Gwyneth Philips

Gwyneth Philips was on top of a mountain — literally — when the PWHL expansion draft reshaped her career. The Ottawa Charge goaltender had gone off-grid camping with no cell service, and it was only by chance that she caught a bar or two of reception at the summit and returned to a flood of texts telling her which teammates were gone and which had arrived. Emerance Maschmeyer, the Charge's established starter, had been left unprotected and was taken by the new Vancouver franchise. Philips, born in Athens, Ohio, on September 17, 2000, was entering her second professional season as the number one.

That backstory is part of what Colin Hodd captured in Careers per 60’, a piece framed around how much ground Philips has covered in a short span of time — backup to a proven starter, emergency takeover during a playoff push, playoff MVP, and Olympic gold medalist, much of it compressed into the same season.

The run to that first season began at Northeastern University, where Philips played from 2019 to 2024 and left as the NCAA record holder in career save percentage at .958. During the 2023–24 season alone she set Northeastern program records for wins, games played, and minutes played. She was a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top-10 Finalist in both 2023 and 2024, earned All-American First Team honors in each of those seasons, was named National Goaltender of the Year in 2023, and served as an alternate captain in her final collegiate year.

Ottawa selected her, and her PWHL debut came in Minnesota on December 19 — the Charge's fifth game of the regular season — where she allowed four goals on 43 shots in a 5–2 loss. Her first career win followed on January 21, a 1–0 shutout of the Minnesota Frost in her third start. A second shutout came on April 2 in a 4–0 win over Lowell against fellow American goaltender Aerin Frankel. Her rookie regular season finished at 8–5–1 with two shutouts, a 2.11 goals-against average, and a .919 save percentage, earning her a spot on the PWHL All-Rookie Team and a finalist nomination for both Rookie of the Year and Goaltender of the Year.

When Maschmeyer suffered a season-ending injury on March 11, Philips stepped into the starting role and started 16 consecutive games — eight regular season and eight playoff — going 9–3–4 across that stretch. In the playoffs she posted a 4–0–4 record with a 1.23 GAA and a .952 save percentage, never losing a game in regulation. Her 257 saves led the entire PWHL playoff field, more than 100 saves ahead of the next goaltender. A Game 3 shutout against Montréal — 26 saves in a 1–0 win — gave Ottawa a 2–1 series lead in the opening round. At the end of the run she became the first goaltender to receive the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award.

On the international stage, Philips represented the United States at the 2024 and 2025 IIHF Women's World Championships, winning a silver medal and then a gold. In the 2025 gold medal game she entered in the third period after starter Aerin Frankel was injured, with the game tied, and was the goaltender on the ice when the United States won in overtime. She then started two games at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina without allowing a goal, earning an Olympic gold medal with Team USA.

The offseason approach Philips described to InGoal in Careers per 60’ is consistent across her career. She played lacrosse, volleyball, flag football, and basketball in high school and has since taken up rock climbing and cycling as ways to step away from hockey. She bought a camper after the 2025 PWHL Walter Cup Final and spent roughly 20 days camping in California, documenting the trip on TikTok. Her French bulldog, Paris, comes along on most of her outdoor trips. Her father, Guy Philips, raced in the Porsche series back in Ohio — a household with some history of competitive sport outside the rink.

"One of the things that's made me pretty successful is I've always been able to really separate myself from the game," Philips told InGoal Careers per 60’. "Hockey is a lot of fun but can be a lot, like a lot of stress and everything for me was ramped up right at the end (of last season). I think I just kind of needed to hit the hard reset."

InGoal Magazine has covered Gwyneth Philips in one InGoal article.