2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs Preview: Fleet vs. Charge

For the second straight year, the Ottawa Charge earned their ticket to the playoffs at the last possible moment, but despite their post-season presence coming right down to the wire, they cannot be considered underdogs in this one.

Sure, the seeding tilts in favour of their opponents, the Boston Fleet, who clinched a playoff berth faster than any other team in PWHL history. But the Charge have two things going for them to help tip the scales: Experience and momentum. More specifically: Ottawa fought all the way to Game 4 of the Finals last season, plus they’re coming off a four-game win streak.

In short, the 18-point regular-season gap between these squads doesn’t do the matchup justice. None of their four contests this year were decided in regulation, and the Charge owned their season series.

With the Fleet and Charge so closely matched, expect high-pressure moments and extra time in this series.

Game 1 goes Thursday at 7:00 p.m. ET in the Tsongas Center.

Fleet X-Factor: Aerin Frankel

Aerin Frankel is the driver behind the Fleet’s dominance this season. With a record eight shutouts and an impressive .953 save percentage (just .002 behind league-leading Montreal Victoire keeper Ann-Renée Desbiens), she has anchored the Fleet to 19 regular-season wins. The 26-year-old Northeastern University alum will be the biggest difference-maker in the Fleet’s post-season run. If she can keep up the stellar stat sheet, it will be difficult for the Charge to snag an advantage.

Charge X-Factor: Experience

Ottawa knows the heightened environment of the Walter Cup Playoffs well after competing in the Final last year. Plus, they have a critical player who met that stage with an MVP-worthy performance in netminder Gwyneth Philips. Meanwhile, the Fleet missed the playoffs entirely last season. While there are plenty of lessons to be taken from the Minnesota Frost’s two-peat and the fact that the higher-seeded team has never won a playoff round, two of the most fundamental are clear: experience trumps regular-season success, and anything can happen when the Cup is on the line.

With USA’s clutch Olympic goal-scorer and all-around defensive superstar Megan Keller and rookie of the year candidate and young sensation Haley Winn lining up together on the blueline, there’s no doubt defence is what makes Boston such a threat. Combined, these two boast 41 points on the season, better than any other pair of defenders from any other PWHL team. On both sides of the sheet, these two are an unparalleled force.

The Fleet have been one of the most consistent forces in the PWHL since puck drop in November. After a five-game win streak to start the season, they remained at the top in a battle with Montreal for the No. 1 seed that went to the very end.

The playoffs always add an extra level of compete and toughness, but after close games all season —16 of their 20 were decided by a single goal, half of which finished in their favour— the Fleet are comfortable under such pressure-filled circumstances.

Shootouts won’t be around to save the Fleet in the playoffs.

All four of their regular-season meetings with Ottawa were decided in extra time, with three going to shootouts, as was the case for many of Boston’s games this season. The Fleet are exceptional at holding on to force extra time and finish in a situation where they could put the game on the back of their best player: Frankel.

The importance of defence shouldn’t be discounted here — in fact, the Fleet’s excellence on the blueline is a big reason they are still playing this spring — but at some point, the game comes down to who can score. Holding on until shootouts simply won’t be a strategy they can use in the playoffs.

Getting hot at the right time

The Charge had a tough first half of the season, after expansion ruffled the lineup that took them to the Final last year. Since the slow start, however, players like Brianne Jenner have recovered and excelled. Jenner has scored at least a point in each of her last four games — all of which the Charge won — and a total of seven in that span.

Ottawa has been playing important games for a few weeks now and is used to the must-win pressure that shrouds the playoffs. Added stakes have not been an issue for them.

They win-eth with Gwyneth

As we saw last season, netminder Philips was created for the playoffs. After Charge starter Emerance Maschmeyer was injured late in the season and ruled out for the 2025 playoffs, Ottawa had to take a chance on Philips and it paid off: she didn’t lose a game in regulation in last year’s post-season and made history as the first rookie and first player of the losing squad to win playoff MVP honours

Since then, she’s assumed the full-time starting role in Canada’s capital and filled the crease for a whopping 28 of 30 regular-season contests. Philips has the most game experience in the league after making a record 786 saves and facing 844 shots this season. Just two years out of college, she’s the third-best goaltender in the world, but if she shows up like she did in 2025, she has the potential to contend with, and even top, the performance Frankel gives on the other end of the ice.

The return of Carla MacLeod

Head coach Carla MacLeod shared her breast cancer diagnosis with the hockey world in November. Since then, she has spent some time away from the bench, including most recently missing the last five games of the season.

However, last year’s Head Coach of the Year finalist is set to make a return for the playoffs.

Despite the difficult journey MacLeod, and her club, have navigated this season, the changes behind the bench haven’t caused instability to creep into the on-ice product. Ultimately, it seems the Charge have even more to play for — something that is sure to continue motivating players into the playoffs.