Abby Roque scored twice to lead the Montreal Victoire to their first Walter Cup trophy Wednesday night with a 4-0 victory over the Ottawa Charge in Game 4.
Roque scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 3:49 of the second period and scored a short-handed jailbreak goal at 9:58 of the third to secure Montreal’s first Professional Women’s Hockey League championship. It’s also the first time a Canadian team has won the PWHL title in the league’s three-year history.
Marie-Philip Poulin was named the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP having tied for the post-season lead with eight points (two goals, six assists). Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 23 shots for her second playoff shutout.
Montreal defeated the two-time defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost in the semifinal to advance to the championship for the first time.
The Victoire won the first two games of the championship series in overtime, but Ottawa avoided the sweep with a 2-1 win in Game 3 on Monday.
This marks the second straight year that Ottawa lost in the final.
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Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips stopped 12 shots as the Charge were shut out for the first time this post-season.
The Charge had three power-play opportunities, including one midway through the third, but failed to capitalize. Ottawa was 0-for-10 with the advantage in the four-game series.
Montreal opened the flood gates in the third period with three goals.
After Roque’s short-handed goal made it 2-0, the Victoire extended their lead when Maggie Flaherty fired a floater from just inside the blueline that seemed to handcuff Philips at 13:54. Lina Ljungblom made it 4-0 when she won a puck battle against Ottawa’s Brianne Jenner and wrapped a shot around Philips with 4:16 left in the game.
Montreal opened the scoring at 3:49 of the second period when Poulin dropped a pass back to Roque, whose shot deflected off Rory Guilday’s stick past Philips.
The Charge generated a number of chances in the second.
Ottawa had a 3-on-1 early in the period, but Sarah Wozniewicz shot wide. Jocelyne Larocque then had a nice chance from in close but put it right in Desbiens’ pads. Wozniewicz had a second chance only to ring a shot off the post midway through the period and Emily Clark, on a partial breakaway, couldn’t beat Desbiens.
Ottawa had the best chance in the first period with a power play but managed just one shot and the game remained scoreless after the opening 20 minutes.
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