Thursday, May 8, 2025 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Place Bell
WATCH LIVE: TSN 1/5, TSN.ca, TSN App, RDS, RDS.ca, RDS App, MSG/MSGHD, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International)
EN: Kenzie Lalonde (Play-by-Play), Cheryl Pounder (Analyst), Kelly Greig (Reporter);
FR: Claudine Douville (Play-by-Play), Isabelle Leclaire (Analyst), Catherine Savoie (Reporter), Andrée-Anne Barbeau (Studio Host), Karell Émard (Studio Analyst)
OTTAWA CHARGE
12-2-4-12 | 44 PTS | 3RD PLACE
Top Scorer: Tereza Vanišová – 30 GP, 15-7-22 PTS
Season Series: Emily Clark – 6 GP, 3-2-5 PTS
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE
12-7-3-8 | 53 PTS | 1ST PLACE
Top Scorer: Marie-Philip Poulin – 30 GP, 19-7-26 PTS
Season Series: Poulin (4-1-5) & Jennifer Gardiner (2-3-5)
2025 PWHL PLAYOFFS:
Game 1 - May 8 at MTL | Game 2 - May 11 at MTL | Game 3 - May 13 at OTT | Game 4 - May 16 at OTT | Game 5 - May 18 at MTL
2024-25 SEASON SERIES: MONTRÉAL WON 11-7 IN POINTS (MTL WON 10-5 IN 2024)
Nov. 30 at MTL: 4-3 MTL (SO) | Dec. 6 at OTT: 2-1 MTL | Jan. 19 at MTL (QUÉBEC): 2-1 MTL | Jan. 29 at MTL: 4-1 MTL | Feb. 22 at OTT: 3-1 OTT | Apr. 26 at OTT: 3-2 OTT
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Dating back to last season, Montréal won eight of the first nine games between these clubs (5-3-0-1), but the Charge won each of the last two meetings this season, both in home games in regulation (3-1 on Feb. 22, 3-2 on Apr. 26).
The Charge won four of their final five games (3-1-0-1) to clinch their first-ever playoff spot, including an OT win in the season finale against Toronto. Ottawa averaged 2.93 goals per game over its final 15 games (since Feb. 11), the most in the league.
Brianne Jenner scored Ottawa’s lone regulation goal in the regular season finale. The Charge improved to 11-2-0-1 all-time in games in which she scores a goal. Across her two seasons, the captain has four goals in 34 games prior to Mar. 10, and 12 goals in 18 games on Mar. 10 or later.
Rebecca Leslie (1G), Victoria Bach (1A), Jocelyne Larocque (1A) and Alexa Vasko are the only Charge players with experience in the PWHL Playoffs, competing in all five games of Toronto’s 2024 semifinal series against Minnesota. Leslie is celebrating her 29th birthday today.
Ronja Savolainen is one of 19 players on the Charge active roster without PWHL playoff experience but won six straight SDHL championships with Luleå before her PWHL career.
Gwyneth Philips has started each of Ottawa’s final eight games. Two of the rookie’s eight wins this season were earned in three starts against Montréal. She’s no stranger to facing Victoire veteran Ann-Renée Desbiens, going head-to-head and winning in the Rivalry Series and in relief during the gold medal final at Women’s Worlds.
Ashton Bell scored all three of her goals this season against the Victoire, including two on Apr. 26 with a jailbreak winner.
On Tuesday, Charge Head Coach Carla MacLeod was announced as a Class of 2025 Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame inductee.
The Victoire were swept in their three-game playoff series last season against the Fleet, losing each game in overtime. All other PWHL teams have combined for two overtime playoff losses (Minnesota and Toronto each once).
Montréal may have lost both playoff games at Place Bell during last season’s playoffs, but their nine wins in 13 games at their primary home venue during the regular season was the most in the PWHL.
Maureen Murphy led the Victoire in playoff scoring with three points (1G, 2A), producing in all three games against Boston.
Kati Tabin recorded seven shots on goal in each of her three playoff games last season. All other PWHL defenders have combined for one such game in the postseason (Renata Fast had seven on Wednesday for Toronto).
Abby Boreen recorded one assist in five playoff games and Clair DeGeorge played in all 10 games for Minnesota in last season’s Walter Cup title run. They are among the 15 players on the Victoire active roster with postseason experience, along with Kaitlin Willoughby who played five games for Toronto and 12 returning members of Montréal.
Cayla Barnes and Jennifer Gardiner are also chasing a second straight championship after winning the 2024 NCAA title with Ohio State alongside fellow rookie in Ottawa’s Stephanie Markowski.
Catherine Dubois enters the playoffs with the league’s longest active point streak, scoring in each of the Victoire’s last three games (3G, 1A) to finish the season.
Marie-Philip Poulin recorded two goals and 12 faceoff wins in Montréal’s last regular season game, her third game this season with multiple goals and at least 10 faceoff victories. All other PWHL players combined for three such games this season (Gabbie Hughes, Hannah Miller and Kelly Pannek each once).
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We were already motivated for the playoffs regardless of Montréal picking us to play in the first round. But yeah, I think it puts a little extra chip on your shoulder. We’re feeling pretty excited about this. I know it's sort of been our rivalry in these first two seasons in terms of fan bases and their proximity. Our games have been really tight. We're feeling really excited to be playing the organization’s first playoff series, but I think as excited as we are for that opportunity, we're not satisfied just to just to make the playoffs. We want to see how far we can take this thing.” – Charge captain Brianne Jenner.
“I think there's always pressure to deliver, especially being in the Montréal market. I think that's always the case, which is a great place to be. It's a great spot to have, have playoff hockey for us, our fans, what they bring to us. They're the seventh player out there on the ice for us. And, I always feel pressured, and I think that's why we do it. I think we just want to keep getting better. Every single opportunity, and playoffs is another opportunity to keep getting better and growing our team game. So yeah, I feel pressured.” - Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie.
THURSDAY’S GAME: Montréal and Ottawa open the first all-Canadian matchup in the 2025 PWHL Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, at Place Bell where every fan in attendance will have a Victoire playoff rally towel courtesy of Canadian Tire on their seat when they arrive. Additional partner activations include Canadian Tire’s ‘My Team, My Sign’ station and ‘Shoot for Loot’ on-ice promo, plus Factor will be on the concourse with a shooting game for fans. DJ Blaze will be in charge of creating the party atmosphere inside of Place Bell. Jennifer-Lee Dupuy will be singing the Canadian national anthem.
Attending tonight’s playoff game is Team Nainimiut, a U15 Indigenous girls’ hockey team from Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, currently on a once-in-a-lifetime trip made possible by Air Canada in partnership with the PWHL. As the league’s Official Airline, Air Canada is supporting the next generation of women’s hockey through an immersive experience that champions youth empowerment, gender equality, and representation in sport and aviation.
In addition to live broadcast coverage exclusively on TSN and RDS in Canada, tonight’s game will be broadcast in the U.S. by MSG Network, and on various stations distributed in partnership with Gray Media (Gulf Sports & Entertainment Network, Peachtree Sports Network, Palmetto Sports Network, Rock Entertainment Sports Network, Tennessee Valley Sports & Entertainment Network, Matrix Midwest, The Wax Sports), Scripps Sports (Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Salt Lake City, Denver, Green Bay, Boise and Twin Falls), and the Sinclair Broadcast Group (Seattle).