The Montréal Victoire are the 2026 Walter Cup Champions after defeating the Ottawa Charge 4-0 on Wednesday (May 20) and winning the best-of-five series 3-1.
Abby Roque opened up the scoring in the second period, assisted by Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey. Roque scored again, a jailbreak goal, in the third period, breaking the captain, Poulin, out of the penalty box. Maggie Flaherty and Lina Ljungblom also scored for Montreal in the third.
The PWHL Ilana Kloss playoff MVP trophy was presented to Montreal’s captain, Marie-Philip Poulin, the most valuable player of the playoffs.
The Charge hosted game four of the all-Canadian final at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario, in front of 12,362 fans.
The crowd erupted when Poulin hoisted the cup. She passed it off to goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, whose shutout performance helped secure Montreal’s victory.
ALLEZ VICTOIRE
pic.twitter.com/9mSMAinH25
— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) May 21, 2026
Poulin told a PWHL reporter after the game that Desbiens should have won the MVP award, as viewers could see Poulin shaking her head and pointing at Desbiens as the award was announced.
“She was our brick wall all year long, but honestly, in the playoffs again, she did some stuff that we didn’t know was possible, and honestly, she’s an MVP,” she said.
Poulin added that it felt “quite good” to win the cup after all the ups and downs they had gone through this season.
This is the first time the Walter Cup has come to Canada, with the Minnesota Frost winning the cup the past two seasons.
The Walter Cup was made in partnership with Tiffany & Co.
The PWHL returns next season, but with four expansion teams joining the league alongside the original six and the 2025-2026 two expansion teams.
About the Author: Anna Burns
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