Gwyneth Philips

Gwyneth Philips was on top of a mountain — literally — when her professional life shifted. During the PWHL expansion draft, the Ottawa Charge goaltender had no cell service and was mid-hike when a brief flicker of signal delivered a cascade of texts telling her that Emerance Maschmeyer, her teammate and the Charge's established starter, was no longer on the team. Philips's response, as she described it on Episode 316 of the InGoal Radio Podcast, was to put her phone on airplane mode and keep climbing. ^[1]

Born September 17, 2000, in Athens, Ohio, Philips played collegiate hockey at Northeastern University from 2019 to 2024. She left Northeastern as the NCAA record holder in career save percentage at .958, and in her final season established program records for wins (34), games played (38), and minutes played (2,272). She was a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top-10 Finalist in both 2023 and 2024, earned All-American First Team honors in both of those seasons, served as an alternate captain in her senior year, and was named National Goaltender of the Year in 2023.

The Charge selected Philips in the PWHL's inaugural draft, and she entered her rookie season as backup to Maschmeyer. Her first career PWHL start came December 19 in Minnesota, where she allowed four goals on 43 shots in a 5-2 loss. Her first career win arrived January 21 in her third start — a 1-0 shutout of the Minnesota Frost. When Maschmeyer suffered a season-ending injury on March 11, Philips stepped into the starting role and started 16 consecutive games across the regular season and playoffs, going 9-3-4 over that stretch. Her rookie regular season finished at 8-5-1 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage, including two shutouts, and she was named to the PWHL's All-Rookie Team and was a finalist for both PWHL Rookie of the Year and Goaltender of the Year.

In the 2025 playoffs, Philips went 4-0-4 with a 1.23 GAA and a .952 save percentage — never losing a game in regulation — and led the PWHL with 257 saves, more than 100 ahead of second-place Maddie Rooney of the Minnesota Frost, who recorded 150. She was the first goaltender to receive the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award. Along the way, she blanked the Montréal Victoire in Game 3 of the opening round with 26 saves in a 1-0 win, and recorded her second career regular-season shutout against Aerin Frankel and the Boston Fleet in a 4-0 win on April 2.

That same season, Philips represented the United States at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship, entering the gold medal game in the third period after Frankel was injured, with the score tied, and winning in overtime to earn gold. She had previously won a silver medal at the 2024 Women's World Championship. She then started two games at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics without allowing a goal, winning an Olympic gold medal with Team USA.

Ahead of her second PWHL season, Philips was one of three players protected by the Charge ahead of the expansion draft — the event she learned about from a mountaintop.

Away from hockey, Philips has played lacrosse, volleyball, flag football, and basketball, and more recently has taken up rock climbing and cycling. In an interview with InGoal ^[1], she described her approach to the offseason: "One of the things that's made me pretty successful is I've always been able to really separate myself from the game and really take my time in the off season." She bought a camper after the 2025 Walter Cup Final and spent roughly 20 days camping in California. Her French Bulldog, Paris, accompanies her on most of her trips. Her father, Guy Philips, raced in the Porsche series in Ohio, and Philips did go-kart racing as a child. She documents her outdoor adventures on TikTok.

InGoal Magazine has covered Gwyneth Philips in one InGoal article.