Desbiens, Frankel, Philips named finalists for Goalie of the Year
Montreal Victoire's Ann-Renee Desbiens, Boston Fleet's Aerin Frankel, and Ottawa Charge's Gwyneth Philips are the finalists for the PWHL's 2025 Goaltender of the Year award, the league announced Thursday.
A selection committee votes for the annual honor, which recognizes "the goaltender who showcases the most outstanding ability at the position throughout the regular season."
Desbiens had a huge campaign between the pipes for Montreal. She led PWHL starters with a .932 save percentage and 1.86 goals-against average. Her impressive 15-2-2 record was tops in the league and helped the Victoire claim first place in the regular season.
The 31-year-old had a PWHL-best win streak of six games, and she had a stretch of 14 starts where she allowed two or fewer goals.
Desbiens made 63 saves in Montreal's quadruple overtime win versus Ottawa on Sunday to set a new PWHL single-game record, though playoff results aren't a factor for the award.
Frankel is the only repeat finalist from last year, when the award was won by Toronto Sceptres netminder Kristen Campbell. Boston's "Green Monster" had another superb season, leading the PWHL with 23 starts and making a league-high 591 saves. She went 12-8-3 and her .921 SV% ranked second to Desbiens among starters, while her 2.28 GAA was seventh among goalies with at least 10 games played.
The 25-year-old had five starts where she made 35 or more saves, the most in the PWHL, and she went a perfect 3-0 in shootouts, in which she stopped 12-of-13 attempts.
Philips took over as Ottawa's starter when Emerance Maschmeyer went down with an injury March 11. The rookie didn't miss a beat, winning five of eight starts down the stretch to help the Charge make the playoffs for the first time.
The 24-year-old was tied for third among starters with a .919 SV% and a 2.11 GAA. Philips was the first rookie goaltender to pitch a shutout, which she did in her third career start Jan. 21. Her two shutouts on the campaign are more than both Desbiens and Frankel.
New York Sirens goaltender Corinne Schroeder led the PWHL with a record four shutouts on the campaign, ranked third in wins, and was tied with Philips with a .919 SV%, but she didn't make the top three.
The PWHL awards ceremony is scheduled for June 25 at 11:30 a.m. ET.