PWHL playoff notebook: Montreal Victoire in the driver's seat after 4OT win

Karissa Donkin · CBC Sports

· Posted: May 12, 2025 5:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Exactly a twelvemonth agone Sunday, the Montreal Victoire battled implicit 3 overtime periods, lone to travel retired connected the incorrect broadside of the game.

The nonaccomplishment to the Boston Fleet enactment Montreal down 2-0 successful the 2024 Walter Cup semifinal playoff series, a shortage the squad couldn't travel backmost from.

This clip around, the effect was different. After an exhausting 4 overtime periods against the Ottawa Charge, Kristin O'Neill acceptable up Quebec's ain Catherine Dubois for the crippled victor successful beforehand of much than 7,100 fans wrong Place Bell. The bid is present tied 1-1.

The 3-2 triumph was Montreal's archetypal franchise playoff victory, aft losing 4 playoff games implicit 2 seasons by conscionable 1 extremity each time.

This Victoire squad feels antithetic than the 1 that was swept successful the archetypal circular successful 2024. For one, it's deeper. 

Montreal's 4th enactment played sparingly, if astatine all, during past year's bid against the Fleet. This time, caput manager Kori Cheverie is utilizing her full bench. Even successful Game 1, which ended successful regulation, the fourth-line players each logged much than 10 minutes each.

The defence is deeper too. Defender Erin Ambrose played a stunning 61 minutes successful triple overtime past year. In this year's marathon game, she inactive played astir an hour. But first-round draught prime Cayla Barnes was determination to enactment successful much than 50 minutes of enactment connected the bluish line, which surely eased the load connected Ambrose.

WATCH | Victoire borderline Charge with Dubois' victor successful 4OT to adjacent series:

Beyond the added depth, Cheverie pointed to different twelvemonth of acquisition for galore players and the Victoire's staff, who person worked hard connected the intelligence mentation of what this year's playoffs could look like. They've been present earlier and they cognize what to expect.

"[It was] being capable to find a mode to bash the small things successful a infinitesimal wherever 1 squad is going to marque a mistake and 1 squad is going to capitalize connected it," Cheverie said. "Keeping things arsenic elemental arsenic imaginable wrong our ain crippled plan, wrong our ain idiosyncratic abilities arsenic well, was going to beryllium crucial."

But the squad that gives up a last-minute extremity similar that doesn't usually extremity up connected the winning side. Not truthful for the Victoire. The players didn't look rattled, nor was goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, who stood gangly contempt facing 65 shots.

"You cognize erstwhile your squad keeps doing the close things similar we did today, particularly successful overtime, that yet we're going to get one," Desbiens said aft Sunday's game. "So conscionable marque definite I marque the saves truthful that the girls tin person the accidental they worked truthful hard for each crippled agelong and each overtime long."

'We ne'er gave up'

The Charge, meanwhile, near Montreal with a divided against the top-seeded team, which is not a atrocious result.

The players who spoke to reporters aft the crippled didn't look deflated aft losing successful quadruple overtime. In fact, defender Jocelyne Larocque said she felt the Charge had the momentum.

"There's truthful overmuch to beryllium arrogant of," Larocque said aft the game. "We ne'er gave up."

The Victoire whitethorn disagree that the Charge person the momentum, but Ottawa has proven that it can't beryllium counted out.

That starts with the captain, Jenner, who comes up large erstwhile this squad needs her most, and extends to rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who doesn't look similar she's playing successful her archetypal PWHL playoff series.

"I thought we made immoderate bully adjustments from Game 1 to Game 2. I thought we really played a heck of a hockey game. So I deliberation it's little astir the emotion of the momentum and much conscionable the item of our crippled that tin lend itself nicely to the adjacent game."

The bid moves to Ottawa for Game 3 connected Tuesday astatine 7 p.m. ET.

Decision connected Game 4 starter looming for Toronto

While the Victoire and Charge made past for the longest PWHL game, the Minnesota Frost's 7-5 triumph implicit the Toronto Sceptres was the highest scoring crippled the league has seen yet.

Minnesota took a 2-1 bid pb with the win, and person the accidental to beforehand to the last connected Wednesday astatine home. The crippled is acceptable for 7 p.m. ET.

The Frost's offence is heating up astatine the close time. The squad has present scored 25 goals successful the past 5 games, dating backmost to the regular season.

Many cognize Frost defender Lee Stecklein arsenic 1 of the champion antiaircraft defenders successful the world. She excels astatine utilizing her agelong instrumentality to interruption up plays, and did a batch of that connected Sunday.

"She's that stableness connected the bluish line, but besides is the apical of our powerfulness play [and] retired determination playing large minutes," Minnesota guardant Taylor Heise said connected Monday.

Stecklein has recovered an violative interaction implicit the past 5 games. In that time, she's enactment up 9 points including six goals. Her extremity connected Sunday gave Minnesota a commanding 3-0 lead. She besides added an assistance connected Michela Cava's extremity successful the 3rd period, which enactment the crippled distant for the Frost.

With offence coming from up beforehand and the bluish enactment — defender Sophie Jaques has 7 points successful the past 5 games — Minnesota has go a hard squad for Toronto to stop.

There was treatment astir pulling Campbell for backup Carly "CJ" Jackson connected Sunday, but the coaching unit decided to support Jackson removed from the game.

"If we truthful take to usage her successful Game 4, astatine slightest she tin travel successful caller with her ain start, feeling bully astir wherever she is," Ryan said connected Monday.

Regular backup Raygan Kirk is connected semipermanent injured reserve and not expected to instrumentality during this series.

That means the squad has to determine whether to crook backmost to Campbell oregon power to Jackson for a must-win playoff crippled connected the road. Ryan besides said the squad has assurance successful Campbell, who has had an up-and-down season.

With nary country for different loss, it could beryllium a series-deciding question.

"She knows she has to beryllium amended and we cognize she needs to beryllium better," Ryan said astir Campbell.

"But we're besides not going to marque immoderate speedy decisions. We'll spell done immoderate video. We'll person immoderate treatment with immoderate athletes and immoderate unit members, and yet we'll travel up with the determination that champion fits our squad astatine this moment."