PWHL: Hughes Scores Late Winner, Ottawa Defeats New York

OTTAWA, ON – Gabbie Hughes scored the game-winner with less than five minutes to go in regulation to help Ottawa defeat New York 4-2 on Wednesday.

After New York overcame an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the third period — reminiscent of the last time the two teams played in Ottawa in which New York completed the comeback in overtime— it was Hughes who broke the tie at 15:54 of the third.

The play began when defender Amanda Boulier entered the offensive zone before feeding the puck to Hughes who was headed to the net. Hughes then took the puck across the crease, outwaited New York goaltender Abbey Levy and roofed the puck with a backhand shot to give her team a 3-2 lead.

The win ends Ottawa’s two-game slide and is the team’s second victory on home ice this season.

Ottawa defender Savannah Harmon opened the scoring just 2:30 into the game, a goal that required video review, which confirmed the puck had crossed the line. Harmon took a shot in-close on Levy, and the puck just squeaked in over the line, behind the goaltender’s pad.

At 10:12 of the second period Ottawa doubled their lead to 2-0 with a shorthanded tally.

Forward Becca Gilmore fed the puck to Fanni Gasparics on the rush, who then took a shot from the slot. Levy stopped the initial attempt, but Gasparics was able to get to her own rebound, which she buried for her first-ever PWHL goal, a ‘jailbreak’ marker that also freed teammate Jincy Roese from the box.

New York answered quickly when Chloé Aurard scored her first of the season at 10:50, just 38 seconds after Ottawa’s second goal. Aurard made the score 2-1 when she created a turnover in the offensive zone, grabbing a puck that she then fired quickly past Ottawa goalie Emerance Maschmeyer.

With the game still 2-1 in the third period, New York capitalized on the powerplay to tie the game.

PWHL leading scorer Alex Carpenter intercepted a puck behind Ottawa’s net and quickly found defender Jaime Bourbonnais who was pinching in the slot. Bourbonnais executed a slick toe drag to move around an Ottawa player, then took a quick snap-shot, which beat Maschmeyer and tied the game 2-2.

With under a minute to play—and the game 3-2 thanks to Hughes’ tally—Ottawa defender Ashton Bell made what was perhaps the game’s biggest save when she denied Jessie Eldridge’s attempt to score on a seemingly wide-open cage.

Bell’s save allowed teammate Lexie Adzija to seal the victory for Ottawa with an empty net goal with four seconds remaining in regulation.

Ottawa earns three points for the regulation victory, which ties them with New York in the standings—each team has 16 points, two points behind fourth place Boston.

Maschmeyer made 24 saves to earn her fourth victory of the season. Levy stopped 26 in the loss.

Up next, Ottawa hosts provincial rivals Toronto on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The next afternoon, New York welcomes Minnesota to UBS Arena for a battle set for 12:30 p.m. ET.