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Philips almost carried Ottawa to a champi- onship on her own shoulders, going a remark- able 4-0-4 in the PWHL postseason with a 1.23 GAA and .952 save percentage. All three of Ottawa's losses to Minnesota in the Walter Cup Final came in overtime. "Our first goalie gets hurt right while we're vying for playoff contention and I had to step in," Philips recalled. "It's kind of a bit of a scary time. I hadn't really had the chance to start feeling comfortable in the league, building my confidence. Just kind of that short little stint at the end, I started to try to build my confi- dence that way." Nerves? Fear? Anxiety? Yes, those are natural emotions to feel some- times before a game, regardless of how old you are, explained Philips, who was named the Illana Kloss Playoff MVP. "It's totally natural to have some butterflies before a game, I certainly do," Philips shared. "It's kind of the fun of the game learning how to control that. It just makes it more exciting. Those nerves, that's just adrenaline building up." Philips discovered the thrill of goaltending when she was playing house and youth hockey in her hometown of Athens, Ohio, where her older brother, Guy, was zipping around the ice. There would be practices where everyone would throw their sticks into the middle of the ice and players would rotate in and out of the crease to try out the position. "I was 5, 6, 7 and it was definitely my calling," Philips said. "It's just always been this is what I wanted to do. It's just so fun. You can control so much of the game. You might not realize it, but you're part of everything. You control so much of it." Philips eventually spent six seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program before play- ing college hockey at Northeastern University. "Talk about my glory days," Philips said with a smile. "I still remember 14U hockey and nationals because that's when you build the love for the game and those relationships with people that I still have today." Those memories and moments served as building blocks for a memorable conclusion to the 2025 season with the U.S. Women's National Team and the Ottawa Charge, and Philips appears poised to take the next step in her PWHL career with a gold medal in tow. "It was a different speed, different level," Philips concluded. "But now that I have that year and that playoff run under my boots, I will be better. I got my feet under me and have a com- fortable mindset for this next year." P NOV/DEC 2025 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 31 .921 .919 Aerin Frankel ( B o s t o n F l e e t ) Top 3 American PWHL Goalies In 2024-25 (SV%) Gw y n et h Ph i l i ps ( O t t a w a C h a r g e ) Maddie Rooney ( M i n n e s o t a F r o s t ) .907 1 . 2 . 3 . yh6vwCm4oXY VIDEO | BEST OF GWYNETH PHILIPS