It would have been easy to count the Ottawa Charge out at the beginning of the season. After losing last season's top goal scorer, a franchise goaltender, and two solid defenders among others to expansion, the roster was a mere skeleton of the team which had made a miraculous championship run before falling to the Minnesota Frost just months before.
It would have been easy to count the Ottawa Charge out at the mid-way point of the season. The Charge was struggling to string wins together in December and was suddenly plummeting toward the bottom of the standings.
But all season, this team preached the importance of resilience. And slowly, it started to pull its way back, one win at a time. Then one win turned into six in a row, as the Charge launched itself back into the playoff conversation with a franchise-record winning streak in January. For the first time in franchise history, this team learned to rise to the challenge of overtime and won a league-high eight games in extra time during the regular season, after earning just three extra-time wins in the first two regular seasons combined.
It would have been easy to count the Ottawa Charge out of a playoff spot at any point in the season. But, notorious for leaving things to the last possible chance, the Charge found a way to punch a ticket to the postseason in a must-win game over the Toronto Sceptres. This feeling of being underestimated certainly reverberated through the locker room. But this team found a way to turn this doubt into its strongest fuel.
“Nobody gave us credit coming into this season. Nobody gave us credit half way through the season, and this was a group of women that were just so driven and motivated to get better and earn their way into a playoff spot, to earn our way into the Walter Cup final,” said head coach Carla MacLeod.
It would have been easy bet against the Ottawa Charge as it went up against the highly skilled Boston Fleet in the best-of-five semifinal. But through heavy hits, exceptional goaltending and grit up and down the bench, Ottawa found a way to win the series in four games and advance to its second-straight Walter Cup final.
Given the season this Ottawa Charge team has had, it was hard to go out like it did on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the Walter Cup final. An unlucky bounce. A shorthanded goal. A blooper shot from the point. A bad turnover in front of the net. But somehow, all four of those moments ended up being the nails hammered into the Ottawa Charge’s coffin as the Montreal Victoire was crowned league champions. Then having to answer questions from the media not even an hour after the 4-0 loss, the emotions were understandably still raw.
Despite the heartbreaking 4-0 loss in Game 4 of the Walter Cup final, the Ottawa Charge persevered this season when everyone counted them out. Their journey from a depleted roster to the championship series stands as a testament to their resilience and determination.
