Whenever Gwyneth Philips has gotten her time to play in a crease, she doesn’t usually emerge. This year, she’s caught that opportunity again, and not only has Philips played in the crease for USA and the Ottawa Charge, she’s played in elite ranks as one of the world’s best netminders.
At Northeastern, Philips appeared in just 16 games during her first three years, serving as a backup to Aerin Frankel at the time. When she entered the crease in 2022-23 for her first full season as an NCAA starter, Philips was awarded the NCAA Goaltender of the Year. She went 34-3-1 with a 0.87 GAA and .960 save percentage. She topped it off by earning Second Team All-American honors once again in 2023-24. All of Philips’ awards led to the Ottawa Charge making her the first goaltender chosen in the 2024 PWHL Draft.
This year, as a rookie pro hockey player, Philips patiently waited in the wings behind Ottawa starter Emerance Maschmeyer. When Maschmeyer suffered an injury, Philips responded and led the Charge into the playoffs.
It was an impressive achievement, but perhaps not Philips’ finest save of the season. Philips made her Team USA debut during the World Championships and recorded a 0.49 GAA and.968 save percentage through three games. Her third game did not even start until midway through the third period when Aerin Frankel was forced from the game with a hard hit. It just so happened to be during the third period of the gold medal game. Philips stepped in the crease and produced 17 saves in regulation, and then overtime to assist USA in winning the gold medal.
Philips Leading The Charge
Down the stretch and into the playoffs, there were several games where if not for Gwyneth Philips, things would have gone very badly for the Ottawa Charge. Philips completed her rookie season with an 8-5-1-0 record, .919 save percentage and 2.11 GAA.
If you examine recency though, once Philips had her skates planted on the ice in the league, her stats take off. In her final five games of the PWHL season, Philips recorded a.965 save percentage and a 1.00 GAA.
In her opening two playoff matches in the league, Philips impressed with 33 saves and 53 saves for a 1.54 GAA and.944 save percentage. They are almost identical to her Montreal opponent Ann-Renee Desbiens and are numbers well in excess of whatever is transpiring in the Toronto and Minnesota series where goaltending has been a best-case approximation.
Although she’s a rookie, it’s evident that Gwyneth Philips has already been proven as a great goaltender in the PWHL, and worldwide. Whether Ann-Renee Desbiens, or her Team USA counterpart Aerin Frankel, Philips has stepped into an elite group of netminders where there are few who can claim to be included.