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Abby Roque scored her second goal of the game 2:29 into overtime as the Montreal Victoire defeated the Ottawa Charge 3-2 in Game 1 of the Walter Cup final in the Professional Women’s Hockey League on Thursday night at Place Bell.
Maggie Flaherty’s point shot pinballed in the crease and hit Roque before going into the net.
Nicole Gosling scored the tying goal late for Montreal, while Ann-Renee Desbiens made 23 saves.
Rebecca Leslie had two goals and Gwyneth Philips made 23 saves for the Charge.
Montreal forced overtime with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation. Marie-Philip Poulin threw the puck on net, and after Maureen Murphy’s attempt was blocked, Gosling made a sprawling attempt to put the puck past Philips.
The goal came with the extra attacker on for Montreal, and right after Victoire forward Laura Stacey left the game after a collision with Ottawa forward Gabbie Hughes that put the faceoff outside the Charge zone with 18 seconds remaining. Stacey returned to the game for overtime and earned an assist on the game-winning goal.
CBC Sports insider Karissa Donkin sets the scene for the Walter Cup final in Montreal and gives her insight on the PWHL expansion decisions.
Ottawa came close to sealing the game when Brianne Jenner hit the outside of the post with Desbiens on the bench with less than two minutes remaining in the third period.
Leslie’s second goal of the game came with 4:04 remaining in the third period when she had the puck entering the zone and moved laterally to open the five-hole, beating Desbiens.
Montreal had 1:12 of a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period. The Victoire mustered one shot on goal on the advantage but their best chance came when Erin Ambrose’s shot rang off the post.
PWHL Walter Cup final schedule
- Saturday, May 16: Game 2, Ottawa at Montreal, 2 p.m. ET
- Monday, May 18: Game 3, Montreal at Ottawa, 6 p.m. ET
- Wednesday, May 20: Game 4, Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m. ET (if necessary)
*Game 5 TBD (if necessary)
They broke through 12:12 into the third period when Nadia Mattivi took the puck down low before finding Roque whose shot from the slot beat Philips.
It was Roque’s first career PWHL playoff goal and Mattivi’s first point in her first playoff game after spending the semifinal on the team’s reserve roster. She was signed to a 10-day contract on Thursday and played in six regular-season games.
Ottawa opened the scoring with 3:04 remaining in the second period. After starting a 3-on-1 rush, Leslie elected to shoot from the slot with her passing options taken away. Desbiens made the save but Leslie collected the puck and shot the rebound over a chaotic crease area with several players and the goaltender sprawled on the ice.
The first period had no goals, mostly thanks to Desbiens. After a neutral zone turnover, Jenner had a breakaway, but her backhand deke was stopped by the Montreal goaltender, who also had to make two saves on Fanuza Kadirova in the opening frame. The Charge outshot Montreal 10-5 in the first and had the period’s only power play.
Game 2 will be played Saturday afternoon in Montreal.
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