Two U SPORTS Netminders!

The PWHL's Ottawa Charge went off the board today as they searched for another netminder among the free agent ranks. They already have former UNB Reds netminder Kendra Woodland on their roster, and they doubled the number of former U SPORTS netminders under their watch as they signed former Mount Royal Cougars stopper Kaitlyn Ross to a 10-day Standard Player Agreement! I won't try to deceive anyone here by saying that I had a little fun Photoshopping Kaitlyn into action with the Charge, but she'll travel to Vancouver to meet the team this weekend before practicing and potentially dressing for games over the next ten days. Head coach Carla MacLeod is already familiar with Ross's body of work, so this looks like a good fit for both the goaltender and the PWHL team!

Woodland was signed by the Charge back in November to be the team's third-string goaltender behind Gwyneth Phillips and Sanni Ahola who are both Olympians. Woodland could easily push those two to be better because the former UNB Reds goaltender was one of the best in Canadian university hockey during her time in Fredericton.

"I'm just so proud of her," UNB head coach Sarah Hilworth told CBC's Sam Farley in November. "I know how tirelessly she's worked for this opportunity, and to earn a spot with Ottawa is such a proud moment for her... Ottawa's got a good one, that's for sure."

Woodland has yet to log a second in the Charge crease, but she's keeping Phillips and Ahola on their toes in practice. She has dressed as the backup netminder on a handful of occasions, wearing her recognizable #70 on her jersey. The one thing that Woodland didn't do was give up, and her training and patience paid off this season with a roster spot with Ottawa over other talented stoppers.

"It's been quite the journey in the last year and a half," Woodland said. "It hasn’t been easy, but it's definitely paid off up to this point."

Woodland will now have another player who has put in a lot of hard work joining her for the next week-and-a-half as former Mount Royal Cougars netminder Kaitlyn Ross signed with Ottawa today. Ross, as we know, helped Mount Royal to a 2023 U SPORTS National Championship where she was nearly unbeatable, and Charge head coach Carla MacLeod got to watch a lot of her during Carla's time as the Calgary Dinos' head coach. Adding Ross only makes Ottawa's crease better.

With Sanni Ahola on LTIR with an illness that has been affecting her since before the Olympics, the Charge have been filling the third netminding role with goalies such as Sarah Coe and, now, Kaitlyn Ross. Ahola's timetable is undetermined as to when she'll return, so it's conceivable that Ross could be signed through to the end of the season after this ten-game spell. Time will only tell, of course, but it would be pretty cool to see Woodland and Ross on playoff roster!

We'll have to watch and see what happens after the Charge commented on Ross's signing by saying that she "will help solidify depth in goal while rookie Sanni Ahola remains home in Ottawa for rest and maintenance." If Ross is just being signed to accommodate the Charge through the western portion of their road trip that includes a stop in Minneapolis against the Frost and a stop in Winnipeg for the Takeover Tour against Montreal, I'd hope the Charge keep Ross's number handy in case there's a goaltending need beyond this ten-game contract. After all, she's a big-game goalie.

As one of the lone people who pays any attention to U SPORTS women's hockey across this continent, seeing Ottawa sign two U SPORTS goalies tells me that Carla MacLeod believes in U SPORTS hockey. It's exciting to see Kaitlyn get this opportunity, and my hope is that she can turn it into something longer term than just ten days.

Congratulations to Kendra Woodland and Kaitlyn Ross, two amazing U SPORTS competitors and goalies, on landing with the Ottawa Charge!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!