Much like her career as a Husky, the rookie has gone from backup goalie to leading the Ottawa Charge’s surprising run to the PWHL Finals.
Former Northeastern University star Gwyneth Philips has a longstanding habit of waiting patiently — and then seizing opportunities with pent-up urgency and grace.
The Ottawa Charge rookie goaltender continued that theme Tuesday with 25 saves in a 2-1 home win over the defending champion Minnesota Frost in Game 1 of the PWHL Finals. That victory leaves the Charge two victories away from claiming the Professional Women’s Hockey League title around Philips, who had been serving as the backup goalie until two months ago.
“There’s times on the ice that you can’t even hear yourself, it’s so loud,” Philips told Northeastern Global News in a phone interview Wednesday. “It’s just so cool to know we’re part of this push in women’s sports and women’s hockey. It’s such an honor — it’s just the coolest thing ever.”
Philips first established her comfort with a supporting role at Northeastern, where she spent her initial three years backing up Aerin Frankel, the 2021 Patty Kazmaier award winner and two-time national goalie of the year. When Frankel moved on, Philips succeeded her in 2023 as national goalie of the year while helping Northeastern reach a third straight NCAA Frozen Four.
And so the story of Northeastern’s dominance in net has continued in the pro league, where Philips and Frankel are among the three finalists for PWHL goaltender of the year. Philips, who was the first goalie chosen in the 2024 PWHL draft, is also a finalist for the league’s rookie of the year award.
In a recurrence of their teammate relationship, Frankel was starting for Team USA last month in the Women’s World Championship when a collision knocked her out of the gold-medal game. Philips replaced her in the third period and stopped 17 of 18 shots in an overtime victory over Canada.
“A lot of people have been kind of comparing [her role in leading Ottawa to the PWHL Finals] to coming into the gold medal game at Worlds,” Philips said. “But it’s a totally different game. It’s a different environment. The PWHL is so physical it really doesn’t compare [in terms of] the intensity.
“We have the best fans. It’s just so loud and we — both us and Minnesota — want to end up with the Walter Cup. We’re fighting to bring it to Canada for the first time and Minnesota’s fighting for that two-peat. It’s a high intensity, high energy, physical game.”
In Ottawa, Philips took over after veteran starting goalie Emerance Maschmeyer suffered an injury on March 11. Philips ended the PWHL regular season by winning five of eight starts to help drive the Charge into the playoffs. They won their semifinal round in four games over the Montreal Victoire — becoming the first Canadian-based franchise to advance to the PWHL Finals — and are now within reach of the league championship because Philips is leading all postseason goalies in save percentage (.957) and goals against average (1.11).
“I was feeling a little bit scared, I guess,” Philips said of being elevated to starter approaching the stretch run of the regular season. “I’d only played a handful of games and the team was starting to round a really good corner. We’d had some ups and downs throughout the year, but we were starting to really look like a solid team — and getting thrown into that starting role at that time, I didn’t want to be the reason that that corner didn’t take off.
“I was nervous. Masch, the starter, she’s amazing and she was having a heck of a season, and I didn’t want to be the one to ruin that for my team. So I just tried to focus on the things that have made me successful.”
Philips ultimately drew upon her five-year career at Northeastern, including her succession from Frankel.
“I think that experience is tremendously helpful,” said Philips, who was recently named the top star of the week while helping Ottawa become the first Canadian-based team to reach the PWHL Finals. “I would imagine that most of the goalies in the PWHL — especially the starters — were a starter for most of their college years, if not all. And so I played three out of my five years behind Aerin Frankel and learned what it takes to be a second goalie, because it is a difficult position. You have to be a good teammate and you have to be ready to get put in in scary situations, which is exactly what happened.
“I am used to filling some pretty big shoes with Aerin Frankel, so I was used to that pressure. Honestly, I love the way that my career has worked out. I think I’ve grown a lot as a person and that has been really helpful in my career as a goalie.”
The opening victory over Minnesota extended Philips’s streak to three straight postseason games of allowing one goal or fewer. Despite limited opportunities for the majority of the season, Philips has now limited opponents to no more than one goal in eight appearances overall, tying Ann-Renée Desbiens of Montreal for the league lead.
Her Minnesota opponents include her former Northeastern teammate Katy Knoll (who was responsible for an equalizing assist in Game 1) and Husky legend Kendall Coyne Schofield. But Philips has grown used to seeing familiar faces throughout her rookie season.
“I think we have at least one [Northeastern] person on each team, which is really cool,” Philips said. “It shows how good Northeastern hockey is and has been. It’s special to see the success of some former teammates and some girls that I might have looked up to that were at Northeastern before I was — and then I’d be remiss to not mention Aerin Frankel.”
Philips left Northeastern in 2024 as the NCAA record-holder in career save percentage (.958). She graduated in industrial engineering while serving multiple co-ops.
“Dave Flint did a great job fostering us as goalies,” Philips said of Northeastern’s longtime head coach. “You have to take a different approach to a goalie and he really understands that. He’s been a huge factor in my success and Aerin’s success — I think I can say that for her.”
Philips appreciates the underdog nature of her career and how it fits with Ottawa, which failed to qualify for the playoffs last year in the PWHL’s inaugural season.
“Our story is really cool,” she said. “I think people were counting us out for a lot of it. We weren’t excelling at the beginning of the season and then we had a few fumbles mid-to-late in the season. And then when it really mattered, we figured it out. That growth has inspired us and made us really click as a team.
“Holding that Walter Cup is going to show how much we’ve grown as a program. It’s going to be just so special because we always believed in ourselves.”