If the Professional Women’s Hockey League wanted a proof-of-concept game for why the Takeover Tour matters, Sunday afternoon in Chicago delivered the pitch deck, the fireworks, and the walk-off moment.
In front of 7,238 fans at Allstate Arena — many of whom were watching the PWHL live for the first time — rookie Sarah Wozniewicz ended it with a storybook finish, scoring her first career PWHL goal in overtime to give the Ottawa Charge a 3–2 win over the Minnesota Frost. A four-game losing streak snapped. A heavyweight rivalry rekindled. And women’s hockey in Chicago officially arrived.
For Ottawa, it was survival. For Minnesota, it was another reminder that even the league’s gold standard can’t sleepwalk through a game. For the sport? A win, full stop.
Let’s set the table: these teams were the 2025 Walter Cup finalists, and every single game of that series went to overtime. So when this one headed to extra time again, it didn’t feel like coincidence — it felt like destiny clocking in for another shift.
But before Wozniewicz stole the spotlight, this game had already twisted itself into a special kind of chaos.
Ottawa came out sharp early, jumping on the power play midway through the first period when Finnish defender Ronja Savolainen snapped home a clean look to open the scoring. It wasn’t just a goal — it was a sigh of relief. Savolainen entered the day riding a six-game pointless streak, and the release was obvious.
Minnesota answered like champions do.
Late in the second period, Britta Curl-Salemme — who apparently saves her best work for Ottawa — wired a shot past Gwyneth Philips to tie things up. It was her second straight game with a goal and another reminder that she’s becoming one of the Frost’s most reliable offensive pressure points.
Then, just when it looked like the Frost might carry momentum into the intermission, Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner pulled a vintage captain move: score with four seconds left. Her power-play goal at 19:56 of the second period felt like a gut punch — the kind that flips a bench from buzzing to silent in the blink of an eye.
If you only looked at the shot clock, you’d think Minnesota won this game comfortably. The Frost fired 43 shots on goal, the most by any team in a PWHL game this season, including 22 in the second period alone.
The problem? Gwyneth Philips was playing like someone who had no intention of letting the Charge’s season spiral any further.
Philips stopped 41 of 43 shots, setting a career high and posting the two largest save totals in the league this season. Rebound control, lateral movement, poise under pressure — it was a masterclass. Minnesota threw everything at her: point shots through traffic, backdoor looks, net-front chaos. She shrugged it off like it was morning skate.
Still, the Frost eventually broke through again.
Early in the third, defender Mae Batherson stepped into a power-play opportunity and buried her first career PWHL goal, knotting the game at 2–2. It wasn’t just a milestone — it was momentum. Minnesota was dominating possession, Ottawa was hanging on, and the game felt like it was tilting.
But tilting doesn’t mean falling.
Overtime between these two teams has history. Ottawa’s lone Walter Cup Finals win last season came in OT. Minnesota has lived in these moments. Veterans everywhere. No fear.
Then a rookie decided to rewrite the script.
Just minutes into overtime, Wozniewicz found space, got the puck, and didn’t hesitate. The shot beat Nicole Hensley clean — and suddenly Ottawa’s bench erupted while Chicago learned the joy of a sudden-death celebration.
“It’s awesome,” Wozniewicz said afterward, still sounding like she hadn’t fully processed it. “I still can’t believe the puck went in.”
It was her 11th shot in her seventh game, with her parents in the building. You couldn’t storyboard it better if you tried.
She also became the first PWHL rookie this season to score an overtime goal, adding another line to what’s already shaping up as a promising pro debut after a decorated NCAA career at Wisconsin.
This wasn’t a box-score game — it was a context game.
This was a goaltending duel disguised as a shot imbalance — and Philips won it.
The Takeover Tour™ is about exposure, and Sunday felt like a mission statement.
Chicago native Taylor House called the atmosphere “special,” noting how packed the lower bowl was and how tangible the energy felt from warmups to overtime. Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, playing professional hockey in her home state, framed it even bigger — about little girls seeing something she never had at that age.
That’s the quiet power of games like this. Even when the Frost lose, they’re still helping build the future.
For Ottawa, this was oxygen. A road win, against the defending champs, in front of a neutral crowd, with rookies and depth players stepping up — exactly the kind of result that can stabilize a shaky start.
For Minnesota, it’s a reminder that dominance doesn’t guarantee outcomes in this league. Every point matters. Every mistake is punished. And sometimes, a rookie writes the ending.
The standings will move. The season will grind on. But years from now, people in Chicago might remember this as the game — the one where the PWHL announced itself and didn’t ask for permission.
And for Sarah Wozniewicz? Welcome to the league. You’re already part of the highlight reel.
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