Calm in the crease: Inside Gwyneth Philips' ascension to the Ottawa Charge's starting job

A few days after more than 11,000 fans of the opposing team chanted her name inside Minnesota's Xcel Energy Center, Gwyneth Philips was alone with her thoughts in the forest.

The rookie goaltender led her Ottawa Charge to the PWHL Finals against the Minnesota Frost. Ottawa came up short in four games against the reigning Walter Cup champions.

None of the blame could be placed on Philips' shoulders. The 25-year-old, who was thrust into the role of starter after an injury to Emerance Maschmeyer earlier in the spring, led all goaltenders with a 1.23 goals against average. She didn't lose a game in regulation over two playoff rounds.

The performance earned Philips the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award, even though her team lost. It ultimately earned her Ottawa's starting job, as the team chose to protect her over Maschmeyer in the expansion draft.

But days after her first PWHL season ended, Philips was alone in a camper, a TAXA TigerMoth she'd bought from a guy in Florida over Facebook Marketplace two months earlier. Her mom and aunt helped facilitate payment while Philips was in another country, and her dad drove it to their home in Ohio.

"It's futuristic and so simple," she said. "Everything's well thought out. The thing's awesome."

It was the first big purchase she'd ever registered in her name.

She drove the camper through Utah's Zion National Park, endured the dry heat of Death Valley and drove through California, all the way up to Redwood National Park near the Oregon border.

She chronicled some of the trip on TikTok, including her discovery on night one: she'd forgotten to pack a pillow.

"It was kind of healing, I guess," Philips told CBC Sports at the PWHL Awards, a few days after she returned from her solo camping