Montreal took a 1-0 lead to open the PWHL Walter Cup Finals on Thursday in Laval, Que., earning its first ever series-opening win courtesy of Abby Roque's facemask, two-and-a-half minutes into overtime.
The Game in Brief
The teams went scoreless through the first period, with Ottawa leading 10-5 in shots, having maintained the momentum after a power play roughly five minutes in. The Charge took a 1-0 lead out of the otherwise more balanced second period, thanks to Rebecca Leslie, who jumped on a turnover to lead the breakout before netting her own rebound. But they also carried nearly a full two minutes of penalty time into the third.
Soon after puck drop, a boarding call against Ronja Savolainen gave Montreal a minute and twelve seconds of 5-on-3, but the Victoire failed to capitalize. The home team got on the board when Nadia Mattivi, in her first playoff appearance, carried the puck up the left side and, from below the goal line, threaded it through to Roque at the right inner slot, who then lasered the puck high past Gwyneth Philips. Leslie regained Ottawa's lead with 4:04 remaining, patiently maneuvering laterally around an outstretched Nicole Gosling at the top of the crease before beating Ann-Renée Desbiens five-hole.
The game seemed to be slipping away from Montreal when Laura Stacey went down in intense pain after a hit, forcing a whistle and requiring medical attention before being helped off the ice. On the ensuing face-off, Poulin appeared to be on a mission – as Victoire coach Kori Cheverie put it, "you almost knew that Pou was possessed in that moment." Poulin carried possession into the Ottawa zone, recovered the puck behind the goal line, and quickly flipped it from the corner to the crease, where Maureen Murphy jabbed at a rebound before a diving Gosling "took a nice little whack at it," as she described it, tying the game with just 2.1 seconds remaining.
When the teams returned for overtime, Stacey was already on the ice doing laps, much to everyone – including her teammates' – surprise. Just over a minute into the extra period, Philips made a risky venture out of her crease to intercept a rush by Hayley Scamurra and nearly tossed the puck into her own net, instead bouncing it off the outside of the frame. Just over a minute later, Maggie Flaherty's shot-pass from the blue line rode up Roque's stick onto her face, bouncing into the net to give Montreal the win.
Key Takeaways
- After having been widely outshot in all four semifinal matches, Ottawa led its opponent in shots on goal through regulation (25-24).
- Despite going from leading the game to losing it within three minutes of playing time, Charge coach Carla MacLeod opened the postgame presser with an upbeat tone, focusing on the elements of the game that were executed to plan. "We're trying to be physical; obviously, we get sticks on pucks; we're trying to get bodies to the net," she said, repeatedly emphasizing that it's a five-game series. "Our group's all-in on how we play, and I thought we saw a good amount of that tonight."
It was a remarkably chipper attitude from the coach of a losing side, and that approach seemed to spill over to the players: "I'm just as confident as I was before game one that we can win the Walter Cup," Jocelyne Larocque said. - Montreal looked much calmer defensively than it had against the Frost and was much more effective at carrying the puck and maintaining possession through controlled zone exits. Though Ottawa was aggressive on the forecheck, the Victoire mostly avoided rushing sloppy plays, which had been an issue in several semifinal contests.
- Montreal showcased good stickwork when it came to intercepting pucks, but were not always as effective as possible when following up on the play, often allowing the Charge to regain possession.
- Keep an eye on: Erin Ambrose limped off the ice a few seconds before Roque's first goal (just after the midway point of the third period) and missed several shifts before returning to play towards the end of regulation. Stacey returned for overtime – a surprise to teammates, who hadn't seen her between periods – and earned an assist on the game-winning goal, but Cheverie could not provide a medical update postgame and it remains to be seen whether or to what extent the injury may impact Stacey's availability or playing time through the remainder of the series.
- Of note: The scheduling to start the series has been suboptimal for the local market, with only one day separating game 5 of the semifinals from game 1 of the finals – both of which went head-to-head with Montreal Canadiens matches – and ticket sales for the series opener made available to the general public just 15 hours before puck drop. Thursday's attendance of 5,062 was the lowest the Victoire ever recorded in its history at Place Bell. They regularly sell out the 10,172-seat venue.
