With a couple Thunder Bay natives at the helm, the Ottawa Charge are looking to stave off elimination against Marie-Philip Poulin and the Montréal Victoire in the PWHL Walter Cup Finals Wednesday night.
The Victoire lead 2-1 in the best-of-five series.
Ottawa’s interim head coach is Thunder Bay hockey pioneer Haley Irwin. At 13, Haley Irwin made history as the first girl ever to play on the boys’ Thunder Bay Kings AAA team. She stayed with the Kings for three years, and later went on to win two gold medals with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Olympic games.
Irwin stepped in as head coach after Carla MacLeod took leave on April 6 to focus on her battle with breast cancer.
“Last November, MacLeod shared that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted everyone to know that she was going to be ok,” the Charge wrote in a press release. “She remains in good spirits and is focused on her health and recovery. The entire organization fully supports Carla and her family and asks that her privacy be respected.”
“Irwin has been assistant to MacLeod since day one,” the press release continued. “She stepped in for one game on Dec. 2 against the Minnesota Frost when MacLeod started her treatment.”
Two weeks ago, Irwin lead the Charge past the Boston Fleet in a thrilling four-game series.
It was fellow Thunder Bay local Michaela Cava that scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to beat Boston and send Ottawa to the finals.
“That was a big one. I feel like I’ve been trying,” Cava said. “I’ve been with them for 17 games and even more now in playoffs. It just felt like I had bad puck luck. I have been so close so many times and it feels really good just to get this one for the girls. Everybody’s been so great. I keep saying that, but it’s a great team. So, it’s a lot of fun.”
Michaela Cava is the first player to have won a gold medal at the Esso Cup, Canada’s National Female Midget Championship and the U18 Canadian women’s nationals.
She won the Esso Cup with the Thunder Bay Queens AA team in 2010.
Cava has been in a relationship with her Charge teammate Emma Greco since October 2022. They were also teammates on the Vancouver Goldeneyes, PWHL Minnesota, and the Toronto Six of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
The home team has won every game of this series. Game 4 will be played in Ottawa.
“This game is going to be close again,” Carla MacLeod said. “It’s two great teams on the ice and I can assure you we love how we’re playing. We really like our game. We like the brand that we’re bringing day in and day out and honestly, we are genuinely excited to get going again in front of our fans at Canadian Tire Centre. We have to win one in a row and that’ll be our mission. We’re not looking any further ahead.”
Puck drop is at 7 pm. If necessary, the championship-defining Game 5 will be played in Montreal on May 23.
