LAVAL, QC – Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored the game-winner at 3:06 of the third period to lead the Montréal Victoire to a 2-1 triumph over the Minnesota Frost in Game 5 of the semifinals Tuesday night at Place Bell, eliminating the two-time defending champions to advance to the team’s first-ever PWHL Walter Cup Finals.
The Victoire will face the Ottawa Charge in the league’s first all-Canadian championship series, beginning Thursday night at Place Bell. Catherine Dubois opened the scoring for Montréal in the first period with a quick shot off a faceoff win by Poulin that deflected off a stick and sailed over Maddie Rooney and into the net at 12:18. Minnesota responded eight minutes into the second period, as Samantha Cogan buried her first goal on a tic-tac-toe sequence, cashing in at the net front off passes from Abby Hustler and Britta Curl-Salemme to tie the game. Poulin came through in the clutch with a top-shelf shot on a wide-angle on the power play, with assists from Erin Ambrose and Nicole Gosling. Ann-Renée Desbiens delivered a stellar performance in goal, highlighted by a sliding stacked pad save in the second period, and finished the night with 25 saves in the win. Rooney did all she could to give her team a chance, turning away 15 of 17 in the loss. The series featured the only two teams to qualify for the playoffs in each of the league’s three seasons. Minnesota had its best regular season in team history with 16 wins and 50 points as the league’s third seed, with first-place Montréal selecting them as their semifinal opponent after a record 22 wins and 62-point campaign. Over the course of three full seasons, Minnesota has played in 107 games, 11 more than Montréal to date.
QUOTES
Montréal Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the importance of this win: “I think it’s our biggest win in organization history. We had to fight tooth and nail against a team like Minnesota. It wasn’t easy. Every goal felt like we had to fight against [Maddie] Rooney to get it past the goal line. And it just felt like they’d come right back, or vice versa. They’d score, we’d come right back. It just shows a lot of what we’ve been through as an organization for three years. The coaches, we just kind of stood there on the bench and we were like, ‘Wow, that took three years to do.’ It’s not just overnight that a win like that happens. This group really showed up for our organization.”
Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin on her team playing in the PWHL Walter Cup Finals: “It’s very special. Obviously, you work so hard for these moments. We knew it would never be easy. Obviously, taking Minnesota—who were two-time champs—was going to be a battle, and we did it. We’re happy right now, but we’re not done yet. We want to get to work here, and we’re excited to get going on the 14th.”
Minnesota Head Coach Ken Klee on his overall thoughts of the game: “I’m super proud of our group. We’re not only back-to-back champs, but to come out in a Game 5 situation where we’re on the road again, our backs against the wall, and these ladies just played unbelievably. First and second period, I thought we were definitely on them. Then we had a little push in the third and a nice play. But for us to get within one period [of] being back in the finals again is just a tribute to them and how hard they work and what great people and players they are.”
Frost alternate captain Lee Stecklein on the intensity of the game and the league as a whole: “I think we know every game in this league is intense. You get to playoffs, and it just ramps up another notch, so it’s not surprising that they were close. Two amazing goalies in net, and unfortunately, we just didn’t find a way to get a few more in.”
NOTABLES
Montréal is the first higher seed to win in the league’s eight all-time playoff series and the first team to successfully defeat the opponent they chose to face in the semifinals as the league’s top ranked regular-season team. Last season, the first-place Victoire lost in four games after choosing to play third-place Ottawa and lost in three games in 2024 as the second-place team against third-place Boston.
Minnesota’s three-year playoff run ends with their first defeat across five series, posting a 14-9 record in that stretch. Tonight was their first loss in six elimination games.
In PWHL playoff history, the team that wins Game 3 of a series tied 1-1 has gone on to win all six series, including both of this season’s semifinals.
The Victoire improved their all-time playoff record at Place Bell to 3-4 and have now won 13 of 15 games at their primary venue in 2025-26, allowing just one goal in their last two home games.
The Frost led the regular season with a record 91 goals but were held to one or fewer goals in all three of their losses in the series. During the regular season they had just six games with one or fewer goals.
Montréal has now scored the game’s first goal 24 times across the entire season, more than any other PWHL team. Their 20 wins, including 16 in regulation in such games, also leads the league.
The Victoire have now played in 20 one-goal games across 35 total games this season, winning 12. Six of their nine games against the Frost were decided by a one-goal margin, with Montréal winning five of them.
Montréal’s 17 shots on goal tonight are the fewest they have recorded in a game all season. Their previous low was 19 on Apr. 11 in a 1-0 win over Boston.
The five-game semifinal series featured the league’s best two power-play units during the regular season in Minnesota’s 23.0% success rate and Montréal’s 19.3%. The Victoire raised their efficiency to 25.0% in the series, going 3-for-12, including 1-for-1 tonight, while the Frost lowered their conversion rate to 11.1%, going 2-for-18 in the series, including 0-for-1 tonight.
Marie-Philip Poulin added her second multi-point performance of the series with a power-play goal and an assist, improving her playoff points total to five in five games (2G, 3A), all of which were tallied at Place Bell. She extended her home point streak to six games and brought her career playoff output to nine, more than half of which have been recorded in home games (3G, 3A). The Victoire captain reached double digit points (5G, 5A) in seven games against the Frost, including four game-winning goals.
Catherine Dubois recorded her first goal and point of the series, matching her production from the 2025 playoffs. Her last postseason point was the quadruple-overtime winner at Place Bell on May 11, 2025, securing the Victoire their lone playoff win through their first two seasons. The third-year forward earned all five of her regular-season points (4G, 1A) in 2025-26 during a six-game span from March 19 to April 3, across which she netted two game winners.
Ann-Renée Desbiens earned her third win of the playoffs with a fourth-straight performance of at least 25 saves. It was her third start with one or fewer goals allowed in the series and her 20th overall this season, making her the first PWHL netminder to reach the plateau in a single campaign. Her 1.56 goals-against average and .940 save percentage rank first and second, respectively, among postseason goaltenders.
Sam Cogan recorded her first goal in 11 games with Minnesota, one game after her first assist, giving her points in consecutive games for the first time in her career. She matched her all-time production across 23 regular-season games with Toronto during the inaugural season (2G), where both of the forward’s goals came against Ottawa.
Abby Hustler snapped a season-high eight-game pointless drought with her first career playoff point, a primary assist, improving her helper total to the double-digit mark across the entire season. Her nine assists during 30 regular-season games ranked fifth among league rookies.
Britta Curl-Salemme ended with points in back-to-back playoff games for the first time after recording an assist tonight and one on the game-tying goal in Game 4. She has five points (3G, 2A) in 11 career postseason games and 20 total assists in 2025-26.
Erin Ambrose’s assist was her second point in the series, matching her pair of assists tallied in three games during Montréal’s inaugural playoff run. The Victoire alternate captain has assists in all three postseason campaigns, totaling five through 12 games, all on the player advantage.
Nicole Gosling notched her second postseason assist after recording another power-play helper in Game 1. She now has 21 points across the entire season, tied with Boston’s Haley Winn for the second-most among defenders. The Montréal rookie reached 18 assists on the season, most among defenders, and nine power-play assists to lead all skaters.
Maddie Rooney suffered her second regulation loss in the series and fourth of her 15 career postseason games. She allowed two or more goals in six of those games, with losses in half of them. The veteran goaltender finished her 2026 postseason with a 1.74 goals-against average and .930 save percentage and started five games in each of the Frost’s three playoff runs.
Kelly Pannek led all skaters with 10 wins on 18 faceoffs tonight, bringing her total to 123 attempts in five games of the series. Her 58 wins at the dot rank as the second-most in the semifinals, behind Alina Müller’s 67. The Frost alternate captain, who led the league with a record 33 points in 30 regular-season games, finished the series tied for the team lead with four points (1G, 3A).
Sidney Morin, who led the series with four goals, tied for the lead in shots on goal tonight with four alongside teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Kaitlin Willoughby of the Victoire.
Taylor Heise was held off the scoresheet for the fourth straight game, finishing the series with two assists in Game 1, but still holds the all-time lead in playoff scoring with 17 points (6G, 11A) in 23 postseason games.
Natalie Buchbinder missed her fifth consecutive game for the Frost with a lower-body injury.
THREE STARS
1. Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) GWG, 1A
2. Ann-Renée Desbiens (MTL) 25/26 SV
3. Catherine Dubois (MTL) 1G
NEXT GAME
Montréal: Thursday, May 14 vs. Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET