Thank you, Ottawa Charge for an amazing ride!
It was a season for the books. In the off-season, we lost some talent and many were more than a little worried when the first puck dropped last November. The early couple of months had a few nail-biters and Ottawa found themselves behind the pack. They never gave up and even won their last four games straight and it took the last game of the season for the Charge to eke into the playoffs. We all knew they were better than their record. Heck, even the Victoire chose to not play Ottawa in that first round. They knew it too.
We saw some amazing individual performances along the way: Jenner, Leslie, Hughes, Kadirova, Woz, Savolainen, Larocque, Markowski, Clark. And Philips. Especially Philips - at only 25, she has a bright future ahead for her (and for us!). We had a lot of bright sparks but it's how these pros played as a team that really impressed. I really thought they gelled over the course of the season, rallying behind coach Carla, finding ways to win in a sometimes-gruelling schedule, and just competing hard game in and game out. Oh yeah, and there were the Olympic games in their too.
The team gave us a lot to cheer for over the last five months or so. Yeah, last night wasn't our night but let's acknowledge the Victoire and congratulate their stars for bringing the Walter Cup to Canada for the first time. I'd rather have seen Jenner, Leslie, and Philips hoist the Cup but it sure was nice to see Poulin as a champion. I want that for us next year.
Soon, we will head into the uncertainty of the expansion draft, unsure of what lies ahead of us. But let's all pause while this team is how it is in the moment and thank this Ottawa Charge team for all they accomplished this year.
Bravo!