Montreal Victoire Take Series Lead in the PWHL Walter Cup Finals

The Montreal Victoire took the series lead in Game 1 at home coming off the heels of a historic win in the Semi-Finals with the higher-seed advancing for the first time in PWHL history. 

Despite the massive accomplishment the Victoire saw their lowest attended game at Place Bell with 5,062 fans in attendance. With the delay of Game 5 in the last series and the Ottawa games already scheduled the Victoire were forced to compete with the timing of the Montreal Canadians NHL playoff game, that paired with the limited notice for a weeknight game led to a massive dip in attendance. Right now it looks like Game 2 will bring in a fuller house, though it is unclear if that is from Montreal fans or those roadtripping from Ottawa to cheer on the Charge. 

Game 1 showed us what we already knew, that this was going to be another battle of the goaltenders this time with Ann-Renée Desbiens on one end and Gwyneth Philips on the other. Through the first Ottawa continued to put pressure on the Victoire outshooting them 10-5 in a back-and-forth game. In the second it was Ottawa native, Rebecca Leslie opening the scoring after delaying her shot forcing Desbiens to one-side. 

In the third, the Victoire looked to make a comeback that was kick started by Abby Roque off an incredible pass in front from Nadia Mattivi, who signed a 10-day deal with the Victoire to be available for the Finals. But not long after it was Leslie striking again using the delayed shot to distract Desbiens. As the minutes counted down the Victoire pulled their goalie hoping to find the equalizer while the Charge looked for some insurance. With under 20 seconds to go in the game forward Laura Stacey took an awkward bump from the Charge that sent her to the ice clutching her left knee, before she was assisted off the ice. Then Poulin does what she does best, setting up a play in front of the net leading to Nicole Gosling's first playoff goal with just 2 seconds on the clock, forcing overtime.

In overtime, Stacey made her return though still visibly uncomfortable. It didn’t take long for the Victoire to set up in the offensive zone before Maggie Flaherty fired from the blue line, that shot was then deflected by Stacey up front then off Roque’s face-mask and in for the game-winner.

The Victoire look to keep their momentum rolling into Game 2, while the Charge look to even the series before heading home as their fans drive in for the weekend. Tune in Saturday at 2 PM (EST) to find out.