Charge place Brooke Hobson on long-term injured reserve
Tough news for a team that is battling for a playoff spot.
On Friday, the Ottawa Charge announced that the team has placed defender Brooke Hobson on long-term injured reserve. In response, the team has signed blueliner Vita Poniastovskaia to a standard contract. Defender Alexie Guay was also added to the team’s reserve list.
Hobson reportedly suffered an upper-body injury during practice on March 24. With that, she won’t be eligible to return to the lineup until April 18, when the Charge host the New York Sirens. The Prince Albert, Sask. native has appeared in all 22 games thus far, scoring a goal and three assists for four points, matching her point total from last season with the Sirens. She has a plus/minus of -5 while averaging 16:44 of ice time.
Poniastovskaia has been on Ottawa’s reserve list since the onset of the season. She was invited to training camp back in the fall, but didn’t crack the main roster. The rookie entered the pro ranks after four years at Yale, where she scored 27 goals and 62 points in 131 career games. The Chelyabinsk, Russia native represented her country in the past, winning bronze at the 2020 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship.
Guay has yet to play a game in the PWHL, though she was added to New York’s reserve list late last season. The former Boston College and Clarkson star has spent the last two seasons in the SDHL, playing for both MoDo Hockey and Färjestad BK.
In other news, goaltender Sanni Ahola is set to join the team as it heads west to face the Seattle Torrent on Sunday. The Finnish goaltender has been out of action for the past couple of weeks due to maintenance. The Charge signed goaltender Kaitly Ross to a 10-day contract to fill the roster spot. Aholoa has 1-1-0 record this year, last playing on Jan. 11 against the Boston Fleet, where Ahola earned her first PWHL win.
The Charge (5-7-1-9) currently sits fifth in the league, one point back of the Toronto Sceptres for the fourth and final playoff spot.