The series began on May 14. The Victoire had home-ice advantage in the series as the team with the better regular season record. Montreal finished the season in first place with 62 points, while Ottawa finished fourth with 44 points. Montreal chose to play the third ranked Minnesota Frost in the semifinal instead of Ottawa, who beat the second seeded Boston Fleet in their semifinal.
This was the first all-Canadian final in PWHL history,[1] and the first to not include Minnesota, who won the previous two championships.[2] It was also the first finals with both teams having a female head coach.[3] It was the second straight year that the Charge made it to the final and was the first appearance for the Victoire. Montreal won three of the four regular season matchups, with Ottawa winning the other game in overtime.[3]
The Charge and Victoire previously met in the semifinals of 2025 playoffs, with the Charge beating the Victoire in four games.
This was Montreal's first Finals appearance, having lost in the semifinals in their previous two seasons.
The Victoire finished the regular season with 62 points, with a record 16 regulation wins, 6 overtime wins, 2 overtime losses and 6 regulation losses. This was good enough for first place in the league's standings, earning them the right to choose their playoff opponent in the semifinals. The Victoire chose the third placed Minnesota Frost, who they went on to beat three games to two, qualifying Montreal for the Finals. It was the first time in the league's history that the top seed won a playoff series.[3]
The Charge finished the season with 44 points, with a record of 9 regulation wins, 8 overtime wins, 1 overtime loss and 12 regulation losses. This earned them fourth place in the regular season standings. The team earned their playoff spot in their final regular season game against the Toronto Sceptres, who they beat 3–0.
With Montreal opting to play Minnesota in their semifinal match-up, this left the Charge to play the second placed Boston Fleet. The Charge went on to upset the Fleet in four games.
After a scoreless first period, Ottawa took a 1–0 lead when Rebecca Leslie shot from the slot, and scored on the rebound after Ann-Renée Desbiens made the initial save. Montreal tied it up at the 12:12 mark of the third when Abby Roque scored her first career playoff goal. Eight minutes later, Ottawa took a 2–1 lead when Leslie scored her second of the game, with just 4:04 remaining in the third. With just 2.1 seconds left, after Laura Stacey left the ice following a collision with Ottawa's Gabbie Hughes, Montreal's Nicole Gosling tied the game up at 2 to send the game to overtime. At the 2:29 mark in the extra frame, Roque scored the game winner via a bounce off her helmet to win game one for the Victoire.[4]
Sarah Wozniewicz scored the game's opening goal for the Charge in the first period on the team's first opportunity, after going without a shot in the first eight minutes. Montreal's Kati Tabin tied the game up just 32 seconds into the second period. In overtime, with all five Ottawa Charge players headed toward the side boards, Montreal's Marie-Philip Poulin made a pass to an open Maggie Flaherty who scored the game winner at the 14:12 mark, giving the Victoire a 2–0 series lead.[5]
Down two games to none, the Ottawa Charge were facing elimination upon their return to Ottawa for Game 3, played on Victoria Day in front of a PWHL playoff record 16,894 spectators. Neither of the two teams could find the back of the net until the 7:32 mark in the third period, when Montreal's Hayley Scamurra scored on Gwyneth Philips' left side thanks to a Maureen Murphy point shot that went off the back boards. Ottawa tied it up seven minutes later when Peyton Hemp scored at the 14:30 mark, getting a rebound and shooting the puck to the top-corner above Ann-Renée Desbiens' glove. With just 56 seconds left in regulation, the Charge's Rebecca Leslie scored the game's winning goal, when she got a rebound from Sarah Wozniewicz and scored through traffic. After a lengthy review due to a possible hand pass by Brianne Jenner, the goal was considered good, and the Charge won the game 2–1.[6][7][8]
With Montreal holding the series lead at 2-1, the Victoire looked to clinch the Walter Cup in Game 4 at the Canadian Tire Centre. After a scoreless first period, Montreal's Abby Roque gave her team the lead with a goal that bounced off Charge defender Rory Guilday's stick and past Gwyneth Philips at 3:49 in the second. At 9:58 in the third period, Roque doubled Montreal's lead on a breakaway, netting a shorthanded goal while captain Marie-Philip Poulin was in the penalty box for goaltender interference. At 13:54, Maggie Flaherty shot through traffic from the blue line to bring the score to 3-0. Montreal's Lina Ljungblom sealed the Victoire's 4-0 win with a goal at 15:44, off a turnover near Ottawa's net. Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped all 23 shots she faced to record her second shutout of the postseason. This was Ottawa's second straight loss in the Walter Cup finals, while Montreal's win made them the first Canadian team to hoist the Walter Cup, and the first team other than the Minnesota Frost to win the title.[9] Poulin, whose 8 points in the playoffs tied her for the postseason lead, was named playoff MVP, despite playing with a torn ACL and meniscus.[10]
