Game 2: Tuesday, May 5, 2026 | 7 p.m. ET | Place Bell
WATCH LIVE: Prime Video (Canada), FOX 9+, Scripps Sports, PWHL YouTube, opens in a new tab & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International), More
EN: Eric Gallanty (Play-by-Play), Becky Kellar (Analyst), Rob Pizzo (Reporter);
FR: Frédéric Lord (Play-by-Play), Kathy Desjardins (Analyst), Alexandre Despatie (Studio Host), Ann-Sophie Bettez (Studio Analyst)
MINNESOTA FROST (3)
Top Scorer: Grace Zumwinkle – 1 GP, 1-1-2 PTS
Goaltender: Maddie Rooney – 3.72 GAA, .840 SV%
Series Special Teams: PP 1/5 (20.0%) | PK 3/5 (60.0%)
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE (1)
Top Scorer: Laura Stacey – 1 GP, 3-0-3 PTS
Goaltender: Ann-Renée Desbiens – 4.65 GAA, .828 SV%
Series Special Teams: PP 2/5 (40.0%) | PK 4/5 (80.0%)
2026 PWHL WALTER CUP PLAYOFFS: MINNESOTA LEADS THE BEST-OF-FIVE SEMIFINAL SERIES 1-0
Game 1 at MTL: 5-4 MIN (OT) | Game 2 at MTL (May 5) | Game 3 at MIN (May 7) | Game 4 at MIN (May 8) | Game 5 at MTL (May 11)
2025-26 SEASON SERIES: MONTRÉAL WON 10-2 IN POINTS (MTL LEADS 31-14 IN POINTS ALL-TIME)
Jan. 4 at MTL: 3-2 MTL (OT) | Jan. 21 at MIN: 2-1 MTL (OT) | Mar. 1 at MTL: 4-0 MTL | Mar. 25 at MIN: 3-0 MTL
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Minnesota snapped a four-game pre-playoff losing streak and beat Montréal for the first time in seven games with a 5-4 overtime win in Game 1, the Frost’s first-ever 1-0 lead in a playoff series. There have been 12 overtime games in PWHL postseason history (out of 28 total playoff games), and the Frost have been involved in six straight (out of 19 total playoff games), winning six of eight overtime decisions in total.
The Frost have scored five or more goals eight times in 31 total games in 2025-26 and became the first team in PWHL history to score five goals against the Victoire. They have scored multiple goals in seven straight road games and in 14 of 16 overall this season.
Taylor Heise is the PWHL leader in career playoff points (17) and multi-point games (seven, including Game 1 of this series with two assists). Current Frost players account for four of the top six spots in career PWHL playoff points and three of the top five spots in career multi-point playoff games. The 2024 Playoff MVP has 25 total multi-point efforts, representing more than 25% of all games and five more than the next highest skater.
Jincy Roese was the first defender in PWHL history with an overtime playoff goal and Sidney Morin was the first defender to score a playoff goal shorthanded. Including Lee Stecklein’s assist, the Frost had three points from defenders in Game 1 after a PWHL-high 62 points in the regular season.
Grace Zumwinkle has points in four straight road games (4G, 2A) after contributing a goal and an assist on Saturday. The Frost forward is on a three-game point streak overall, alongside teammates Kendall Coyne Schofield and Kelly Pannek. The Frost captain and alternate captain have each recorded at least one point in 52 total games, the most all-time.
Klára Hymlárová has the primary assist on all three of Katy Knoll’s career playoff goals, including Saturday’s game-opening goal. Knoll also had the primary on Hymlárová’s lone goal of the 2025 playoffs where the rookie duo outperformed their regular season production by three points each.
Montréal lost for just the second time in 13 games this season at Place Bell and are now 1-7 in the playoffs all-time, including 1-4 on home ice. The Victoire have the most playoff losses of any team in PWHL history despite leading the league in regular-season wins (54). Their only playoff win was in Game 2 at Place Bell last season against Ottawa, a 3-2 quadruple overtime win.
Laura Stacey’s hat trick in Game 1 was the first of her PWHL career and the first by any player in PWHL postseason history. Both hat tricks by Victoire players this season have ended in a loss (Hayley Scamurra on April 21 at Vancouver). Prior to those two, PWHL teams had won all 18 games in which a player recorded a hat trick in the league’s history. The Victoire alternate captain, celebrating her 32nd birthday today, also became the first to score two power-play goals in a playoff game, tying her total across 30 regular-season games. She now has points in eight straight games at Place Bell (7G, 6A).
Marie-Philip Poulin assisted on two of Stacey’s goals in Game 1. The two have combined on 28 goals in their regular-season careers, the most by any duo in PWHL history. However, those were the first two playoff goals they have ever combined on. The Victoire captain has points in six straight games (3G, 4A).
Nicole Gosling has points in seven straight games (1G, 8A), just the second player in PWHL history to achieve the feat (Alex Carpenter with New York in 2024-25). The rookie had a power-play assist on Saturday in her playoff debut, a category she led among defenders during the regular season with seven.
Abby Roque had two assists on Saturday, making her playoff debut after 83 career regular-season games. It was her sixth multi-point performance of the season, one more than her total across the first two seasons combined.
Shiann Darkangelo scored the Victoire’s first goal of the playoffs, snapping a four-game drought. It was the first time Montréal has lost in the eight games the forward has contributed a point. The team remains undefeated in eight games when Skylar Irving finds the scoresheet, however the rookie was limited to just 2:45 time on ice on Saturday.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I think we really liked the way we started the game in Game 1, and we’re looking to play a full 60 minutes like that once more. We thought we played a great game, and we obviously know we’re going to get their best again too, so we’re looking to build off of what we did in Game 1.” - Frost forward Katy Knoll
“It's the playoffs, and we are fighting for every inch out there on the ice, so nothing changes for us in our preparation. And we just got to tie up some details, and the details make a big difference at the end of the day. I think those are easy fixes, and if we are able to fix them, then we'll be in a good spot.” - Victoire forward Natálie Mlýnková
TUESDAY’S GAME: The 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, continue tonight with Game 2 of the best-of-five semifinal series between Montréal and Minnesota at Place Bell. In playoff history, the Frost are 3-1 all-time in Game 2 across their four previous series, and the Victoire are 1-1, with both of their previous games representing the two longest in PWHL history, and both at Place Bell. Last season’s Game 2 on May 11, 2025, ended with a 3-2 win over Ottawa in the fourth overtime at 135:33 on a goal by Catherine Dubois. In Game 2 on May 11, 2024, Boston won 2-1 in the third overtime at 111:44 on a goal by Taylor Wenczkowski, assisted by current Frost defender Sidney Morin. The postseason excitement continues in both markets in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Montréal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild each advancing to the second round, just the third time the teams have gone beyond the first round in the same season (2014 and 2015). The Victoire are proud to welcome Olympian Guylaine Bernier to tonight’s game. The former Canadian rower is part of the summer’s 50th anniversary celebration of the 1976 Olympic Games that were held in Montréal. DJ Montana returns tonight to raise the energy inside Place Bell, and Jennifer Lee-Dupuy will perform the national anthems. Tonight’s referees are Jared Cummins and Sydney Harris, with linespersons Antoine Bujold-Roux and Sophie Thomson. Following the game, fans can tune-in for live reaction with Jocks in Jills streaming on the league’s YouTube channel.