The 2023–24 PWHL Ottawa season was the team's inaugural season as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They played their home games at TD Place Arena in Ottawa.
Ottawa finished the season on a three-game losing streak, and were eliminated from playoff contention in the final regular season game, a 5–2 loss to PWHL Toronto. Despite missing the playoffs, Ottawa led the league in attendance.
Offseason The team announced Mike Hirshfeld as their first employee in the summer of 2023 when he was named general manager. On August 31, it was announced that TD Place Arena would be the home venue for the team. On September 5, the team signed its first three players in Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, and Emerance Maschmeyer. On September 15, the team named Carla MacLeod its head coach. On December 29, Jenner was named captain, with Clark and Jincy Roese to serve as assistant captains.
Standings
Schedule and results
Regular season On December 17, 2023, it was announced that the team had sold out its January 2 opening game against Montreal. With 8,318 fans in attendance at the game, it set a new record for attendance at a professional women's hockey game. Hayley Scamurra scored the first goal in franchise history during the game, but PWHL Montréal won the game in overtime by a score of 3–2. After its second scheduled game was postponed due to inclement weather, Ottawa secured its first ever win on January 13 with a 5–1 victory over PWHL Toronto. After dropping its first two home games in overtime, Ottawa won its first game at TD Place Arena on January 23, defeating Toronto by a score of 3–1.
Ottawa was in a position to clinch a playoff spot in late April, needing one regulation win with three games left on the schedule. However, Ottawa lost all three games, including a 4–3 decision against last place-PWHL New York, and narrowly missed out on the final playoff spot.
Regular season schedule
The regular season schedule was published on November 30, 2023.
| 1 || January 2 || PWHL Montreal || 2–3 || OT || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 8,318 || 0–0–1–0 || 1 || |- style="background:#ccc;" | – || January 8 || @ PWHL Boston || colspan="8"|Postponed due to inclement weather. Moved to February 19.
| 2 || January 13 || @ PWHL Toronto || 5–1 || || Maschmeyer || Mattamy Athletic Centre || 2,416 || 1–0–1–0 || 4 ||
| 3 || January 17 || PWHL Minnesota || 2–3 || OT || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 5,609 || 1–0–2–0 || 5 ||
| 4 || January 23 || PWHL Toronto || 3–1 || || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 6,316 || 2–0–2–0 || 8 ||
| 5 || January 24 || PWHL Boston || 2–3 || || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 5,208 || 2–0–2–1 || 8 ||
| 6 || January 27 || @ PWHL Montreal || 1–2 || OT || Maschmeyer || Place Bell || 8,646 || 2–0–3–1 || 9 ||
| 7 || February 4 || PWHL New York || 3–4 || OT || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 8,062 || 2–0–4–1 || 10 ||
| 8 || February 14 || @ PWHL Minnesota || 1–2 || || Maschmeyer || Xcel Energy Center || 6,276 || 2–0–4–2 || 10 ||
| 9 || February 17 || PWHL Minnesota || 1–2 || || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 8,407 || 2–0–4–3 || 10 ||
| 10 || February 19 || @ PWHL Boston || 4–2 || || Maschmeyer || Tsongas Center || 2,849 || 3–0–4–3 || 13 ||
| 11 || February 21 || @ PWHL Boston || 1–3 || || Maschmeyer || Tsongas Center || 1,889 || 3–0–4–4 || 13 ||
| 12 || February 24 || @ PWHL Montreal || 3–6 || || Maschmeyer || Verdun Auditorium || 3,232 || 3–0–4–5 || 13 ||
| 13 || February 28 || PWHL New York || 4–2 || || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 6,889 || 4–0–4–5 || 16 ||
| 14 || March 2 || PWHL Toronto || 2–5 || || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 8,447 || 4–0–4–6 || 16 ||
| 15 || March 5 || @ PWHL Minnesota || 3–4 || SO || Abstreiter || Xcel Energy Center || 4,585 || 4–0–5–6 || 17 ||
| 16 || March 10 || @ PWHL Montreal || 4–2 || || Maschmeyer || Place Bell || 10,172 || 5–0–5–6 || 20 ||
| 17 || March 16 || @ PWHL Boston || 1–2 || SO || Maschmeyer || Little Caesars Arena || 13,736 || 5–0–6–6 || 21 ||
| 18 || March 20 || @ PWHL New York || 3–0 || || Maschmeyer || Total Mortgage Arena || 1,702 || 6–0–6–6 || 24 ||
| 19 || March 23 || PWHL Toronto || 5–3 || || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 8,448 || 7–0–6–6 || 27 ||
| 20 || April 20 || PWHL Minnesota || 4–0 || || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 8,110 || 8–0–6–6 || 30 ||
| 21 || April 24 || PWHL Boston || 3–2 || SO || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 7,686 || 8–1–6–6 || 32 ||
| 22 || April 27 || PWHL Montreal || 0–2 || || Maschmeyer || TD Place Arena || 8,452 || 8–1–6–7 || 32 ||
| 23 || April 30 || @ PWHL New York || 3–4 || || Maschmeyer || Prudential Center || 2,992 || 8–1–6–8 || 32 ||
| 24 || May 5 || @ PWHL Toronto || 2–5 || || Maschmeyer || Mattamy Athletic Centre || 2,620 || 8–1–6–9 || 32 ||
|- style="text-align:center;"
Player statistics = Indicates team leader
Skaters
Regular season Player Brianne Jenner 24 9 11 20 78 4Kateřina Mrázová 23 6 12 18 30 16Daryl Watts 24 10 7 17 73 8Emily Clark 24 4 11 15 74 10Gabbie Hughes 24 9 3 12 61 20Savannah Harmon 24 3 9 12 49 8Hayley Scamurra 24 5 5 10 91 2Aneta Tejralová 23 2 6 8 20 8Ashton Bell 24 2 5 7 36 2Natalie Snodgrass 23 1 5 6 30 10Jincy Roese 24 0 5 5 30 14Zoe Boyd 16 0 3 3 11 2Becca Gilmore 22 0 3 3 21 2Akane Shiga 24 2 0 2 17 4Tereza Vanišová 6 0 2 2 7 21Kristin Della Rovere 9 1 0 1 7 0Fanni Garát-Gasparics 15 1 0 1 17 4Shiann Darkangelo 7 0 0 0 5 4Malia Schneider 2 0 0 0 1 0Sammy Davis 9 0 0 0 1 0Samantha Isbell 7 0 0 0 1 0Rosalie Demers 13 0 0 0 6 4Emma Buckles 15 0 0 0 3 0
Goaltenders = Indicates league leader Regular season Player Emerance Maschmeyer 23 1332:07 9 9 4 51 2.30 599 0.915 2 0 1 0Sandra Abstreiter 3 116:42 0 0 0 6 3.08 69 0.913 0 0 0 0
Awards and honours
Milestones
Regular season Player Milestone Reached Hayley Scamurra 1st goal in franchise history January 2, 2024 1st career PWHL goal 1st career PWHL game Kateřina Mrázová 1st career PWHL goal 1st career PWHL game Ashton Bell 1st assist in franchise history 1st career PWHL assist 1st career PWHL game Zoe Boyd 1st career PWHL assist 1st career PWHL game Lexie Adzija 1st career PWHL assist 1st career PWHL game Aneta Tejralová 1st career PWHL game Daryl Watts Becca Gilmore Akane Shiga Mikyla Grant-Mentis Savannah Harmon Gabbie Hughes Brianne Jenner Kristin Della Rovere Emily Clark Amanda Boulier Jincy Roese Fanni Garát-Gasparics Emerance Maschmeyer 1st loss in franchise history 1st career PWHL loss 1st career PWHL overtime loss Gabbie Hughes 1st career PWHL goal January 13, 2024 Daryl Watts 1st career PWHL goal Natalie Snodgrass 1st career PWHL goal Jincy Roese 1st career PWHL assist Amanda Boulier 1st career PWHL assist Mikyla Grant-Mentis 1st career PWHL assist Savannah Harmon 1st career PWHL assist Emerance Maschmeyer 1st win in franchise history 1st career PWHL win 1st career PWHL assist Savannah Harmon 1st career PWHL goal January 17, 2024 Lexie Adzija 1st career PWHL goal Emily Clark 1st career PWHL assist Gabbie Hughes 1st career PWHL assist Kateřina Mrázová 1st career PWHL assist Emily Clark 1st career PWHL goal January 23, 2024 Brianne Jenner Lexie Adzija 1st career PWHL shorthanded goal Kristin Della Rovere 1st career PWHL goal January 24, 2024 Lexie Adzija 1st career power play goal Natalie Snodgrass 1st career PWHL assist Hayley Scamurra Brianne Jenner Maureen Murphy 1st career PWHL goal January 27, 2024 Victoria Howran 1st career PWHL game Aneta Tejralová 1st career PWHL game February 4, 2024 Daryl Watts 1st career PWHL assist Amanda Boulier 1st career PWHL goal February 14, 2024 Aneta Tejralová 1st career PWHL assist Becca Gilmore Emily Clark 5th career PWHL assist February 19, 2024 Akane Shiga 1st career PWHL goal February 24, 2024 Fanni Garát-Gasparics 1st career PWHL goal February 28, 2024 1st career short-handed goal Gabbie Hughes 5th career PWHL goal Lexie Adzija Amanda Boulier 5th career PWHL assist Ashton Bell 1st career PWHL goal March 2, 2024 Kateřina Mrázová 5th career PWHL goal March 5, 2024 Brianne Jenner 5th career PWHL assist Daryl Watts Kateřina Mrázová 5th career PWHL assist March 10, 2024 Aneta Tejralová Daryl Watts 5th career PWHL goal March 20, 2024 Jincy Roese 5th career PWHL assist Emerance Maschmeyer 1st career PWHL shutout Natalie Spooner 15th career PWHL goal March 23, 2024 Sarah Nurse 5th career PWHL goal Tereza Vanišová 10th career PWHL assist April 20, 2024 Emily Clark 10th career PWHL assist April 24, 2024 Daryl Watts 10th career PWHL goal May 5, 2024 Hayley Scamurra 5th career PWHL assist
Transactions Signings Date Player Position Term Previous Team Ref September 5, 2023 Emily Clark F 3 years Team Harvey's September 5, 2023 Brianne Jenner F 3 years Team Sonnet September 5, 2023 Emerance Maschmeyer G 3 years Team Scotiabank October 26, 2023 Lexie Adzija F 1 year Quinnipiac October 27, 2023 Jincy Roese D 2 years Team Adidas October 30, 2023 Gabbie Hughes F 3 years Minnesota Duluth October 31, 2023 Zoe Boyd D 1 year Quinnipiac November 1, 2023 Hayley Scamurra F 2 years Team Harvey's November 1, 2023 Ashton Bell D 3 years Minnesota Duluth November 2, 2023 Daryl Watts F 1 year Toronto Six November 2, 2023 Kristin Della Rovere F 1 year Harvard November 3, 2023 Amanda Boulier D 1 year Minnesota Whitecaps November 6, 2023 Becca Gilmore F 1 year Boston Pride November 7, 2023 Aneta Tejralová D 1 year Boston Pride November 7, 2023 Kateřina Mrázová F 1 year Connecticut Whale November 8, 2023 Savannah Harmon D 3 years Team Harvey's November 9, 2023 Sandra Abstreiter G 1 year Providence December 20, 2023 Tori Howran D 1 year Connecticut Whale December 20, 2023 Mikyla Grant-Mentis F 1 year Buffalo Beauts December 21, 2023 Natalie Snodgrass F 1 year Minnesota Whitecaps December 21, 2023 Rachel McQuigge G 1 year Metropolitan Riveters December 22, 2023 Fanni Garát-Gasparics F 1 year Metropolitan Riveters December 22, 2023 Akane Shiga F 1 year Japan
Draft picks
Below are the PWHL Ottawa's selections at the 2023 PWHL draft held on September 18, 2023. RoundPickPlayerNationalityPositionPrevious team15 DefenceTeam Harvey's (PWHPA)28 DefenceMinnesota Duluth (WCHA)317 DefenceTeam Adidas (PWHPA)420 ForwardMinnesota Duluth (WCHA)529 ForwardTeam Harvey's (PWHPA)632 ForwardToronto Six (PHF)741 DefenceBoston Pride (PHF)844 ForwardConnecticut Whale (PHF)953 DefenceQuinnipiac University (ECAC)1056 ForwardHarvard University (ECAC)1165 ForwardQuinnipiac University (ECAC)1268 GoaltenderConnecticut Whale (PHF)1377 DefenceMinnesota Whitecaps (PHF)1480 ForwardConnecticut Whale (PHF)1589 ForwardMontreal (RSEQ)
References
Recaps
External links