Game 1: Thursday, May 14, 2026 | 7 p.m. ET | Place Bell
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EN: Kenzie Lalonde (Play-by-Play), Cheryl Pounder (Analyst), Rob Pizzo (Reporter), Jamie Hersch (Host), Becky Kellar (Panelist), Alison Lukan (Panelist);
FR: Claudine Douville (Play-by-Play), Isabelle Leclaire (Analyst), Catherine Savoie (Reporter), Andrée‑Anne Barbeau (Host), Karell Emard (Panelist)
OTTAWA CHARGE (4)
Top Scorer: Fanuza Kadirova – 4 GP, 2-3-5 PTS
Goaltender: Gwyneth Philips – 1.62 GAA, .951 SV%
Special Teams: PP 2/13 (15.4%) | PK 15/16 (93.8%)
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE (1)
Top Scorer: Marie-Philip Poulin – 5 GP, 2-3-5 PTS
Goaltender: Ann-Renée Desbiens – 1.56 GAA, .940 SV%
Special Teams: PP 3/12 (25.0%) | PK 16/18 (88.9%)
2026 PWHL WALTER CUP FINALS: BEST-OF-FIVE SERIES
Game 1 at MTL (May 14) | Game 2 at MTL (May 16) | Game 3 at OTT (May 18) | Game 4 at OTT (May 20) | Game 5 at MTL (TBD)
2025-26 SEASON SERIES: MONTRÉAL WON 10-2 IN POINTS (MTL LEADS 31-14 IN POINTS ALL-TIME)
Jan. 13 at MTL: 2-1 MTL | Jan. 24 at MTL: 3-1 MTL | Mar. 22 at OTT (WINNIPEG): 2-1 OTT (OT) | Apr. 3 at OTT: 3-0 MTL
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Montréal has won 11 of its 15 regular-season games against Ottawa all-time, but the Charge beat the Victoire, 3-1, in their first playoff meeting in last year’s semifinals. All four games in last year’s series were decided by one goal, and the team who scored first won each game. Last season, the first-place Victoire chose the third-place Charge as its playoff opponent.
In playoff history, the winner of Game 1 has gone on to win just two of six all-time series. Ottawa was one of the winning teams in last year’s semifinals with a 3-2 victory over Montréal at Place Bell in the series opener on May 8, 2025. Both the Charge and Victoire lost game one of this year’s semifinals.
Of Montréal’s 12 all-time postseason games, 11 have been decided by one goal (the other by two goals). That is tied with Ottawa for the second-most postseason games decided by one goal (Minnesota, 13). Both teams have played six overtime games in their playoff history and each carry 2-4 records. The Victoire won the only overtime game in last year’s semifinals against the Charge, 3-2 in Game 2 on May 11, 2025, the longest game in PWHL history ending at 135:33 of 4OT.
The Victoire have a 91.2% penalty-kill percentage this season (reg. season + postseason), which stands as the highest single-season mark by a PWHL team all-time. The Charge have a 93.8% penalty-kill percentage in the postseason, the third-highest mark by any PWHL team in a single postseason.
Fanuza Kadirova is tied for the PWHL playoff lead with five points (tied with Marie-Philip Poulin), all over her last three games. It was the only three-game point streak of the semifinal round, the longest point streak of her PWHL career and her most points over any five-game span in the PWHL.
Poulin was held without a point in two games against Ottawa this season but leads the Victoire with nine career playoff points, recording all five points against the Frost at Place Bell. With two game-winning goals last series, the captain has 12 across her career, most all-time, and is the third player in history with multiple GWG in a single playoff (2024 Susanna Tapani, 2025 Emily Clark). No player has ever scored three.
Jocelyne Larocque is the Charge’s all-time leader in postseason points after joining the team midway through the 2024-25 season. Her eight playoff points are the second most by PWHL defenders since the start of the 2025 postseason (Lee Stecklein, 10). Brooke Hobson’s game-tying goal in Game 4 against Boston was Ottawa’s 10th point by a defender in the series, while Montréal defenders had just six in five games.
Abby Roque and Maureen Murphy led the season series with three points (2G, 1A each). The Victoire had at least one player with four or more points in all other head-to-head matchups, while the Charge had at least one player with three points in games against all other opponents, except Montréal.
Ann-Renée Desbiens started three games against Ottawa during the regular season with two wins and an overtime loss, posting a 1.33 GAA and .943 SV%. Gwyneth Philips played all four games, and despite three losses, her 1.78 GAA and .938 SV% were better than her full-season marks.
Philips and Charge defender Rory Guilday, or Victoire forward Hayley Scamurra, will become the first to win a Walter Cup and an Olympic gold medal in the same season.
Michela Cava (OTT) or Maggie Flaherty (MIN) will become the first three-time Walter Cup champion in league history. The Charge forward has three points in four playoff games after producing just four in 17 regular-season games with the team, while her double-overtime heroics to win the semifinal series gives her a game-winning goal in three straight postseasons. Ottawa returns 11 players from last year’s finals plus championship experience from Emma Greco (2024) and Brooke McQuigge (2025). Former Charge forward Shiann Darkangelo and former Fleet defender Jessica DiGirolamo are the only other members of the Victoire to play in the finals.
Montréal beat Minnesota despite being outshot in four of five games, including two wins with their fewest shots of the season (19 in Game 3, 17 in Game 5). Ottawa was outshot by Boston by double-digit margins in every game. The Victoire won 52.4% of all faceoffs in the semifinals, the Charge won 47.9%.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“This is what we train for. This is the dream. It would mean a lot to this group of players and staff to win the championship. We've been through a lot together. It would mean a lot to our fan base as well. We have had great crowds at our games. We notice the support that we have and the excitement around this playoff run. I still have moments where I pinch myself. I feel extremely lucky that I just get to be a part of it and get to play in these moments.” - Charge captain Brianne Jenner
“I feel like there's good rivalry between every team in this league, but certainly the history that we have with Ottawa, there's rivalry there. Also, our fans are so close together that there's an opportunity for people to travel back and forth, which is really cool. I think our league continues to grow the game on both sides of the border, and I think that people are really excited that the Walter Cup will have a new home this year." - Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie
THURSDAY’S GAME: The 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Finals, presented by Scotiabank, begin tonight at Place Bell between Montréal and Ottawa, the first-ever all-Canadian championship series in league history. It’s the first finals appearance for the first-place Victoire who have made the postseason in each of the league’s three seasons, while the fourth-place Charge compete in their second straight final after qualifying for the playoffs on the last day of the season a second straight time. Ottawa punched their ticket with a 3-1 semifinal series win over Boston and have been in Montréal since Tuesday, awaiting the Game 5 winner between the Victoire and two-time defending champion Frost. Montréal holds a 3-4 all-time playoff record at Place Bell, won 11 of 12 games at the primary home venue during the regular season, and are 23-2 in games where they have had a lead in Laval. Ottawa is 2-4 on the road in their playoff history and went 2-4-0-7 in opposing PWHL markets this season, including two regulation losses at Place Bell. In addition to the first Canadian team to hoist the Walter Cup, the series will produce the first woman to lead a championship team behind the bench in Montréal’s Kori Cheverie or Ottawa’s Carla MacLeod. Place Bell will be rocking to the music of DJ Tizi, with the Canadian anthem to be performed by Jennifer Lee-Dupuy. Today’s referees are Jake Kamrass and Lacey Senuk, with linespersons Laura Gutauskas and Dustin McCrank. Following the game, fans can tune-in for live reaction with Jocks in Jills streaming on the league’s YouTube channel.