Montréal Victoire vs. Minnesota Frost Semifinals Recap (2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs)

Montréal Victoire vs. Minnesota Frost Summary

Going into the series between the Montréal Victoire (62 PTS, 16-6-2-6, 1st Seed) and Minnesota Frost (46 PTS, 13-3-5-9, 3rd Seed), many believed that the Montréal Victoire would effortlessly sweep the back-to-back Walter Cup Champions as they have done during the regular season (4-0). The four Montréal Victoire regular season wins included two shutouts and one overtime victory. Although the Minnesota Frost struggled to close out their games against the Montréal Victoire during the regular season, they ended up forcing all five games to be played after putting up a gutsy performance during the semifinals.  

The Minnesota Frost kickstarted this series with a 1-0 overtime win secured in Game 1 after a lengthy goaltending duel between Montréal Victoire’s #35 Ann-Renée Desbiens and Minnesota Frost’s #35 Maddie Rooney (Series: 1-0). After a gut-wrenching loss, 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 and ultimately made them one win away from closing out this series with a 2-1 victory secured (Series: 2-1). On the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs, the Minnesota Frost entered Game 4 with another level of intensity which helped them to tie 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. After a close battle, 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). 

Overall Stats Summary 

When looking at these team’s regular season stats against one another, the Montréal Victoire outscored (12G vs. 3G) and outshot the Minnesota Frost (125 SOG vs. 83 SOG). In regards to special teams, both the Montréal Victoire and Minnesota Frost ended with a 0% power play success rate and a 100% penalty kill success rate.

During the semifinals, both teams ended with 10 goals recorded despite the Minnesota Frost outshooting the Montréal Victoire (152 SOG vs. 143 SOG). 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%). In the end, this series came down to goaltending whoever could capitalize while on the man-advantage.

Points Leaders & Goaltending Stats

Montréal Victoire

• Points leaders: #29 C. Marie-Philip Poulin (2G, 3A) ended this series with 5 points

• Goals leader:#7 Laura Stacey ended this series with 3 goals scored

• Assists leaders: #29 C. Marie-Philip Poulin and #11 Abby Roque ended this series with 3 assists

• Goaltending: #35 Ann-Renée Desbiens ended this series with a record of 3-1-1 and a 0.940 SV% in 5 games played

Minnesota Frost

• Points leaders: #5 Sidney Morin (4G) and #12 Kelly Pannek (1G, 3A) ended this series with 4 points 

• Goals leader: #5 Sidney Morin ended this series with 4 goals scored

• Assists leaders: #12 Kelly Pannek ended this series with 3 assists

• Goaltending: #35 Maddie Rooney ended this series with a record of 2-2-1 a 0.930 SV% in 5 games played. 

Achievements during the 2026 Walter Cup Playoffs (Semifinals)

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 

• Minnesota Frost Defensemen, #33 Jincy Roese, scored the Game 1 game-winning overtime goal on May 2, 2026

• Minnesota Frost Goaltender, #35 Maddie Rooney, secured a 5-4 overtime win in Game 1 of the semifinals which was recorded on May 2, 2026

• Montréal Victoire Forward, #29 C. Marie-Philip Poulin, scored the Game 2 game-winning overtime goal on May 5, 2026

• Montréal Victoire Goaltender, #35 Ann-Renée Desbiens, secured a 1-0 overtime win in Game 2 of the semifinals which was recorded on May 5, 2026

Looking at the Montréal Victoire’s journey so far, it is evident the team’s momentum and successes during the regular season helped them to secure this series win and their spot in the 2026 PWHL Walter Cup finals. The unfortunate losses by the Minnesota Frost does not take away from their admirable regular season efforts and perseverance during the semifinals. Moving forward, we can expect another thrilling series as the Montréal Victoire battle for The Walter Cup against the Ottawa Charge.

Stay tuned for the upcoming game preview and game recap articles of the 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Finals!