going to pass it off the goalie’s pads. We work on this in practice. That goal was exactly the same way we practice it every day. It worked out.”
New York Head Coach Greg Fargo on the team losing its last eight games on the road: “I can’t put a finger on one specific thing, but we haven’t consistently scored first, especially at home. On the road, when you fall behind, you start chasing the game and it becomes tough to climb back. At home, even if you don’t score first, the crowd can help shift momentum quickly. But when you’re chasing too often, it catches up to you — matchups get tougher and things start stacking against you.”
Sirens Alternate Captain Jaime Bourbonnais on the playoff atmosphere tonight: “The crowd was loud. I think that's what we want. We want to play in a building where there's a big crowd and a lot on the line. I think you could see the rivalry out there for sure, and it was definitely getting chippy. But again, that's what we want. We've done a good job of building this sport up to be a really physical game, and I think that's what the fans want to see, and hopefully we can continue that. I think the fans and the atmosphere really makes playing in these sorts of games special.”
NOTABLES
Ottawa has won 15 games for the first time in team history (eight in regulation, five in overtime, two in shootouts) after winning 14 times in 2024-25 (12 in regulation, two in overtime). Their 21 points in 11 games at TD Place is also a new team record, still with one home game remaining, surpassing the 19 points they earned in 13 games at their primary home venue in 2024-25.
The Charge scored five goals for the third time this season, each time at TD Place, with today’s game the first time the five goals were scored consecutively. This was their second four-goal victory of the season following a 5-1 win over Vancouver on Nov. 26.
New York has lost eight straight road games since winning in Washington D.C. exactly three months ago (Jan. 18) and have just two wins all season in opposing PWHL markets, including one at TD Place on Nov. 22.
The Sirens have surrendered five or more goals three times this season and their four losses by margins of four or more goals is tied with the Charge for most in the PWHL.
New York wins the season series 7-5 in points, outscoring Ottawa 14-11. Three of the four games were decided by four goals, including both Sirens victories, with the other win by the Charge in overtime.
Ottawa is the first team in PWHL history to score two shorthanded goals in a single game. Their three shorthanded goals this season are tied with New York for most in the PWHL, while the Charge lead all-time with 10. The Sirens lead the league with four shorthanded goals allowed, tied for the single-season record (Montréal, 2024).
With five minor penalties today, the Charge became the first team in the PWHL this season to exceed 100 (103). They tied for the league lead with 106 minor penalties last season.
New York scored the game’s first goal for the ninth time this season, ranking sixth in the PWHL, and now hold a record of 6-0-0-3 when opening the scoring. Ottawa allowed the first goal for the 15th time; after entering the game with the league’s lowest win percentage (.190) in that scenario, their record now sits at 2-2-1-10.
Brianne Jenner recorded three points (1G, 2A), setting new career highs in assists (12) and points (23), surpassing previous high-water marks of 11 assists and 20 points set in the inaugural season. The Charge captain has set a new team benchmark for points in 28 games this season, surpassing the 22 points by Tereza Vanišová in 30 games played in 2024-25, and ranks fourth in league scoring. Her four power-play goals are tied for second in the category. The Charge are now 21-2 all time when Jenner scores, with both losses coming against New York.
Rebecca Leslie snapped a five-game goalless drought with her 13th goal of the season, tied for second in the PWHL, one behind Minnesota’s Kelly Pannek. The Ottawa native has points in three straight games (1G, 2A) and now has 22 points (13G, 9A), tied for fifth among all skaters.
Leslie and Jenner combined on their league-leading 15th goal together (either player credited with a point), surpassing Pannek and Britta Curl-Salemme (14). The duo also leads the league in goals assisted directly by one another, with eight of Leslie’s goals set up by Jenner, and in total assist-to-goal combinations between teammates (14).
Gwyneth Philips became the first goaltender in PWHL history to surpass 700 saves (721) in a season, recording her second straight regulation win and her first regulation victory against New York this season after entering the game 0-1-0-2 against the Sirens. With the start, she surpassed Boston’s Aerin Frankel for the league lead in minutes played 1519:29 through 26 games. The second-year goaltender now has 14 wins, ranking third in the PWHL behind Frankel and Ann-Renée Desbiens (18).
Jocelyne Larocque recorded her second multi-point game of the season (1G, 1A), while her shorthanded goal was the first of her career. The tally was her first in regular-season action as a member of the Charge, last scoring with Toronto on Jan. 20, 2024, snapping a 74-game regular-season goalless drought.
Peyton Hemp scored her second career goal, recording her first ‘jailbreak’ tally in the second period. The rookie forward tied her career high with four shots on goal, leading all Charge players, and now sits in a four-way tie for sixth in team scoring with nine points (2G, 7A).
Ronja Savolainen scored her fourth goal of the season, doubling her output from 2024-25 in the same number of games (28). The defender now has nine points (4G, 5A), leading all Charge blue liners in scoring, and has reached 20 points in her two-year career. She is the only Charge defender with multiple goals.
Paetyn Levis scored her first power-play goal of the season, snapping a seven-game goalless drought. The third-year forward reached five goals and double-digit points for the first time in her career, with the goal marking her first point against Ottawa in 14 games.
Sarah Fillier recorded her league-leading eighth power-play assist, doubling her total from her rookie season. After leading the league with five power-play goals as a rookie, the Sirens alternate captain is still searching for her first this season. She tied Jenner with six points in the season series and now has 22 points (9G, 13A), tied for fifth in the league and leads all New York skaters.
Maja Nylén Persson recorded a primary assist to extend her point streak to two games, the first such streak of her season and third of her career. The Sirens defender now sits in sole possession of 10th in scoring among PWHL defenders with 11 points (2G, 9A).
Emily Clark tallied her second multi-point game of the season, with two third-period assists. She now has three of her nine points on the season in her last three games and is just one point away from reaching double-digit points for the third straight campaign.
Gabbie Hughes matched her career-high point total with her 16th of the season (5G, 11A). Her 11th assist in her 26th game also ties her career high, set in 29 games during the 2024-25 season.
Sarah Wozniewicz recorded her first career two-game point streak with the secondary assist on Leslie’s first-period goal. She now has 12 points (6G, 6A), tied for seventh among rookies and has matched Hughes’ 2024 total for the most points by a rookie in team history.
Alexa Vasko recorded her first assist of the season, snapping a nine-game pointless drought. The third-year forward now has two points, halfway to her career high set in 2024-25 (24 GP).
Kayle Osborne suffered her first career loss at TD Place after entering the game 3-for-3 at the venue. The Westport, ON native made her 26th start of the season, tying Philips for the most in the PWHL this season and for the most in a single season in league history. Her 1517:47 minutes played rank second, only behind the Ottawa netminder.
THREE STARS
1. Jocelyne Larocque (OTT) 1G, 1A
2. Gwyneth Philips (OTT) 23/24 SV
3. Brianne Jenner (OTT) 1G, 2A
STANDINGS
Ottawa: 39 PTS (8-7-1-12) – 4th Place
New York: 34 PTS (9-2-3-14) – 5th Place (tied)
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
New York: Tuesday, April 21 at Toronto at 7:00 p.m. ET
Ottawa: Wednesday, April 22 at Boston at 7:00 p.m. ET