According to reports, as @chrissinclairrr.bsky.social, the Ottawa Charge are in early conversations with the NHL’s Senators about sharing facilities: thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/...
My take:
This makes a ton of sense. Is it ideal right now, given the arena’s current location? Definitely not.
But once the new rink is built downtown, especially if the Charge are already at the table, it would be a game-changer for the organization.
According to the AP’s John Wawrow, the PWHL has been having “constructive conversations” about potentially teaming up with the Ottawa Senators in order to work out a long-term future for the Charge.
More: apnews.com/article/wome...
Grace Outwater has emerged as one of Canada's top collegiate players, and a leader with Penn State.
She's just getting started.
✍️ @chrissinclairrr.bsky.social thehockeynews.com/womens/colle...
Episode 114 of Rinkside Rundown drops tomorrow, featuring a talented future Wisconsin Badger who sits top-10 in U22 Elite league scoring.
Make sure you click that subscribe button, and keep an eye out for PWHL Draft interviews, coming soon: www.rinksiderundown.ca
“I think that there’s things that were in our control that we just weren't doing.
Some days it's going to be an uphill battle, you still got to find a way to climb through, fight, claw your way to a win at the end of the day.” - Emily Clark
More Ottawa university news, as Carleton University Ravens rookie forward Erica Buckley has been named to the All-Rookie Team.
“We just weren’t good. Everything looked hard for us. Nothing was smooth, nothing was easy.
And sometimes those games happen. The biggest thing is just making sure it doesn’t repeat itself, and recognizing you got to go back to what you were doing well.” - Carla MacLeod
“I think when we focus on what we do best, rather than kind of areas of that we lack, I think we lean into those strengths and play better.
I feel like that's something that we can all do individually, and as a team.” - Ottawa Charge defender Rory Guilday
Ottawa Charge forward Sarah Wozniewicz finishes up this drill during practice today at TD Place, going in alone on goaltender Kendra Woodland
Four players from the University of Ottawa Gee Gees have been named OUA award recipients:
• Maëlle LaPlante, D: First Team All-Star
• Gillian Warren, F: Second Team All-Star
• Clara Genier, G: Second Team All-Star
• Béatrice Bilodeau, F: Marion Hilliard Award
Congratulations to friend of the show, University of Ottawa captain Béatrice Bilodeau, who was named the Marion Hilliard Award recipient.
It’s awarded for “outstanding achievements in hockey, academics and community service.”
Stay tuned for her episode, coming soon, on Rinkside Rundown!
I spoke with Rory Guilday, Emily Clark and Carla MacLeod about the team’s recent inconsistency.
No excuses were made. They said that they lost what Charge hockey is about. They told me that video will be watched, lessons will be learned, and they’ll be ready for the next game.
Practice is underway here at TD Place, as the Ottawa Charge prepare for a nearly months long road trip.
Head coach Carla MacLeod has already been clear that the team “isn’t controlling the controllables, which is holding us back.”
Grace Outwater picked up where she left off after a strong junior career here in Ottawa, and after two years at Penn State, she’s just keeps getting better.
My latest for The Hockey News:
In PWHL news, the Seattle Torrent have announced that forward Hannah Bilka has been placed on LTIR and will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an upper-body injury during the Olympics.
They’ve signed rookie forward Jada Habisch, a reserve with the team, to a Standard Player Agreement.
Just wrapped a great conversation with an NCAA captain whose coaching ambitions go all the way to the NHL.
I can’t wait to share this one. Episode dropping soon, so make sure to subscribe: rinksiderundown.ca
The Ottawa Charge are 19 games into the 2025-26 season, and are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in following their loss to the New York Sirens.
Here’s a look at where the players stand with 11 games remaining on the season.
Can they put the pieces together to make it to the playoffs?
I like this take, and agree.
Evolution of the defenders, and my goodness, are we about to see a huge increase in that department in this year’s draft!
And by “my alma mater,” I mean that I went there for a year, and dropped out, but this still counts!
This past weekend, the University of Ottawa beat Laurier, earning a spot in the national championship.
Before they get there, it’s off to the University of Guelph (my alma mater), where they will face the Gryphons in the OUA Women’s Hockey Championship (McCaw Cup) this Saturday.
I’ve noticed that there’s a lot more conversations about the evolution of goaltending this year, and I think we’re going to see that continue to grow in these next two drafts at least.
Thoughts?
Random PWHL stat for your Monday evening:
Boston Fleet rookie Ella Huber is the lone player in five such instances to score an unassisted goal and be the only player credited with a single point in a PWHL game.
The NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Committee announced the 25th National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey Championship:
Automatic Qualifiers: Penn State, Quinnipiac, UConn, Franklin Pierce, Ohio State
At-Large: Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, Northeastern, Princeton, Wisconsin and Yale
USA Hockey announced Friday that the organization has welcomed its 100,000th registrant in girls’ and women’s hockey for the 2025-26 season, marking a new milestone.
In other PWHL news:
• Taylor Heise was named the PWHL Player of the Week, and has 19 points in 17 games
• both Boston and Montreal are tied for first in the league
• Aerin Frankel became the first PWHL goaltender to reach six career shutouts
Let’s check in on PWHL attendance:
• 616,795: total attendance through 71 games, an average of 8,687 fans per game
• Both TOR (8,671) and NY (8,264) set attendance records for their primary home venues
• TOR has had two sell-out crowds since returning from the Olympic break
SDHL news:
Frölunda beat Farjestad 3-0 to win their series 3-2. Andrea Dalen, Emily Nix, and Felizia Wikner-Zienkiewicz scored, while Andrea Braendli made 22 saves in the shutout.
The semis are now set for Wednesday: Lulea faces Brynäs, and Frölunda plays SDE.
Penn State forward Grace Outwater didn’t to where she is on her own.
From her first coach, to the coaches with the Ottawa Senators Women’s Hockey Club, the people around her played a huge role.
My full conversation with Grace Outwater is live now: rinksiderundown.ca
“I come to this rink, super, super happy to be here. And I'm just glad that this is where I ended up, because I feel like this is home for me.”
I spoke with Ottawa Charge defender Brooke Hobson about her first year in Ottawa in my latest for The Hockey News:
