Ottawa Charge believes in playoff chances despite being eight points back with nine games left

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Rest can be detrimental to the health of a hockey team.

The Ottawa Charge is a prime example.

Before a relaxing bye week, from Feb. 28 until March 6, the Charge was looking good.

It had picked up at least a point in five consecutive games. When the team arrived in Raleigh, N.C., for a “Takeover Tour” showdown with Minnesota, it was a regulation time win from sitting in a playoff spot.

On its first game back from the relaxing break, Ottawa’s performance was sickly in a 5-0 loss to the Frost.

Now, with the Frost also defeating the Toronto Sceptres on Sunday, Ottawa is eight points from the final post-season reservation with just nine games left — starting with a tilt at TD Place on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against that very same Minnesota squad.

For its fading chances, it’s almost imperative the Charge bounce back with a three-point victory.

“We had a week off and one practice,” coach Carla MacLeod said Monday when asked why her team was flat in Raleigh. “At the end of the day, the reality is the reality. But some variables made it more challenging.

“Every team’s coming off a break at some point, though, so you have to be able to manage it. At the end of the day, that game was that game, but the five prior to that is more true to who we are.”

Forward Emily Clark, the team’s best player this season, admitted the “mandatory” time off before last Friday’s game did the Charge no favours.

“Of course it’s challenging, but we didn’t want to make any excuses,” Clark said of jumping right into a big game following a bye. “I think you could tell we were a bit disconnected, and given the circumstances, it made sense.

“It’s been nice to be back in Ottawa for a couple of days now and definitely gearing up for this game Tuesday.”

The Charge knows it can beat the Frost, who took possession of the Walter Cup last year by winning the PWHL championship.

On Feb. 13, Ottawa set a league record for most goals in a game by thrashing Minnesota 8-3 at TD Place.

That result surely served as fuel for the Frost, responding with a five-goal win in Raleigh.

“I think a big part in any league, in any season, is that mental side of it, that mental warfare, or whatever you want to call it,” said Clark. “We had to know that they were going to have a bit of a chip on their shoulder because of the last game.

“I think it’s important to have a good memory in this league when you can use it to work for you. Obviously we’re motivated to have a great game against them Tuesday. They’re definitely easy to get up for.”

Whether Ottawa beats or bows to the Frost again, it would be no surprise to see the team make a move before Thursday’s trade deadline.

Only five trades have been consummated in league history, and Charge GM Michael Hirshfeld has pulled the trigger on three of them.

In any event, the Charge still feels confident that it can accomplish something in the final few weeks that it failed to do last year by making the playoffs.

“There’s still a third of the season here that we’re embarking upon,” said MacLeod. “We certainly know where we sit. We know we’ve got some work in front of us, but we’re definitely excited and confident about what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and where we’re going.

“Obviously we need to put in the work, we need to get the results. It’s not lost on us. We’re all smart people in this organization, but we also recognize there’s hockey to be had here. We’ve seen in 10-game segments how much movement can happen in the standings. So it’s just on us to make sure we take control of what variables we can manage and control and go do our jobs.”

Said Clark: “I think there’s a sense of confidence but urgency in our group. We obviously know what happened last season, we know the nature of this league that it can really come down to the last game. You don’t want to look that far ahead and you want to take care of each game as it comes. But if you have urgency, the more points you can bank sooner than later, the better. We’re going into every game wanting all three points.”

The fact that the league awards three points for a regulation-time victory does make the task seem less insurmountable.

“You can’t look at it as that big gap,” said Clark. “Six points, eight points, nine points is a good week in this league. You definitely can’t get discouraged. You can’t look at it as this impossible hill in front of you.

“It’s just taking it one game at a time and knowing that we have our destiny in our own hands. But we’ve got to take control.”