Ottawa Charge explodes into second half of season with PWHL record eight goal outburst

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The Ottawa Charge put a severe beating on their reputation as the weakest scoring team in the PWHL at TD Place on Thursday night.

In shedding that identity, it became the most explosive team in league history.

To start the second half of its season, the Charge shattered a PWHL record for most goals in a game with an 8-3 trouncing of the second-place Minnesota Frost.

The previous record was six.

The win improved Ottawa’s record to 6-0-2-8 for 20 points, which moved the Charge from the PWHL basement into a tie with the Boston Fleet and New York Sirens for fourth place, the final playoff spot.

Leading the Ottawa attack with a hat-trick was Tereza Vanisova, while Gabbie Hughes scored twice and Mannon McMahon, Victoria Bach and captain Brianne Jenner added singles.

Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 23 shots in the Ottawa net.

It took the Charge less than half the game to do something it hadn’t accomplished all season when it scored its fourth goal, chasing U.S. national team goaltender Nicole Hensley on just 13 shots.

The Charge was being outplayed in the early going but took the lead with goals on their first two shots.

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McMahon earned a share of the team scoring lead with her fourth of the season, taking a drop pass from Emily Clark and having an open side to bury the puck behind Frost goalie Nicole Hensley at the 5:45 mark.

Also earning a helper was Hughes, who put Ottawa up by a pair with a shorthanded “jailbreak” goal two minutes later on a breakaway pass from Savolainen.

Minnesota tied the score before the first intermission with goals from two top players — Britta Curl-Salemme and Michela Cava — but the Charge broke the game open with four unanswered scores in the middle period.

Jenner added her second of the season on a power play 9:30 into the third, 22 seconds before Vanisova had fans throwing hats to the ice with her third of the night.

Charge defender Ashton Bell suffered an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return.

Also not finishing the game was Ottawa forward Katerina Mrazova.

The next Charge game is Sunday in Edmonton when they face the Toronto Sceptres as part of the league’s takeaway tour.

Ottawa returns to TD Place on February 20 against the Fleet.