Walter Cup Finals: Victoire for Montreal!
Updated Thursday, May 21
By Scott Lowe - MYHockeyRankings.com
The Montreal Victoire’s decision to play a Minnesota Frost team shooting for a third straight Professional Women’s Hockey League championship in the opening round of the Walter Cup Playoffs, a choice that surprised many, definitely paid off.
After a thrilling five-game semifinal series win against the two-time defending champions, Montreal defeated the Ottawa Charge in four games to capture its first PWHL championship May 20.
Montreal earned the right to select its semifinal opponent by securing the top postseason seed with a 2-1 shootout victory at Seattle on the final day of the regular season. That win gave the Victoire a 16-6-2-6 record, 62 points and the tiebreaker advantage over Boston (16-5-4-5, 62 points).
PWHL rules allow the No. 1 seed to choose either the third of fourth seed as its first playoff foe, and the Victoire took a calculated gamble in selecting the Minnesota Frost, a team of seasoned veterans with championship pedigree, over fourth-seeded Ottawa. It was a decision that probably caught many casual hockey fans who don’t follow the PWHL off guard, but upon further review – and ultimately after the Charge’s four-game series victory over the second-seeded Boston Fleet – the choice made perfect sense.
Montreal may not admit this, but the team’s decision effectively was a choice not to face goaltender Gwyneth Philips and the team that eliminated the Victoire from the 2025 playoffs in the semifinals. Philips posted a .955 save percentage vs. Montreal in that series, and she went on to earn Walter Cup Playoff MVP honors even though Ottawa lost to the Frost the Finals.
Not only is Philips a proven playoff performer who led her team past the Victoire and nearly to a championship a year ago, but she and her teammates also had been playing for their playoff lives during the final two weeks of the season. The Charge won their final four games to slip into the postseason by finishing a single point in front of Toronto.
Philips closed the season with a 42-save shutout of Toronto April 25, stopped 24 of 25 shots in a 2-1 overtime victory against Boston April 22, made 23 saves in a 5-1 win vs. New York April 18 and turned aside all 42 shots she saw in another blanking of Toronto April 11. During that stretch, she stopped 130 of the 132 shots she faced and posted a 0.49 goals-against average.
That remarkable performance capped a regular season during which she ranked third in the PWHL with 16 victories, fourth with a .931 save percentage and fifth with a 2.12 GAA. Her regular-season showing followed up a 2025 postseason that saw her post a 1.23 GAA and a .952 save percentage. And nothing changed this year as Philips has carried her team into the Walter Cup Finals with a .951 save percentage and a 1.62 GAA in four postseason contests.
In Ottawa’s four-game semifinal series win over Montreal a year ago, the team’s lone loss came in overtime despite a 53-save performance by Philips. She did allow three goals in that outing but surrendered that same number in the other three games combined while making 76 saves (.962). Philips stopped all 26 shots she faced in a Game 3 shutout victory and went on to stop 138 of 155 shots on goal in the Finals (.952) while posting a 1.10 GAA during a series that featured four overtime contests.
The combination of that postseason resume and her red-hot play down the stretch was enough to convince the Victoire that facing the only champions the PWHL ever had known was the more attractive option. After needing all five games to eliminate Minnesota in the opening round, Montreal had nowhere else to turn; the Victoire had no choice but to meet this postseason demon head-on.
And they proved to be more than up to the task.
Was Montreal’s decision to play the Frost simply a choice to avoid Philips?
“I don’t know if anything was about avoiding {her}, because I would say that playing the back-to-back Walter Cup champion is probably just as hard of a competition that we could face,” Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie told reporters heading into the Finals. “At the end of the day, we’ve said that we have to go through everybody if we want to get to where we want to get to.”
Ottawa forward Emily Clark was just happy to have Philips on her side.
"She's a stud for us," Clark said. "She's the heartbeat, the backbone. Any time you get to play in front of her, she gives you so much confidence. Her play speaks for itself."
With the PWHL season down to the final two teams competing for the Walter Cup, there was no avoiding anything or anyone. A new champion was going to be crowned, and for the first time that champion was going to represent a Canadian city.
“As a Canadian, it’s pretty exciting,” Charge captain Brianne Jenner told reporters. “There’s a good rivalry between our fan bases with how close we are, so I think it’s really exciting and we’re looking forward to puck drop.”
The puck dropped for Game 1 of the Walter Cup Finals Thursday, May 14, at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec. Games 1 and 2 were played in Montreal May 14 and 16 before the series shifted to Ottawa and Canadian Tire Centre for Games 3 and 4 May 18 and 20.
The Walter Cup Finals still can be viewed on the PWHL YouTube Channel.
While the Charge had their brick wall in Philips, Montreal had Captain Clutch Marie-Philip Poulin. Known for scoring historic gold-medal-winning goals at the Olympics and Women’s World Championships for Team Canada, the veteran forward was at it again against Minnesota in the semifinals. She may not have been at 100 percent health-wise while battling lingering injuries since the Winter Olympics, but 100 percent of the goals she scored vs. the Frost were game-winners.
With her team down a game in the semifinals after an overtime Game 1 loss, Poulin buried the game-winning goal in the third overtime of Game 2 to tie the series. In Game 5 she didn’t wait for overtime, scoring the eventual game-winner 3:08 into the third period as the team leaned on its defense and record-setting goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens the rest of the way.
“She is a legend; she’s Captain Clutch, the one and only one,” Desbiens told reporters. “For me to witness that, I would be so lucky as a teammate to have this opportunity to share this moment with her because of everything she’s done, and because of everything she’s still doing.”
Desbiens was no slouch either, finishing with 25 saves, several of them of the acrobatic, game-saving variety, as the champs refused to go down without a fight. The Frost outshot Montreal, 26-17, but the Victoire came out on top where it counted.
While Philips’s postseason resume is eye-popping, Desbiens entered the 2026 playoffs following a record-breaking campaign during which her team at one point earned at least one standings point in a PWHL-record 16 straight games. She posted the top single-season goals-against average (1.11) and save percentage (.955) in the PWHL’s short history while appearing in 25 of Montreal’s 30 contests.
Playoff hockey can be chaotic and unpredictable, with closely contested and hard-fought games often being determined a lucky bounce or a dirty goal. Between the two world-class netminders and with several of the world’s top defenders patrolling the blue lines for both teams, anything but a low-scoring championship series would have been shocking.
Of the nine 2026 Walter Cup Playoff games leading up to the Finals, only two had featured more than four goals. Seven of the nine contests were decided by a single score and five totaled three goals or fewer. An average of 4.11 goals per game had been scored during the postseason.
The Finals weren't much different, with only one game eclipsing four total goals, two overtime contests, a pair of 2-1 decisions and a 4-0 result in Game 4.
There were questions as to whether at some point Ottawa’s dam might break since the Charge had leaned heavily on Philips in the opening round. They were outshot by Boston by a combined 142-94, a total that included a 46-33 margin in a Game 4 victory. Could they survive while continuing to allow 35.5 shots per contest?
Philips was on her game again vs. Montreal. She made 27 saves to earn second-star honors in Ottawa's Game 3 victory, but finally in Game 4 the Victoire broke through for four goals on just 16 shots in a decisive shutout win.
Meanwhile, as dominant as Desbiens was during the regular season – and despite her outstanding Game 5 showing –at times she wasn’t at her best during the semifinals. She allowed five goals on 29 shots in a Game 1 overtime loss May 2 but still concluded the series with a 1.56 GAA and a .940 save percentage. Only Philips was better in those categories.
Desbiens rose the challenge in the Finals, stopping 92 of 97 shots (.948) while posting a 1.18 goals-against average.
Montreal was second in the league in scoring with 79 goals during the regular season, while Ottawa scored 71 times and allowed 73 goals. The Victoire surrendered a league-low 41 goals.
The two teams met four times previously, with the Victoire winning three of those contests while outscoring the Charge by a combined 9-4. Montreal’s Abby Roque and Maureen Murphy each had three points against Ottawa to lead all scorers for either team. Desbiens made three starts against the Charge, posting a 1.33 GAA and a .943 save percentage. Philips started all four games vs. the Victoire, suffering three losses but compiling a 1.78 GAA and .938 save percentage.
Montreal forward Hayley Scamurra became the first player to win a Walter Cup and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, while Montreal’s Maggie Flaherty became the first three-time Walter Cup champion.
Poulin and Ottawa’s Fanuza Kadirova were tied for the lead in playoff scoring entering the Finals with five points each, but Captain Clutch earned the Ilana Kloss PWHL Playoff MVP Award by assisting on both Montreal overtime game-winning goals and adding a helper in Game 4.
Walter Cup Finals Schedule
Best of five; All times Eastern
Thursday, May 14
Game 1: Montreal 3, Ottawa 2 OT (Place Bell)
The Cardiac Kids did it again, but this time the usual suspect wasn't involved. Well she was a little involved.
Nicole Gosling scored to tie the game with 3 seconds left in regulation after a brilliant play from, you guesed it, Captain Cluch Marie-Philip Polin, who threw the puck blindly to the front of the net where a goal-mouth scramble ensued with time running down. That play set up Abby Roque's game-winning goal 2:29 into overtime as the Victoire took the victory and a 1-0 series lead. Roque also scored in the second period after the first of two Rebecca Leslie goals had given Ottawa a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. Laura Stacey assisted on both of Roque's tallies, and Ann-Renee Desbiens earned the win in goal with 23 saves.
Three Stars
1. Abby Roque (MTL) 2G, OT GWG
2. Laura Stacey (MTL) 2A
3. Rebecca Leslie (OTT) 2G
Saturday, May 16
Game 2: Montreal 2, Ottawa 1 OT (Place Bell)
This time it was Maggie Flaherty with the game-winning goal in overtime, but once again you know who was a part of it. Flaherty scored at 14:12 of overtime, with assists going to Game 1 heroes Marie-Philip Polin and Abby Roque, as host Montreal overcame a 1-0 deficit to take a 2-0 Walter Cup Final series lead. Kati Tabin tied the game at 1 for the Victoire 32 seconds into the second period after Sara Wozniewicz put Ottawa in front 8:38 into the contest. The goalies and defense took center stage after Tabin scored as the teams played scoreless hockey for the next 53 minutes before Flaherty ended the game. Winning netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens finished with 20 saves, while Gwyneth Philips stopped 27 shots at the other end to keep the Charge in it.
Three Stars
1. Maggie Flaherty (MTL) OT GWG
2. Kati Tabin (MTL) 1G
3. Sara Wozniewicz (OTT) 1G
Monday, May 18
Game 3: Ottawa 2, Montreal 1 (Canadian Tire Centre)
In another prototypical playoff-style contest, the two teams skated to a scoreless draw through the game's first 47:32. That's when the dam finally broke - on both ends of the ice. Hayley Scamurra scored at 7:32 of the third period to move her Montreal Victoire team to the precipice of a championship only to see Peyton Hemp and Rebecca Leslie respond for Ottawa in the final 5:30, allowing the Charge to steal the victory and stay alive in the chase for the Walter Cup. Hemp tied the game at 14:30 of the final frame, and Leslie provided the game-winning goal with just 56 seconds remaining as Ottawa lived to play another day. Gwyneth Philips made 27 saves to earn the win in goal.
Three Stars
1. Rebecca Leslie (OTT) GWG
2.Gwyneth Philips (OTT) 27 saves
3. Peyton Hemp (OTT) 1G
Wednesday, May 20
Game 4: Montreal 4, Ottawa 0 (Canadian Tire Centre)
Abby Roque scored twice while Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped all 23 shots she faced as the Victoire became the PWHL's first Canadian Walter Cup champions. Roque's second goal of the game, a shotrhanded tally at 9:58 of the third period, seemed to break Ottawa's spirit and created a little breathing room in what had been a tight-checking one-goal game up to that point. Maggie Flaherty and Lina Ljungblom added goals in a 1:50 span later in the final frame as Montreal seized the momentum and put away the Charge.
Three Stars
1. Abby Roque (MTL) 2G, SHG, GWG
2. Ann-Renee Desbiens (MTL) 23 saves, shutout
3. Laura Stacey 1A
