Montréal is one win away from its first PWHL title, holding a towering 2-0 lead over Ottawa after this weekend’s best-of-five Walter Cup finals slate.
Games 1 and 2 both went to overtime, with the Victoire taking Thursday’s opener 3-2 off an Abby Roque game-winner, before securing Saturday’s 2-1 victory courtesy of Maggie Flaherty.
“We’ve been a team all year that has defended by committee and as a collective, they did the job in both ends of the rink today,” said head coach Kori Cheverie.
The Walter Cup final series now shifts to Ottawa for Game 3.
“It’s exciting. I think it's going to be great to get back home and get in front of our fans,” said Charge captain Brianne Jenner. “It was amazing last series and we're just looking forward to their energy helping us.”
Report: PWHL to Add San Jose to 2026/27 Expansion Team List
The PWHL also made headlines off the ice, as San Jose will reportedly join Detroit, Hamilton, and Las Vegas in the rapidly expanding league.
With an official announcement expected Tuesday, the California expansion squad will tip the PWHL’s scales firmly south, with seven US-based and five Canadian teams.
Where to Watch Montréal vs Ottawa in the PWHL Walter Cup Finals
Montréal shoots for the sweep tonight at 6 PM ET, live on ION.
The Montreal Victoire pulled off a stunning comeback to defeat the Ottawa Charge in Game 1 of the PWHL Walter Cup Finals on Thursday night.
In a game that seemed destined for an Ottawa victory, Montreal erased a late deficit to silence the crowd of rowdy Charge fans at TD Place. With their thrilling overtime win, the Victoire now hold a 1-0 series lead in their quest for the PWHL championship.
Abby Roque Nets 'Miracle' Overtime Goal
The game reached a fever pitch in the final few seconds of regulation. Trailing by one, Montreal pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. The gamble ultimately paid off when the Victoire found the back of the net with just 2.1 seconds remaining on the clock.
That down-to-the-wire surge sent the match into a sudden-death overtime period where star forward Abby Roque got a lucky break. As she weaved through the Ottawa defense, an errant pass ricocheted off her helmet and into the back of the net.
"I just saw the puck go right between my eyes and… then it somehow went in," she said after the game. "I was just hoping that's a goal."
Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie summed up the wild on-ice twist by dubbing it " a miracle in Laval."
Laura Stacey Injury Update
The biggest question for Montreal Victoire fans heading into Saturday is the status of alternate captain Laura Stacey. During the final minute of regulation in Game 1, Stacey took a heavy hit into the boards from Ottawa's Gabbie Hughes.
The star winger appeared to be in extreme pain and had to be helped off the ice by Marie-Philip Poulin, sparking immediate fears of a season-ending leg injury. But Stacey provided a massive emotional lift by returning for the start of overtime.
Not only did she play through the discomfort, but she also recorded the primary assist on Roque’s game-winning goal. Stacey finished the night with 21:54 of ice time, proving her essential role in the Victoire lineup. While there is no official word yet on her status, Stacey's ability to finish Game 1 is a positive sign for her availability during the tournament.
PWHL Walter Cup Finals: What’s Next for Montreal vs. Ottawa
The heartbreaking Game 1 loss is a tough pill to swallow for the Ottawa Charge, who controlled the pace for the first two periods at Place Bell. Still, the best-of-five series format gives them a quick chance to rebound.
The quest for the PWHL 2026 championship continues with a high-stakes schedule:
- Game 2: Saturday, May 16th at 2 PM ET
- Game 3: Monday, May 18th at 6 PM ET
- Game 4 (if necessary): Wednesday, May 20th at 7 PM ET
- Game 5 (if necessary): TBD
Fans can stream the tournament on the PWHL YouTube channel.
The 2026 Walter Cup is headed North, after Canadian titans Montréal and Ottawa won their PWHL semifinals in dramatic fashion.
The Victoire knocked off two-time reigning champions Minnesota on Tuesday to reach its first-ever finals, with captain Marie-Philip Poulin’s game-winner sealing the deal.
“It’s our biggest win in organization history,” said Montréal head coach Kori Cheverie. “We had to fight tooth and nail against a team like Minnesota. It wasn’t easy.”
“We're not done yet,” Poulin added. “We want to get to work here, and we're excited to get going on the 14th.”
The Victoire faces a Charge team with ample Walter Cup experience, after Ottawa fell just short of the Frost to finish as 2024/25 runner-up.
The Charge ousted Boston in Sunday’s double-overtime thriller, with final goal-scorer Michela Cava sending the Fleet packing.
“That was a big one,” said midseason Ottawa addition Cava. “I have been so close so many times and it feels really good just to get this one for the girls.”
Where to Watch the 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Finals
The 2026 Walter Cup Finals kick off Thursday at 7 PM ET, live on ION.
The 2026 PWHL playoffs brought the heat over the weekend, while the league also announced plans to add four teams via a new process that scraps the traditional PWHL expansion draft.
Two-time Walter Cup winner Minnesota took a 1-0 series lead over top-seeded Montréal with Saturday's 5-4 overtime victory. Jincy Roese scored the game-winner after Laura Stacey recorded the first hat trick in PWHL playoffs history for the Victoire.
Elsewhere, Ottawa evened its series against Boston 1-1 behind goalie Gwyneth Philips's 30-save performance.
The PWHL playoffs opened with intense physicality, as officials called 29 penalties through three games — including two majors and at least one suspension. Boston's Rylind MacKinnon subsequently served a one-game suspension for head contact against Ottawa's Gabbie Hughes.
"This series will be so tight," Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod said after Game 2's 3-1 finish. "We've seen it and we've said after last game, it's going to be hard-fought."
"Our players battle hard," Frost manager Ken Klee said after Game 1's 5-4 overtime win. "Sometimes it's us making mistakes, or other times it's just them making great plays."
PWHL Looks to Add Four Teams Without Expansion Draft
According to documents obtained by The Athletic, the PWHL expansion process will begin May 28th with multiple signing windows instead of an expansion draft. The league aims to give players more autonomy while adding four teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.
Expansion teams can now issue Expansion Franchise Offers — guaranteed contracts worth at least $100,000 with player-determined length up to four years. Teams may also hand out Foundational Player Offers worth $80,000 minimum over two years, with players free to decline the offers.
Unlike the previous expansion draft, existing teams can protect three players initially, then three more for a total of six throughout the five-phase process. However, teams can't lose more than four contracted players.
"Our approach has been thoughtful and player-focused, and we'll share more details at the appropriate time," the PWHL said in a statement.
Vancouver won the No. 1 pick in the June 17th PWHL entry draft, with Wisconsin and Team USA star defender Caroline Harvey expected to go first.
The 2026 PWHL postseason field is set, as Ottawa joined No. 1 Montréal, No. 2 Boston, and two-time defending champion No. 3 Minnesota with Saturday’s 3-0 win over Toronto.
The Victoire earned the No. 1 overall seed after a six-round 2-1 shootout win over Seattle on Saturday, opting to face Minnesota in this week’s best-of-five semifinal series.
“[Results] going all the way to the very end on the last day, I think it speaks to the quality of every single team in this league,” said Montréal head coach Kori Cheverie.
Four teams qualify for the Walter Cup playoffs, with the No. 1 seed earning both home ice and first opponent choice advantage.
However, the lower seed has gone on to win all four of the third-year league’s previous semifinals — putting the Victoire and Fleet on watch.
The Frost will look to lean on star Kelly Pannek, after the forward finished the regular season as the PWHL’s Points and Goals Leader.
“I think the mindset is celebrating the wins of the regular season, the successes we’ve had,” said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield on Saturday. “Now let’s turn the page, and the new season begins — and that’s playoff hockey. That’s the best hockey that there is.”
How to Watch the 2026 PWHL Playoffs
The Walter Cup playoffs kick off Thursday at 7 PM ET, live on YouTube.
USA Hockey is officially off to the races at the 2026 Winter Olympics, hitting the ice in Milan for their initial group-stage matchup against Czechia on Thursday morning ahead of Friday's Opening Ceremony.
The competition's preliminary round features two groups of five teams, with Team USA squaring off against fellow automatic quarterfinalists Czechia, Finland, Switzerland, and Canada in Group A over the next six days to determine seeding for the knockout rounds.
Meanwhile, the countries comprising Group B — Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan — will concurrently play their round-robin group stage, but with higher stakes: Only the top three finishers from their pool will advance to the knockouts.
"It's a clean slate every time you get to a tournament," Team USA captain Hilary Knight said. "You have to work hard."
The US and Canada enter the eighth edition of the tournament as strong gold-medal favorites, but the rapid rise of the PWHL has produced the deepest field in Olympic history.
Czechia's roster includes eight PWHL players, with a total of 22 PWHL athletes representing six European countries at the Winter Games.
Along with the 16 standouts playing for Team USA and the 23 on Canada's roster, 61 PWHL players — 30% of the entire North American league — are competing on the Olympic ice this month.
"It's only our second Olympics," said Czechia head coach Carla MacLeod, who also helms the PWHL's Ottawa Charge. "But certainly there's a belief in the room that we can go play our best games and see where it takes us."
How to watch USA hockey vs. Czechia at the Winter Olympics
USA Hockey will open their 2026 Winter Olympics against Czechia at 10:40 AM ET on Thursday, with live coverage airing on USA Network.
The puck dropped on the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour on Wednesday, when the No. 2 Montréal Victoire took down the No. 5 Toronto Sceptres 2-1 in an overtime shootout in front of a sold-out crowd in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Packed into Scotiabank Centre, 10,438 fans watched Team Canada and Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin score the shootout's lone goal, handing Montréal their third straight win.
"It was amazing to see the young girls and boys in the crowd wearing our jerseys, saying our names, and wanting our autographs," said Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie. "It's just extremely special."
The PWHL's 16-stop Takeover Tour is just beginning, with nine games planned for Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Washington DC, Denver, and more before the league pauses for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
"We hope that the impact is a positive one. Everywhere we go, that's the impression we want to leave — for little girls to know that they have a dream and that their dream can become a reality," said Sceptres captain and Nova Scotia product Blayre Turnbull following Wednesday's Tour stop.
Halifax marks the third-year league's fourth sold-out stop, joining fellow Canadian cities Edmonton, Québec City, and Vancouver.
How to attend the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour
The PWHL will next pull into Chicago's Allstate Arena for a Takeover Tour stop on Sunday, when the No. 8 Ottawa Charge will take on the No. 6 Minnesota Frost on at 2 PM ET.
Tickets are currently available for purchase via Ticketmaster.
The PWHL hit a new single-season salary record, with the Associated Press reporting that the contract extension inked by Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark last week pushes her 2025/26 season payday north of the $100,000 mark.
The two-year extension will keep Clark in Ottawa through the PWHL's fifth season in 2027/28.
While the specific amount is not public, the restructuring of Clark's third-season pay — the last on her initial PWHL contract — will reportedly net her the highest single-season salary in league history.
"We know what she brings. She's really the heart and soul of our organization," Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld told the AP.
A two-time Olympian who earned 2018 silver and 2022 gold with Team Canada, Clark is the only player to have taken the ice in every Charge game to date. The 29-year-old was second on Ottawa's 2024/25 scoresheet with nine goals and 10 assists in last season's 30 games.
"I am proud to have been part of this organization from the inaugural season, and I am really grateful to get to extend my contract," Clark said in a statement. "Playing for such a passionate fan base made it easy for me to want more time here.... After coming up just short of the Walter Cup last season, I am as motivated as ever to work to bring a championship in Ottawa."
While the PWHL requires a minimum salary of $35,000, the league does not set any individual maximum pay.
The only other figures that PWHL front offices must abide by are the $1.3 million-per-team 2025/26 salary cap, and a CBA mandate that at least six players on each squad must earn a minimum of $80,000.
Next season, Clark will be one of nine PWHL players making a six-figure salary, as the league expands from six to eight teams.
The Minnesota Frost are back-to-back PWHL champions, taking down the Ottawa Charge 2-1 in Game 4 of the league's best-of-five Finals to lift the Walter Cup for the second time on Monday.
All bouts in the 2025 PWHL Finals were overtime affairs that finished in 2-1 results, with No. 3-seed Ottawa claiming Game 1 before the No. 4-seed Frost swept the next three games to claim the 2024/25 league title.
Monday's deciding matchup saw forward Kelly Pannek give Minnesota their first lead of the entire series by striking first in the second period before Ottawa forward Tereza Vanišová equalized in the third to force overtime.
Following 12 extra minutes of play, Frost forward Liz Schepers netted the game-winner — doing so for the second year in a row — to secure the Walter Cup in front of a Minnesota home crowd of 11,024 fans.
"I'll win anywhere. It's always fun — but to get to do it at home is extra special," said Frost defenseman Lee Stecklein following the Memorial Day victory.
Frost's Stecklein, Charge's Philips top PWHL Playoffs stat sheet
Stecklein finished the postseason as the league's scoring leader, notching four goals and four assists to finish atop the Frost-laden skaters' table with eight points — narrowly surpassing the seven points posted by teammates Sophie Jaques (two goals, five assists) and Taylor Heise (one goal, six assists).
On the other hand, Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips led all net-minders on the PWHL's postseason stat sheet while playing the most minutes between the pipes in league history.
The rookie's failure to drop a single game in regulation throughout the Charge's eight playoff matchups helped earn her the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award, despite Monday's series loss.
Notably, Minnesota's second straight PWHL championship belies the Frost's underdog status.
After needing another team's downfall to even squeak into the playoffs, doing to on the last day of the regular season, Minnesota got hot at just the right time to retain their singular hold on the second-year league's title.
"It's the belief we have in the room," Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said after the win. "It's hard to put into words. I think when you look at the way we won, it takes everybody."
For the second straight year, the 2025 PWHL Finals are down to the postseason's underdogs, with the No. 3 seed Ottawa Charge and the No. 4 seed Minnesota Frost facing off in the best-of-five championship series after ousting the league's top teams.
Minnesota booked their Finals spot with a 3-1 series victory over No. 2 seed Toronto last Wednesday, before Ottawa ousted top-seeded Montréal by the same series margin on Friday.
While the Frost gear up to defend their 2024 Walter Cup title this week, first-time playoff team Ottawa will aim to make even more history by securing Canada’s first-ever PWHL trophy.
This year's PWHL Finals pits Minnesota's red-hot offense, which netted 18 goals across four semifinal games, against Ottawa's shutdown defense.
Led by rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips — a 2025 Goaltender of the Year finalist — the Charge allowed just six pucks into the net through four playoff games.
Philips's top save percentage and low 1.14 goals-against average will be put to the test by the Frost, who claim seven of the PWHL's Top-8 postseason players, led by forward Taylor Heise and her seven playoff points.
How to watch the 2025 PWHL Finals
The puck drops on the 2025 PWHL Finals tonight at 7 PM ET, as Minnesota hits the ice against Ottawa live on YouTube.