Abby Roque scored twice and Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 23 shots as the Montreal Victoire claimed their first PWHL title with a 4-0 win over the Ottawa Charge in Game 4 of the Walter Cup Finals Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Maggie Flaherty and Lina Ljungblom also scored for Montreal, who started the best-of-five series with two overtime wins at home before dropping a 2-1 game in Ottawa on Monday. Home teams had won the last five finals games before Montreal\u2019s clincher.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust so much love for this group,\u201d Roque said. \u201cThe things we have battled through these playoffs, it was just out of this world the amount of heart on this team. I love everybody and I couldn’t be prouder.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Frost won the league\u2019s first two titles, including last year\u2019s four-game championship series victory over Ottawa. Montreal ousted Minnesota in this season\u2019s semifinals to reach the final.<\/p>\n
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated Montreal, tweeting, \u201cAn incredible and historic season \u2014 the Cup comes home for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin was named playoff MVP. She tied for the postseason lead with eight points, scoring two goals and adding six assists.<\/p>\n
Poulin reflected on the uncertainty women\u2019s hockey faced before the PWHL was launched. \u201cAfter the CWHL closed its doors there were two years where we didn’t really know what was going to happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a group of women who came together to put this league together. Three years later it all comes together to win the Walter Cup. It feels good. It feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poulin also spoke about the league\u2019s impact on young girls. \u201cWhen you see little girls in the stands, we see parents seeing that there’s possibilities, there’s dreams there. It’s unbelievable. So, to see what this league is all about, it’s really special to be part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roque opened the scoring at 3:49 of the second period with a deflected shot off Ottawa defender Rory Guilday\u2019s stick. On a break with Poulin, Roque swept the puck from the right corner into the middle where it glanced off Guilday and beat goalie Gwyneth Philips.<\/p>\n
Roque added a short-handed goal at 9:58 of the third period, cutting across the crease on a breakaway and beating Philips with a backhander.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I’ve been waiting for these playoffs for a long time,\u201d Roque said. \u201cI love playoff hockey. I love meaningful hockey when it’s physical and it’s tough and there’s not a lot of room to do much out there. That’s where it’s fun to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poulin was off the ice for interference on Roque\u2019s short-handed goal. Montreal also killed a penalty in each of the first two periods, while Ottawa remained penalty-free.<\/p>\n
Flaherty made it 3-0 with 6:06 remaining, firing a shot from the blue line through traffic into the top right corner. Ljungblom sealed the win with a goal off a turnover at 4:16 left.<\/p>\n
The Victoire are scheduled to depart Ottawa Thursday morning, heading back to Montreal\u2019s Verdun Auditorium to celebrate their Walter Cup victory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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