Game 3: Thursday, May 7, 2026 | 6 p.m. CT | Grand Casino Arena
WATCH LIVE: FOX 9+, Scripps Sports, Prime Video (Canada), 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)
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE (1)
Top Scorer: Laura Stacey – 2 GP, 3-1-4 PTS
Goaltender: Ann-Renée Desbiens – 1.78 GAA, .925 SV%
Series Special Teams: PP 2/8 (25.0%) | PK 6/7 (85.7%)
MINNESOTA FROST (3)
Top Scorer: Grace Zumwinkle – 2 GP, 1-1-2 PTS
Goaltender: Maddie Rooney – 1.78 GAA, .935 SV%
Series Special Teams: PP 1/7 (14.3%) | PK 6/8 (75.0%)
2026 PWHL WALTER CUP PLAYOFFS: BEST-OF-FIVE SEMIFINAL SERIES TIED 1-1
Game 1 at MTL: 5-4 MIN (OT) | Game 2 at MTL: 1-0 MTL (3OT) | 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
Game 2 was the fourth PWHL game decided in triple overtime or later. The Victoire have been involved in three of those (2-1 record) and the Frost in two (1-1). At 104:02 of game time, it was the longest 1-0 game in PWHL history, while the last time the NHL had such a long 1-0 result was Game 5 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Final between Dallas and New Jersey (106:21).
This will be Montréal’s 10th all-time playoff game. The Victoire are the only PWHL team that has made the postseason and not led a series at one point. Montréal has only carried a regulation lead in three playoff games, previously losing to Boston twice in overtime in 2024 after leading Game 1, 1-0, and Game 3, 2-0. Their only lead in last year’s semifinal against Ottawa was in Game 2 where they won, 3-2 in 4OT, after leading 2-0.
Marie-Philip Poulin’s triple-overtime winner was the first game-winning goal in her postseason career, while her 10 regular season game-winners are the most in league history. All three overtime goals in her career have been scored against Minnesota this season, with five of her 11 career GWG coming against the Frost. The Victoire captain has three points (1G, 2A) in three career playoff road games and a current seven-game point streak (4G, 4A), joining Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield as the only players to score in all three playoffs.
Abby Roque set up a Poulin goal for the seventh time, the second-most by a teammate leaguewide (Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie from Brianne Jenner with nine). Roque is one of four players in this series with 10 or more primary assists, a category led by playoff top scorer Laura Stacey (13), which also includes Taylor Heise (11) and Britta Curl-Salemme (10).
Ann-Renée Desbiens made 38 saves in Game 2 after surrendering five goals for the first time in the opener. The 38 saves were the most in any of her nine shutouts, the most in any playoff shutout, and fifth most in any PWHL shutout.
Maggie Flaherty (Lakeville) is the only player from Minnesota on the Victoire. The two-time Walter Cup champion recorded her only point in 18 career playoff games scoring the winning goal in Game 3 against Toronto on this ice on May 13, 2024.
Minnesota has played six games against Montréal this season and have been shut out in three of them, including Game 2. They have played 26 games against all other PWHL teams and have been shut out in just one of those, April 19 vs. Toronto, the team’s last game at Grand Casino Arena.
The Frost led the regular season with a record goals-per-game average of 3.03 across 30 games, which was slightly elevated to 3.38 in 13 true home games. The Victoire led the regular season with a record goals-against average of 1.37 and slightly raised to 1.67 in 12 road games in opposing PWHL markets.
Kelly Pannek led the Frost with eight shots on goal in Game 2, three more than she’s had in any other PWHL game in her career. The Frost alternate captain led all players from both teams with 21 faceoff wins. Her only PWHL game with more was Game 3 of last year’s Walter Cup Finals, when she had 34 in a triple-overtime win over Ottawa. She leads all skaters with 254 career faceoff wins in the playoffs.
Maddie Rooney became just the fourth goaltender in PWHL history to stop 50 or more shots with her 51-save performance in Game 2. Desbiens (63 and 50) and Boston’s Aerin Frankel (56 and 53) are the only goaltenders with multiple such efforts and Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips (53) had one last playoffs. Rooney’s 72 saves in two games are nearly halfway to the 150 she totaled in five games (and wins) in the 2025 postseason, which included a perfect 3-0 record at Grand Casino Arena.
Heise has seven points (2G, 5A) in eight career playoff games at Grand Casino Arena, more than any other player, but amassed them all entirely across three multi-point performances. Her 17 points (6G, 11A) in 20 career playoff games is the most in PWHL history.
Of the playoff teams, Montréal (15-4-1-2) and Minnesota (11-4-3-2) have the best records when scoring the game’s first goal, each with an overtime win in the series. Only Boston (23) has opened scoring more times this season, inclusive of playoffs. The Victoire (13) and Frost (11) rank first and third in multi-goal wins, both still looking for their first in playoffs.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“Our group was relentless through all three overtime periods on Tuesday night. We maybe gave up one or two quality chances, and our team just kept getting more and more energy. So for us, what we're going to focus on, is, how can we continue that energy into Minnesota.” – Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie
“I think I’m most looking forward to being at home, being in front of our crowd and getting to pull off the energy they bring every night. We’re just looking to focus on one game first and see what we can do at home and then focusing on what happens after that.” – Frost forward Claire Butorac
THURSDAY’S GAME: The 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, continue tonight with Game 3 of the best-of-five semifinal series between Montréal and Minnesota at Grand Casino Arena, tied 1-1. This is the first of back-to-back games in the series on the heels of two overtime games in a four-day period where the teams played an additional 48:32 beyond regulation. It’s also the first of three straight playoff games in St. Paul with the Minnesota Wild hosting Game 3 of their Stanley Cup playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. The Frost are 7-1 in the playoffs all-time at Grand Casino Arena, including a 2-1 overtime victory against Ottawa in their last playoff game on May 26, 2025, to win their second straight Walter Cup. They skated to an 8-0-1-4 record at home during the regular season. The Victoire are 0-3 on the road in their playoff history but went 5-3-0-4 in opposing markets during the 2025-26 regular season. Two of those wins were at Grand Casino Arena where they allowed just one goal against with 1:02 remaining in the third period of the 2-1 overtime triumph on Jan. 21. Montréal went 2-0-0-0 in St. Paul during the 2024-25 season and 1-0-1-1 during the inaugural season. Minnesota is 4-0 in Game 3 in their playoff history, all on home ice, including a 7-5 win against Toronto on May 11, 2025, in the highest scoring game in playoff history. Montréal is 0-2 in Game 3, with both losses on the road. The Frost are proud to welcome members of Aurora FC (USL W League) to tonight’s game. Fans in attendance can pick up 2026 PWHL Walter Cup playoff apparel in the Hockey Lodge. On Wednesday, the PWHL announced Detroit as an expansion market for the 2026-27 season. Both Minnesota (4-1 loss to New York on Mar. 16, 2025) and Montréal (3-1 win over New York on Mar. 28, 2026) have played at Little Caesars Arena, where PWHL Detroit will call home. Tonight’s referees are Jake Kamrass and Lacey Senuk, with linespersons Sarah Buckner and Dustin McCrank. Following the game, fans can tune-in for live reaction with Jocks in Jills streaming on the league’s YouTube channel.