Gwyneth Philips

Gwyneth Philips grew up in Athens, Ohio, where her father Guy raced in the Porsche series — a family background that may explain something about her comfort with speed and competition. Born September 17, 2000, she took a different track, playing goaltender through her youth hockey years and eventually landing at Northeastern University, where she spent five seasons from 2019 to 2024.

At Northeastern, Philips left with the NCAA's all-time record career save percentage of .958. She served as an alternate captain in her final season, was named to the All-American First Team in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, earned back-to-back Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top-10 Finalist recognition in 2023 and 2024, and was the WHCA National Goalie of the Year in 2023.

The Ottawa Charge selected her in the PWHL's inaugural draft, and her rookie season in 2024-25 produced results that reached well beyond what most first-year professionals experience. She compiled an 8-5-1 record with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage, including two shutouts, finished as a finalist for PWHL Rookie of the Year and Goaltender of the Year, and was named to the PWHL All-Rookie Team. When the playoffs arrived, she 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 in the postseason — more than 100 ahead of the second-place total. She became the first goaltender to receive the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award. Ottawa reached the Walter Cup Final, where the Charge ultimately fell short.

Then came the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship. With the gold medal game tied and Aerin Frankel injured in the third period, Philips entered and finished the game, winning it in overtime to give Team USA gold. She also represented the United States at the 2024 Worlds, earning a silver medal that year. At the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, she started two games without allowing a goal and left as an Olympic gold medalist.

Ahead of her second PWHL season, the Charge protected her as one of three players before the expansion draft — a draft she learned about while hiking without cell service. As Colin Hodd wrote in his InGoal analysis ^[1], Philips got a signal at the top of a mountain, found her phone flooded with texts about roster moves, and switched to airplane mode. Maschmeyer had moved to Vancouver; Philips returned to Ottawa as the team's starter, one of three protected players heading into an expanded league.

Her approach to the offseason has been a recurring thread in her public profile. After the 2025 Walter Cup Final, she bought a camper and spent roughly twenty days camping in California, documenting the trip daily on her TikTok account. She takes her French Bulldog, Paris, along on most of her adventures, and her outdoor activities include rock climbing, cycling, hiking, biking, boating, and skiing. In high school she also played lacrosse, volleyball, flag football, and basketball.

On InGoal Radio Episode 316 ^[2], Philips described what that offseason meant to her. "I wouldn't even say it was a season," she said in a quote published by Colin Hodd ^[1]. "It was like two months of a whirlwind. But since then, I bought a camper in April and I went out for about a month out to California and just camped for like 20 days." On the relationship between her time away from hockey and her performance, she said: "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." Hodd's piece on that offseason philosophy — and what it means for goalies at every level — is available to InGoal subscribers ^[1].

Philips appears on the Ottawa Charge's training camp roster entering the 2026-27 PWHL season ^[3], joined by Sanni Ahola and Kendra Woodland. She was also among the four goalies — alongside Frankel, Wisconsin's Ava McNaughton, and New York's Callie Shanahan — invited to Team USA's national team camp in Plymouth, Michigan, in October 2026 ^[4].

InGoal Magazine has covered Gwyneth Philips in one podcast appearance and four InGoal articles.