Victoire rally late, beat Charge in overtime in Game 1

If that’s how every game will be, we’re in for a fun series.

In the first game of the 2026 Walter Cup Final, the Montreal Victoire needed some late-game heroics and a little bit of puck luck to steal a 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Charge.

Just like all four games of last year’s final, Game 1 needed extra time. The Victoire, riding the momentum from tying the game late in regulation, jumped on the Charge early in OT. Just over two minutes into the period, Maggie Flaherty took a point shot that bounced off a couple of bodies before hitting the facemask of Abby Roque and trickling into the empty net.

How we got to overtime was a story within itself. The Charge carried a 1-0 lead into the third period, thanks to Charge forward Rebecca Leslie’s second goal of the playoffs. The way Ottawa kept Montreal’s offense at bay, it seemed like that was going to be enough. However, with less than eight minutes to play, Victoire defender Nadia Mattivi, in her first game of the playoffs, set up Roque for her first of the postseason to put the Victoire on the board.

The goal pumped some life back into Place Bell, which had been very quiet since the first period. However, the fans piped down just a few minutes after Roque’s tally, a great play from Sarah Woznewicz caused a turnover at the Charge blue line. It led to Leslie making another great play to beat Ann-Renee Desbiens for her second of the game, giving Ottawa the lead once again.

As the seconds ticked down, it seemed as if the Charge was going to get the job done in regulation. With less than 20 seconds to go, the air was sucked out of the building after Victoire forward Laura Stacey went down with an apparent knee injury after being checked by Charge forward Gabbie Hughes. Stacey was in a great bit of distress and had to be helped off the ice by her teammate and partner, Marie-Philip Poulin.

That seemed to be the nail in coffin…until Poulin made a great play to put the puck on net, with Nicole Gosling banging home the rebound with just 2.1 seconds on the clock to send the game to extra time.

Surprisingly, Stacey was able to return to the game and provided a screen on Philips on the overtime winner, earning a primary assist in the process, giving her two helpers on the night.

It was clear that the Charge had a couple of extra days off, and maybe some of the Victoire were still recovering from whatever bug forced Game 5 against the Minnesota Frost to be postponed. Ottawa controlled the play for much of the contest. The shots were 18-13 in favor of the visitors through two periods of play, with Montreal ending up on top, 26-25 by game’s end, thanks to its ferocious attack late in the third.

The loss certainly stings for the Charge, just a couple of seconds away from stealing home-ice advantage in a best-of-five series. Now, they’re tasked with rebounding in the second game of the series, or else they’ll be facing elimination when the final heads to Kanata.

Outside of the bad rebound that led to the tying goal, Philips was solid for the Charge, making 23 saves. Desbiens did her best to keep the Victoire in the game early on, finishing with 23 stops herself. Both teams couldn’t capitalize on the power play on Thursday, with the Charge going 0-for-2 with the player advantage, and the Victoire were 0-for-3, including faltering on a 5-on-3 early in the third period.

Game 2 in Laval is set for Saturday afternoon, with puck drop scheduled for 2 p.m ET.

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