There were only four games in the PWHL since last Saturday, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any players stepping up at a crucial point of the season.
From a solid performance between the pipes to a player scoring big goals for a team that needs them and a defender just doing her thing, these three athletes were among the best in the league this past week.
Alexa Vasko (F, Ottawa Charge)
For the Ottawa Charge, they need all the help they can get if they want to get back into the playoff picture, so when they get the type of performance that forward Alexa Vasko put forth last Tuesday, they’ll take it.
In what was seemingly a must-win game against the Minnesota Frost, the team Ottawa is chasing for the last playoff spot in the PWHL, Vasko, who hadn’t scored a goal all season, came alive. After scoring her first of the season in the second period to put Ottawa up by two, the St. Catharines, Ontario native scored what ended up being the game-winning goal, shorthanded, to send the Charge to a 3-2 win.
Belle performance pour Alexa Vasko qui inscrit un doublé… dont ce but gagnant à 4'02 de la fin !
— Nicolas Jacquet (@Nico_Jt_) March 12, 2025
Ottawa obtient un succès important dans la course aux playoffs, mais perd sur blessure Emerance Maschmeyer qui avait passé le cap des 1000 arrêts en carrière.#OttawaCharge #pwhl pic.twitter.com/fGhJwobRLL
With the performance, Vasko doubled the number of points she scored with Toronto during the league’s inaugural season, now having four points in 17 games.
While the U-18 Worlds silver medalist might not be the biggest scoring threat the Charge has, at this point of the season you have to take goals when you can get them. Ottawa is still chasing the Frost heading into the week, needing players like Vasko to contribute if they want to sneak into the postseason for the first time.
Claire Thompson (D, Minnesota Frost)
I know this isn’t the first time we’ve featured Claire Thompson in our Players of the Week, but it is hard to ignore the impact she’s had on the team in her first year in the league.
The 27-year-old registered an assist in Minnesota’s 2-1 win over the Toronto Sceptres last Sunday, scoring the tying goal against Ottawa two days later.
A look at the one timer by Claire Thompson 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/VwMnAIgqwf
— Minnesota Frost (@PWHL_Minnesota) March 12, 2025
It was a rather productive week for Thompson, who went pointless for three games prior to the victory over the Sceptres and hadn’t scored a goal in nine games. Though she hasn’t been scoring at a high clip as she was earlier in the season, Thompson is quietly making her case for Defender of the Year.
In 24 games, Thompson has four goals and 13 assists for 17 points, tied with teammate Sophie Jaques for second in league scoring among blueliners, both players trailing Toronto’s Renata Fast, who has 20 points this year.
Aerin Frankel (G, Boston Fleet)
This is my opportunity to tell you all that Aerin Frankel is my choice (at the moment) for league MVP.
Does Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens have better numbers than Frankel? Sure. Does Desbiens have more wins than Frankel? Yes. However, you can’t tell me that the Boston Fleet would be sitting second in the PWHL had it not been for “The Green Monster.”
Frankel was again the difference this past Saturday when the Fleet visited a hungry Charge team. The U.S. National Team mainstay turned away 26 of the 28 shots she faced, helping Boston grab a 5-2 win, giving the team points in eight consecutive games.
The 25-year-old has been playing masterfully over the past month and is the reason head coach Courtney Kessel has chosen to go with her in each of the team’s last seven games. In 19 appearances, Frankel is 12-4-3 with a 2.01 goals-against average, a .930 save percentage and one shutout.
Even if the Fleet doesn’t catch the Victoire in the standings, if they manage to get home-ice advantage in the playoffs, a lot of the credit will go to No. 31, and a lot of individual hardware better be going her way as well.