KANATA– The Montréal Victoire captured their first PWHL Walter Cup with a 4-0 victory over the Ottawa Charge on Wednesday night in front of 12,362 fans at Canadian Tire Centre, powered by a shutout from Ann-Renée Desbiens and a third-period offensive surge in which the team scored three times in the final 10 minutes.
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin was named the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP after finishing the postseason with eight points, tied for the most in a single playoff year in league history. Abby Roque scored twice for the Victoire and finished the playoffs tied with Poulin for the postseason scoring lead. After a scoreless first period, Roque broke the deadlock with her first goal of the night, taking a feed from Poulin off the rush just inside the blue line before throwing the puck toward the net from the boards, where it deflected off a Charge stick to give Montréal a 1-0 lead. Laura Stacey added the secondary assist and finished the postseason with seven points, trailing only Roque and Poulin. With Poulin in the penalty box midway through the third period, Roque struck again with a short-handed ‘jailbreak’ goal, driving across the crease before tucking a backhand past Gwyneth Philips to extend Montréal’s lead to 2-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Maggie Flaherty, who became the PWHL’s first three-time Walter Cup Champion, continued the surge for the Victoire, scoring her third goal of the postseason on a point shot that sailed over Philips’ shoulder. Lina Ljungblom added the exclamation point less than two minutes later with an unassisted goal to make it 4-0 with under five minutes remaining in regulation, as Montréal scored its final three goals in a span of 5:14. Desbiens — who signed with Montréal as an inaugural signing alongside Poulin and Stacey in 2023 — made 23 saves to secure her second shutout of the postseason. Philips, the 2025 Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP, made 12 saves in the loss.
With the victory, Montréal becomes the first Canadian team to win the Walter Cup. More to come.