OTTAWA — Fanuza Kadirova was down on one knee when she hammered the puck into the back of Toronto’s net, and then the Ottawa Charge forward got up and skated right into the glass along the boards with her arms in the air, screaming along with the sold-out crowd at TD Place.
In a do-or-die game on Saturday afternoon, a Battle of Ontario to determine the final team in the PWHL playoffs on the final day of the season, the Charge clinched the post-season with a 3-0 victory, and Kadirova’s second-period goal stood up as the winner.
Toronto, meanwhile, misses the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
Last year’s Walter Cup Finalists, Ottawa joins Montreal, Boston and Minnesota in the post-season, which opens April 30 in Boston. The matchups in each five-round series will be determined Sunday, when the top seed in the regular season (either Montreal or Boston, which is still to be determined) chooses to play either Ottawa or Minnesota. Picking your opponent is among the league’s unique rules.
In all three PWHL seasons, Toronto and Ottawa have faced off in their regular-season finales with playoff implications. Last season, the Charge secured their playoff berth with a 2-1 win over Toronto, then went on to become the first Canadian team to crack the Walter Cup Final.
Now they’re again among the four teams standing with a chance to win the PWHL championship.
Kadirova gave Ottawa the lead about four minutes into the second period, and a minute into the third, Sarah Wozniewicz extended it after picking up a pass from captain Brianne Jenner and making a beautiful deke in close on Sceptres goalie Raygan Kirk before roofing a backhand to make it 2-0.
Toronto pulled Kirk with more than 5 minutes to go, needing a win in regulation to keep their season alive. Charge forward Alexa Vasko potted the empty netter with 4:22 to go, bringing fans to their feet yet again.
Charge goalie Gwyneth Philips made 41 saves to record her third shutout of the season.