Game 3: Friday, May 8, 2026 | 7 p.m. ET | Canadian Tire Centre
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Kenzie Lalonde (Play-by-Play), Cheryl Pounder (Analyst), Natalie Noury (Reporter)
BOSTON FLEET (2)
Top Scorer: Alina Müller – 2 GP, 1-2-3 PTS
Goaltender: Aerin Frankel – 1.52 GAA, .921 SV%
Series Special Teams: PP 0/7 (0.0%) | 8/9 (88.9%)
OTTAWA CHARGE (4)
Top Scorer: Jocelyne Larocque – 2 GP, 1-2-3 PTS
Goaltender: Gwyneth Philips – 1.52 GAA, .949 SV%
Series Special Teams: PP 1/9 (11.1%) | 7/7 (100.0%)
2026 PWHL WALTER CUP PLAYOFFS: BEST-OF-FIVE SEMIFINAL SERIES TIED 1-1
Game 1 at BOS: 2-1 BOS | Game 2 at BOS: 3-1 OTT | Game 3 at OTT (May 8) | Game 4 at OTT (May 10) | Game 5 at BOS (May 12)
2025-26 REGULAR SEASON SERIES: OTTAWA WON 7-5 IN POINTS (BOSTON LEADS 24-21 IN POINTS ALL-TIME)
Dec. 27 at OTT: 3-2 OTT (SO) | Jan. 11 at BOS (HALIFAX): 2-1 OTT (SO) | Feb. 28 at OTT: 3-2 BOS (SO) | Apr. 22 at BOS: 2-1 OTT (OT)
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Ottawa’s 3-1 Game 2 win was the first time the Charge ever had a playoff game decided by multiple goals (first nine all decided by one goal). Ottawa joins Minnesota (seven) and Toronto (two) as PWHL teams with at least one playoff victory by two or more goals. It was also the first multi-goal result in six head-to-head games this season.
Boston had 10 more shots on goal than Ottawa in both Game 1 (28-18) and Game 2 (31-21). It’s the only time in PWHL playoff history that a team has had consecutive games with a double-digit SOG differential. For the entire season, the Fleet have outshot opponents 18 times and the Charge have been outshot 18 times in 32 games.
Alina Müller has recorded a point and at least 15 faceoff wins in both playoff games this season. The Fleet alternate captain is the only player in PWHL history to record multiple such games in a single postseason. Saturday was the sixth time she assisted on one of captain Megan Keller’s eight goals.
Jamie Lee Rattray, who scored the winning goal in Game 1, grew up in Kanata, just 10 minutes away from Canadian Tire Centre. The Fleet alternate captain played for the Ottawa Senators Women’s Hockey Club, and in 2008-09, captained by assistant coach Stefanie McKeough (Carlsbad Springs), won the championship over the powerhouse Toronto Aeros. Four of Rattray’s 12 all-time goals have been scored against Ottawa.
The Fleet will play at Canadian Tire Centre for the first time, but Rattray, Keller, Hannah Brandt, Jessie Eldridge, Jill Saulnier and Aerin Frankel all have previous experience competing at the venue in the PWHPA All-Star Weekend in December 2022.
Frankel has averaged 17.5 saves through two playoff starts after averaging 35.75 across eight games in the inaugural season playoffs. On the other side, Gwyneth Philips made 30 saves in Game 2, her 12th game this season with 30 or more. That breaks a tie with Frankel (11 in 2024) for most games with 30+ saves in a single PWHL season (regular season and playoffs). Frankel’s popular @painbyromaine Instagram account that has grown to over 65K followers with a strong Olympic buzz, just launched custom t-shirts.
Ottawa has allowed two or fewer goals in eight straight playoff games, twice as long as the next-longest such streak in PWHL playoff history (three four-game streaks by Minnesota and one by Toronto). The last streak of that length in the NHL playoffs was an eight-game run by the Florida Panthers in 2023.
Jocelyne Larocque tallied a pair of assists in the Game 2 victory, becoming the second Ottawa player with a multi-point playoff game, joining captain Brianne Jenner on May 11, 2025. Two of the alternate captain’s four career multi-point games (regular season and playoffs) have come over her last five games (also April 18 vs. New York). The 37-year-old Manitoban has a 0.53 points-per-game average in her playoff career, compared to 0.30 in regular season action. Six of the Charge’s 11 playoff points have come from defenders, with Ronja Savolainen’s goal and rookie Rory Guilday’s two assists.
Guilday is the only rookie with multiple points so far in the playoffs. Seven of her 11 points across the full season have been on Charge opening goals, including both of her primary helpers in this series. Fellow first-year Charge, Fanuza Kadirova, now has three game-winners among her 11 goals this season. That’s a category led by Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie, rookie Sarah Wozniewicz, and Kelly Pannek (MIN) with four.
Leslie, the only Ottawa-born player on the Charge, is celebrating her 30th birthday today on the biggest stage. She grew up coming to Canadian Tire Centre to watch the Ottawa Senators, but her family had season tickets for the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, her favorite childhood team. She has points in two straight games (2A) and was the only Charge player with a three-game point streak during the 2025 playoff run.
The Charge have lost each of its first two games at Canadian Tire Centre to Montréal, 2-1 on Dec. 6, 2024, and 3-0 on Apr. 3, 2026. No current member of the team has a PWHL goal in the venue, only Jenner and Stephanie Markowski have assists.
Ottawa scored first in both games of the series after Boston led all teams with 23 first goals in 30 regular season games. The Fleet have scored multiple goals in seven straight road games, and the Charge have allowed one goal in its last two at home.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“There’s no panic here from our group. At the end of the day, you have to score more goals than the other team, especially in the playoffs and that’s what we’re focused on. We have to find a way to get more by Gwyn [Philips], we know she’s a good goalie. We’re excited for another game now in Ottawa.” – Fleet forward Jessie Eldridge
“We’re excited about the energy the larger crowd at Canadian Tire Centre will bring. That's the privilege of the job. There's nothing to hold back there, you just lean into it, and you embrace it. We've got an unbelievable fan base and we're excited to be back in front of them with a split in the series. Obviously, we’re on the big stage here. It’s a big venue. It's going to be exceptional. We’re not turning an eye on this. That stuff, you get excited about it and let it fuel you.” - Charge Head Coach Carla MacLeod
FRIDAY’S GAME: The 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, continue tonight in Canada’s capital city with Game 3 of the best-of-five semifinal series between Ottawa and Boston at Canadian Tire Centre, tied 1-1. The Charge are hosting all playoff games at Canadian Tire Centre, which will truly feel like home with the team’s logo painted in place of the traditional Ottawa Senators logo at centre ice. A crowd of 17,114 packed the venue on Apr. 3 to record the largest home attendance in Charge history, and a new PWHL single-game playoff attendance record is expected tonight. The Charge Fan Zone will include player walk-ins on the red carpet of Electric Avenue starting at 4 p.m. A live DJ will raise the energy for fans before they enter the venue and radio station MOVE 100 will broadcast live on site. Tim Hortons will have a mobile truck, Milk will have a photobooth, and the Mullet Barber is back by popular demand after last season’s playoff run. For food and drinks, fans can go to the beer garden for $5 beers and $2 hotdogs. Face painting and the Thursty Pedaler will also be available for free in the Fan Zone. The Canadian Tire poster station will be located behind Section 106 and 107. The Charge are proud to welcome members of the Ottawa Senators and Ottawa Rapid FC to tonight’s game to show their playoff support, and Allegra Nocita will perform the national anthems. The Charge are 3-1 on home ice in their playoff history and 1-1 in Game 3. The team posted a 7-1-1-4 record on home ice during the regular season, splitting two shootout decisions with Boston at TD Place. The Fleet are 3-1 in road games in their playoff history and 1-1 in Game 3. They went 6-4-2-2 in road games in opposing PWHL markets this season. On Wednesday, the PWHL announced Detroit as an expansion market for the 2026-27 season. These teams played the first-ever PWHL game at Little Caesars Arena, where PWHL Detroit will call home, with Boston defeating Ottawa 2-1 in a shootout on Mar. 16, 2024. The Fleet played a second game in the Motor City this season on Jan. 3, losing 4-3 to Vancouver. Tonight’s referees are Jared Cummins and Shauna Neary, with linespersons Sophie Thomson and Justine Todd. This is the first of two playoff games on tonight’s schedule as the Minnesota Frost host the Montréal Victoire for Game 4 at 8:30 p.m. ET, with the Victoire leading the best-of-five semifinal series 2-1. Following that game, fans can tune-in for live reaction of both results with Jocks in Jills streaming on the league’s YouTube channel.