2026 Walter Cup Playoffs: Fleet vs. Charge series preview
Boston Fleet: 2nd place, 15-5-3-5 (62 points)
Ottawa Charge: 4th place, 9-8-1-12 (44 points)
Schedule (ET)
| Date | Game | Time (ET) |
| April 30 | 1. Ottawa at Boston | 7 p.m. |
| May 2 | 2. Ottawa at Boston | 7 p.m. |
| TBD | 3. Boston at Ottawa | TBD |
| TBD* | 4. Boston at Ottawa | TBD |
| TBD* | 5. Ottawa at Boston | TBD |
*if necessary
The Skinny
After missing the postseason on the final day of the regular season last year, the Fleet are back in the playoffs, and are hoping to replicate the team’s performance from the inaugural season – a trip to the Walter Cup Final.
This year’s team is the most structured it has ever been. Under first-year head coach and PWHL Coach of the Year candidate Kris Sparre, Boston has been hanging near the top of the standings for most of the season. Stellar seasons from the likes of Megan Keller, Aerin Frankel and rookie Haley Winn have been important in the team’s success this year. General manager Danielle Marmer made a key move ahead of the deadline, acquiring Jessie Eldridge from the Seattle Torrent, helping add some offensive punch late in the season.
The Fleet became the fastest team to qualify for the PWHL playoffs, but slumped a little late to surrender first place to the Montreal Victoire. Yet, Boston is confident they have the group to make another run to the final.
For the second year in a row, the Charge snuck into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, beating out the rival Toronto Sceptres. Ottawa needed many of the same things from 2024-25 to happen again for the team to play beyond the regular season – strong goaltending from Gwyenth Philips, timely goal scoring, and a little bit of luck along the way.
The Charge dealt with even more adversity this year than they did last season. For starters, the team was dismantled in the offseason, losing several players in the expansion process and free agency just months after making it to the final. On top of that, head coach Carla MacLeod has been battling breast cancer throughout the season. Yet, the obstacles put in its way have seemingly pushed Ottawa to be even better, making the team a certified threat in the playoffs.
It won’t be easy for the Charge to replicate the magic they had last spring, as they look to join the Minnesota Frost as the only other team to advance to the Walter Cup Final in consecutive seasons.
Head-to-Head
Boston: 0-1-3-0
Ottawa: 0-3-1-0
Despite an 18-point gap between the two teams, the Charge had the Fleet’s number during the regular season, despite none of the four matchups finishing in 60 minutes and only one ending before the shootout. Ottawa earned victories in the skills competition over its New England foe in late December at home, as well as in Halifax during the Takeover Tour in January. Boston grabbed a shootout win of its own in Ottawa in the teams’ first game back from the Olympic break, while the Charge scored a huge overtime victory just last Wednesday.
One could argue that the Fleet was the better team in every game, but the Charge managed to keep things close thanks to the play of Philips and Sanni Ahola. The question heading into this series is whether Ottawa can refuse to break in an elongated series.
This is the first time Boston and Ottawa have met in the playoffs. The Fleet holds a slight edge, historically, over the Charge in the regular season, with an all-time record of 5-3-4-3.
Top Five Scorers
Boston
Jessie Eldridge, 23 pts
Megan Keller, 22 pts
Alina Muller, 21 pts
Haley Winn, 19 pts
Susanna Tapani, 18 pts
Ottawa
Brianne Jenner, 26 pts
Rebecca Leslie, 23 pts
Gabbie Hughes, 16 pts
Sarah Wozniewicz, 13 pts
Fanuza Kadirova, 12 pts
Offense
One of the biggest improvements this season for Boston has been on the offensive end. After one of the lightest scoring attacks in the first two seasons of the league, the Fleet enter the playoffs having finished third in goals scored (74). While there might have been some games down the stretch that left more to be desired, the Fleet have a little more confidence in putting the puck in the net.
Muller had the best regular season of her PWHL career, posting 21 points. Keller was one of the most lethal weapons on the power play, with four goals on the player advantage, tying her for second in the league. Eldridge made an immediate impact after joining the team, scoring seven goals in 11 games with Boston, and is the only player on the roster to have double-digit tallies this year, finding the back of the net 14 times. Rookies Winn and Abby Newhook have also been solid in contributing on the offensive end.
As stated earlier, the Charge lost many notable players last summer, including leading scorer Tereza Vanisova. With the Czech star gone, Brianne Jenner really came to the forefront. While the Ottawa captain has scored big goals in the past, she really carried the team’s scoring attack this year, finishing fourth in the league with 26 points. The same goes for Rebecca Leslie. A supporting character in her first two seasons in the PWHL, posting just 12 points heading into 2025-26, the local star exploded for 14 goals and 23 points, finishing tied for fifth in the league in scoring and tied for second in goals, just two back of Top Goal Scorer Kelly Pannek of the Minnesota Frost.
While no other Charge player reached 20 points, a couple of players proved to be clutch performers. No one knew what to expect from Fanuza Kadirova, but the Russian proved any doubters wrong with a respectable 10 goals. Fellow rookie Sarah Wozniewicz might’ve had just 13 points this year, but four of her seven goals were game-winners, placing in her a tie with Leslie and Pannek for most in the PWHL.
All in all, the Charge’s scoring attack isn’t far off from Boston’s, as Ottawa finished three behind the Fleet in total goals with 71.
Defense
If you’re a fan of defensive hockey, the Fleet is the team for you. They finished second in the league in goals against (43). Keller is certainly one of the best blueliners in the league, and, on top of an exceptional performance at the Winter Olympics, has had an incredible year. She’s fifth in the league among defenders with a plus/minus of +10 and brings a substantial amount of calm to her game in her own zone. Winn was thrust into big minutes in her first season in the league and inserted her name into the Rookie of the Year conversation with a terrific showing at both ends of the rink.
What makes Boston’s D-Corps so tough is how physical it is. Led by Keller and second-year rearguard Rylind MacKinnon, the Fleet are one of the league leaders in total hits. Sparre’s team plays a tough and firm game, making things difficult for the game’s best. Now, in the playoffs, where things get even tighter, you have to give the advantage to the green and white.
If you’re a fan of giving up high-danger scoring chances, then the Charge is the team for you. With a mix of age and inexperience on the back end, Ottawa made Philips work extra hard, hence why the Charge gave up the fourth-most goals in the PWHL this year (73) and is the only team in these playoffs to have a negative goal differential. Ottawa is second to the Vancouver Goldeneyes for the worst xGA (98.2) in the league as well.
While first-year defender Rory Guilday has shown promise, there have been nights when she has struggled to keep up with the opposition’s top players. Partner Jocelyne Larocque has had better numbers, but she’s earned the reputation for making untimely gaffes in her own zone. If the Charge want to make it back to the final, they’re going to need to batten down the hatches against a very calculated Boston attack.
Goaltending
Frankel vs. Philips. Former Northeastern teammates. The tandem for Team USA. The established No. 1 against arguably the third-best goaltender in the world today. This is what we, friends of the protectors of the painted crease, wanted to see.
I don’t think I need to say anything more about Frankel. An MVP-caliber season from the Green Monster was the driving force behind the Fleet this season. When the offense tapered off for portions of the season, Frankel was there. Whenever the defense in front of her slipped up, Frankel was there. She became the first goaltender in PWHL history to record six shutouts in a single season, which came a month after she set a women’s hockey record for most shutouts in a single Winter Olympics. The 26-year-old went 18-4-2 in 24 games, posting a 1.19 goals-against average and .953 save percentage, both second in the league to the Montreal Victoire netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens.
If, for some reason, something were to happen to Frankel, Abbey Levy would be the No. 2 option. The former New York Sirens netminder went 1-1-1 in three games, with a 2.33 GAA and .927 SV%.
Philips was part of that ridiculous shutout streak in Milan, and while she wasn’t the one who played in the gold medal game this year, we can’t forget that she’s the one who entered the championship game at the IIHF Women’s World Championship last spring after Frankel got hurt, and helped the U.S. win gold. That catapulted her into the spotlight, with a playoff MVP performance coming soon after.
The right-handed catcher had a similar role this year, but instead of playing second fiddle to Emerance Maschmeyer at the beginning of the season, Philips has been the unquestionable starter, starting 28 of the Charge’s 30 contests during the regular season. No one saw more rubber in the PWHL than Philips. She faced 844 shots, making a league-record 786 saves. The Ohio native finished third in the PWHL with 16 wins, and tied for fourth with three shutouts.
The only legitimate option behind Philips is Ahola, and while she’s played well in her two appearances this year, injuries and illness have held the Finnish netminder out of the lineup for long stretches of the season.
Injuries
For a Boston defense that has been solid, it has been missing one of its notable offseason additions, as Zoe Boyd was shut down for the season after suffering a lower-body injury during practice in the midst of the Olympic break. It put a noticeable hole in the backend. Also, forward Olivia Mobley has been on the shelf since late February with an upper-body injury.
Despite some day-to-day injuries scattered throughout the season, the Charge enter the playoffs relatively healthy. They got defender Brooke Hobson back right before the end of the regular season, giving the back end some reinforcements.
Intangibles
Both teams have players who have taken home hardware on the international stage, as well as playing deep into the PWHL postseason.
The Charge were the plucky underdog that made to last year’s final, ultimately losing to the Frost in a four-game series where each game went beyond regulation. 12 players are back from that team, as they hope to make it back to the final.
Jenner and Larocque are the most decorated of the bunch, as the duo have combined for eight WWC gold medals and four Olympic gold medals. Philips has obviously become a decorated star with the United States. Savolainen and Ahola both have won bronze at the world championships and Olympics, while Czech star Katerina Mrazova and coach MacLeod have been a huge part in that country’s rise on the international stage.
Frankel, Keller, Winn, Eldridge, Hannah Brandt, Jill Saulnier and Jamie Lee Rattray have all won gold in either the Women’s Worlds or Olympics, or both. Then you have Muller, Daniela Pejsova, Noemi Neubauerova, and Laura Kluge, who have played in some of the biggest events in the game. They know what it takes to win big games at this time of the year. That winning experience is going to be important if the Fleet wants to win it all.
Also, for Boston, there’s a bit of familiarity with what it takes to reach the Walter Cup Final, as eight players were on the team that lost to Minnesota in that thrilling five-game series in 2024.
All this to say, there’s a lot of winning on both of these teams, with plenty of knowledge of one another, thanks to the pro and international game.
X-Factor
For the sake of being different, as the Fleet will only go as far as Frankel will take them, a player that could be a true game-changer for Boston is Jessie Eldridge. The impact she has had on this group since the trade cannot be overstated. She has scored some big goals and can provide the offense that this team needs to be considered a true championship contender.
Philips is obviously the one to watch for Ottawa, but Kadirova has all the makings of being a difference-maker in these playoffs. After a couple of months of finding her footing in the North American game, the 28-year-old came on strong in the second half of the season. A sparkplug with a timely knack for putting the puck in the back of the net, Kadirova might be the player the Charge want to have the puck with the game on the line.
Prediction
With this being the great battle between Frankel and Philips, I expect (and hope) that we have a low-scoring series. Both netminders are going to be the main attraction over the next week and change. It’s truly going to come down to which team can score one more goal each game. The one thing that could kill the Charge in this series, which was exposed at times during the regular season, is their inability to limit the dangerous scoring chances.
That said, the fact that Philips managed to outplay her Olympic teammate during the regular season has to be sitting in the back of the Fleet’s mind. Given that the Charge have the more recent experience of playing in a Walter Cup Final, having shown it can keep up with the best in the league time and again, you’d be wrong to bet against them when it matters most.
Charge wins, 3-2