Montréal Victoire 2026 Walter Cup Playoffs Recap
- Lyanna Yeow
- May 21
- 4 min read
Montréal Victoire Playoffs Summary
The Montréal Victoire’s 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs run featured a semifinals series against Minnesota Frost and a Finals series against the Ottawa Charge. When looking at regular season standings, the Montréal Victoire ended in the 1st seed after accumulating 62 PTS and a season record of 16-6-2-6. The Minnesota Frost secured the 3rd seed in the standings after accumulating 46 PTS and a season record of 13-3-5-9 while the Ottawa Charge secured the 4th seed after accumulating 44 PTS and a season record of 9-8-1-12. These thrilling playoff series left many believing that the Montréal Victoire would effortlessly sweep their competition, however, their opponents showed up and presented an uphill battle for the Montréal Victoire.
After facing a gut-wrenching Game 1 overtime loss against the Minnesota Frost, the Montréal Victoire regrouped and fought tooth-and-nail to tie this series with a 5-4 triple overtime victory secured in Game 2 (Series: 1-1). The Montréal Victoire’s momentum flourished in Game 3 which made them one win away from closing out this series with a 2-1 victory secured (Series: 2-1 Montréal Victoire). On the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs, the Minnesota Frost entered Game 4 with another level of intensity and tied this series after recording a 3-1 win when it mattered the most (Series: 2-2). With one last game remaining in the series, both teams entered Game 5 eager to be the one that would come out victorious. In the end, Montréal Victoire’s #29 Captain Marie-Philip Poulin closed out this series with a game-winning power play goal that punched the team’s ticket in the 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Finals (Series: 3-2).
Riding off the momentum from their semifinals win, the Montréal Victoire kickstarted the Finals with a 3-2 overtime win secured in Game 1 (Series: 1-0). Down in the series, the Ottawa Charge fought hard and forced the second overtime of this series. Despite a commendable last push, the Ottawa Charge fell short as the Montréal Victoire secured a 2-1 overtime win in Game 2 (Series: 2-0). After suffering back-to-back overtime losses, the Ottawa Charge were fueled with vengeance and entered Game 3 with another level of intensity as their playoff run was on the line. With a huge comeback late in the third period, the Ottawa Charge were able to secure a 2-1 win which extended this series to four games (Series: 2-1 Montréal Victoire). Being one-win away and having a crucial win slip through their fingertips, the Montréal Victoire entered Game 4 hungry for redemption and ultimately closed out this series with a jaw-dropping 4-0 shutout. After a long playoff run, the Montréal Victoire triumphantly won the Walter Cup with a 3-1 series win.
Overall Stats Summary
During the Semifinals against the Minnesota Frost, the Montréal Victoire ended with 10 goals and 143 shots on goal recorded. When it came to special teams, the Montréal Victoire had the advantage over the Minnesota Frost as they ended with a higher power play (25.0% vs. 11.1%) and penalty kill success rate (88.9% vs. 75.0%).
During the Finals against the Ottawa Charge, the Montréal Victoire ended with 10 goals and 99 shots on goal recorded. When it came to special teams, all penalty kill units maintained a 100% success rate throughout all four games that were played after everyone’s power play units struggled to generate any goals on the man-advantage.
In total, the Montréal Victoire secured the 2026 championship win with a total of 20 goals scored and 242 shots on goal recorded. In regards to special teams, the Montréal Victoire’s power play unit ended with a 15.8% success rate and a 92.9% penalty kill success rate. Overall, the team’s successes throughout the playoffs came down to goaltending and capitalizing on their scoring chances when it mattered the most.
Points Leaders & Goaltending Stats
Montréal Victoire
Points leaders: #11 Abby Roque (4G, 1A) and #29 C. Marie-Philip Poulin ended the playoffs with 8 points recorded
Goals leader: #11 Abby Roque led the team with a total of 4 goals scored during the playoffs
Assists leaders: #29 C. Marie-Philip Poulin led the team with a total of 6 assists recorded during the playoffs
Goaltending: #35 Ann-Renée Desbiens ended the playoffs with a record of 6-2-1 and a 0.944 SV% in 9 games played
Achievements during the 2026 Walter Cup Playoffs
Listed below are the achievement(s) that were secured during the 2026 Walter Cup Playoffs and the date(s) that they were recorded:
Hat-tricks
Montréal Victoire Forward, #7 Laura Stacey, recorded the first hat-trick of the 2026 Walter Cup Playoffs on May 2, 2026
Overtime
Semifinals
Finals
Montréal Victoire Forward, #11 Abby Roque, scored the Game 1 overtime game-winning goal on May 14, 2026
Montréal Victoire Forward, #91 Maggie Flaherty, scored the Game 2 overtime game-winning goal on May 16, 2026
Montréal Victoire Goaltender, #35 Ann-Renée Desbiens, secured back-to-back overtime wins in Game 1 (3-2) and Game 2 (2-1) of the finals which occurred on May 14, 2026 and May 16, 2026
Shutout
Montréal Victoire Goaltender, #35 Ann-Renée Desbiens, secured two shutouts which occured on May 5, 2026 (1-0) and May 20, 2026 (4-0)
The Montréal Victoire did not disappoint during the 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs as they delivered multiple overtime wins and closed out the series with an astonishing shutout. The team’s perseverance and experiences from the regular season greatly benefited them in securing their first 2026 PWHL Walter Cup win. Looking ahead at the 2026-27 season, we can expect a bright future for the Montréal Victoire as they enter on a high note from their triumphant end of the 2025-26 season.
Congratulations to the Montréal Victoire for securing the 2026 Walter Cup Champions title! Come back for more hockey recaps!
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