The 2026 Walter Cup Finals was the championship series of the Professional Women's Hockey League 2025–26 PWHL season and the culmination of the 2026 Walter Cup playoffs. The winners of the semifinals, the Ottawa Charge and the Montreal Victoire competed in a best-of-five series to determine the league's champion and winner of the Walter Cup. The Victoire defeated the Charge in four games to win their first Walter Cup.
The series began on May 14. The Victoire had home-ice advantage in the series as the team with the better regular season record. Montreal finished the season in first place with 62 points, while Ottawa finished fourth with 44 points. Montreal chose to play the third ranked Minnesota Frost in the semifinal instead of Ottawa, who beat the second seeded Boston Fleet in their semifinal.
This was the first all-Canadian final in PWHL history, and the first to not include Minnesota, who won the previous two championships. It was also the first finals with both teams having a female head coach. It was the second straight year that the Charge made it to the final and was the first appearance for the Victoire. Montreal won three of the four regular season matchups, with Ottawa winning the other game in overtime.
The Charge and Victoire previously met in the semifinals of 2025 playoffs, with the Charge beating the Victoire in four games.
Paths to the Finals Montreal Victoire
This was Montreal's first Finals appearance, having lost in the semifinals in their previous two seasons.
The Victoire finished the regular season with 62 points, with a record 16 regulation wins, 6 overtime wins, 2 overtime losses and 6 regulation losses. This was good enough for first place in the league's standings, earning them the right to choose their playoff opponent in the semifinals. The Victoire chose the third placed Minnesota Frost, who they went on to beat three games to two, qualifying Montreal for the Finals. It was the first time in the league's history that the top seed won a playoff series.
Ottawa Charge
The Charge finished the season with 44 points, with a record of 9 regulation wins, 8 overtime wins, 1 overtime loss and 12 regulation losses. This earned them fourth place in the regular season standings. The team earned their playoff spot in their final regular season game against the Toronto Sceptres, who they beat 3–0.
With Montreal opting to play Minnesota in their semifinal match-up, this left the Charge to play the second placed Boston Fleet. The Charge went on to upset the Fleet in four games.
Game summaries
Game one After a scoreless first period, Ottawa took a 1–0 lead when Rebecca Leslie shot from the slot, and scored on the rebound after Ann-Renée Desbiens made the initial save. Montreal tied it up at the 12:12 mark of the third when Abby Roque scored her first career playoff goal. Eight minutes later, Ottawa took a 2–1 lead when Leslie scored her second of the game, with just 4:04 remaining in the third. With just 2.1 seconds left, after Laura Stacey left the ice following a collision with Ottawa's Gabbie Hughes, Montreal's Nicole Gosling tied the game up at 2 to send the game to overtime. At the 2:29 mark in the extra frame, Roque scored the game winner via a bounce off her helmet to win game one for the Victoire.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd OTT Rebecca Leslie (2) Unassisted 16:56 1–0 OTT 3rd MTL Abby Roque (1) Nadia Mattivi (1) and Laura Stacey (2) 12:12 1–1 OTT Rebecca Leslie (3) Sarah Wozniewicz (1) 15:56 2–1 OTT MTL Nicole Gosling (1) Maureen Murphy (1) and Marie-Philip Poulin (4) 19:57 2–2 OT MTL Abby Roque (2) Laura Stacey (3) and Maggie Flaherty (1) 02:29 3–2 MTL
Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MTL Abby Roque Slashing 04:33 2:00 2nd OTT Jocelyne Larocque Hooking 04:30 2:00 MTL Dara Greig High-sticking 12:59 2:00 OTT Brianne Jenner Hooking 04:30 2:00 3rd OTT Ronja Savolainen Boarding 00:42 2:00 OT None
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total 10 8 7 0 25 5 8 11 2 26
Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities Ottawa 0/2 Montreal 0/3
Three star selections Team Player Statistics 1st MTL Abby Roque 2 goals 2nd MTL Laura Stacey 2 assists 3rd OTT Rebecca Leslie 2 goals
Game two Sarah Wozniewicz scored the game's opening goal for the Charge in the first period on the team's first opportunity, after going without a shot in the first eight minutes. Montreal's Kati Tabin tied the game up just 32 seconds into the second period. In overtime, with all five Ottawa Charge players headed toward the side boards, Montreal's Marie-Philip Poulin made a pass to an open Maggie Flaherty who scored the game winner at the 14:12 mark, giving the Victoire a 2–0 series lead.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st OTT Sarah Wozniewicz (2) Unassisted 08:38 1–0 OTT 2nd MTL Kati Tabin (1) Unassisted 00:32 1–1 3rd None OT MTL Maggie Flaherty (2) Marie-Philip Poulin (5) and Abby Roque (4) 14:12 2–1 MTL
Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MTL Marie-Philip Poulin Hooking 11:51 2:00 2nd OTT Emily Clark Cross-checking 00:27 2:00 MTL Laura Stacey Unsportsmanlike conduct 00:27 2:00 3rd OTT Rory Guilday Interference 05:55 2:00 MTL Nadia Mattivi Cross-checking 08:46 2:00 OT None
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total 5 6 5 5 21 11 4 8 6 29
Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities Ottawa 0/2 Montreal 0/1
Three star selections Team Player Statistics 1st MTL Maggie Flaherty 1 goal 2nd MTL Kati Tabin 1 goal 3rd OTT Sarah Wozniewicz 1 goal
Game three Down two games to none, the Ottawa Charge were facing elimination upon their return to Ottawa for Game 3, played on Victoria Day in front of a PWHL playoff record 16,894 spectators. Neither of the two teams could find the back of the net until the 7:32 mark in the third period, when Montreal's Hayley Scamurra scored on Gwyneth Philips' left side thanks to a Maureen Murphy point shot that went off the back boards. Ottawa tied it up seven minutes later when Peyton Hemp scored at the 14:30 mark, getting a rebound and shooting the puck to the top-corner above Ann-Renée Desbiens' glove. With just 56 seconds left in regulation, the Charge's Rebecca Leslie scored the game's winning goal, when she got a rebound from Sarah Wozniewicz and scored through traffic. After a lengthy review due to a possible hand pass by Brianne Jenner, the goal was considered good, and the Charge won the game 2–1.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd None 3rd MTL Hayley Scamurra (2) Maureen Murphy (2) 07:32 1–0 MTL OTT Peyton Hemp (1) Gabbie Hughes (1) and Ronja Savolainen (2) 14:30 1–1 OTT Rebecca Leslie (4) Sarah Wozniewicz (2) 19:04 2–1 OTT
Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st OTT Emma Greco Tripping 13:02 2:00 OTT Rebecca Leslie Cross-checking 15:42 2:00 MTL Maureen Murphy Delay of game 19:53 2:00 2nd MTL Laura Stacey Hooking 00:24 2:00 MTL Marie-Philip Poulin Hooking 18:58 2:00 3rd OTT Brooke Hobson Holding 05:28 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 9 6 13 28 10 8 10 28
Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities Montreal 0/3 Ottawa 0/3
Three star selections Team Player Statistics 1st OTT Rebecca Leslie 1 goal 2nd OTT Gwyneth Philips 27 saves 3rd OTT Peyton Hemp 1 goal
Game four With Montreal holding the series lead at 2-1, the Victoire looked to clinch the Walter Cup in Game 4 at the Canadian Tire Centre. After a scoreless first period, Montreal's Abby Roque gave her team the lead with a goal that bounced off Charge defender Rory Guilday's stick and past Gwyneth Philips at 3:49 in the second. At 9:58 in the third period, Roque doubled Montreal's lead on a breakaway, netting a shorthanded goal while captain Marie-Philip Poulin was in the penalty box for goaltender interference. At 13:54, Maggie Flaherty shot through traffic from the blue line to bring the score to 3-0. Montreal's Lina Ljungblom sealed the Victoire's 4-0 win with a goal at 15:44, off a turnover near Ottawa's net. Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped all 23 shots she faced to record her second shutout of the postseason. This was Ottawa's second straight loss in the Walter Cup finals, while Montreal's win made them the first Canadian team to hoist the Walter Cup, and the first team other than the Minnesota Frost to win the title. Poulin, whose 8 points in the playoffs tied her for the postseason lead, was named playoff MVP, despite playing with a torn ACL and meniscus.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd MTL Abby Roque (3) Marie-Philip Poulin (6) and Laura Stacey (4) 03:49 1–0 MTL 3rd MTL Abby Roque (4) – sh Unassisted 09:58 2–0 MTL MTL Maggie Flaherty (3) Jessica DiGirolamo (1) and Dara Greig (1) 13:54 3–0 MTL MTL Lina Ljungblom (1) Unassisted 15:44 4–0 MTL
Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MTL Nadia Mattivi Boarding 15:02 2:00 2nd MTL Kati Tabin Slashing 06:38 2:00 3rd MTL Marie-Philip Poulin Goaltender interference 08:11 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 6 4 16 5 5 13 23
Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities Montreal 0/0 Ottawa 0/3
Three star selections Team Player Statistics 1st MTL Abby Roque 2 goals 2nd MTL Ann-Renée Desbiens 23 saves, 1.000 SV% 3rd MTL Laura Stacey 1 assist
Team rosters Montreal Victoire
Ottawa Charge
References