Montreal Wins Walter Cup in Women's Hockey

While the Montreal Canadiens continue their quest for a Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League (NHL), their female counterparts - Montreal Victoire - did their part by winning their first Walter Cup in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) after a 4-0 win over the Ottawa Charge to win the series 3-1.

Montreal's win was the first time a Canadian team has won the league championship.

Abby Roque scored twice, Ann-Renée Desbiens made 23 saves. Maggie Flaherty and Lina Ljungblom also scored. Montreal opened the best-of-five series at home with two overtime victories, then fell 2-1 at Ottawa on Monday night. Home teams had won the last five finals games.

Watch highlights of Game 4 here: https://youtu.be/Qlwazx9UNOI?si=KO8wW7x0fggxyRZn

Next season the PWHL will welcome four new expansion franchises in Detroit, Las Vegas, Hamilton, Ont., and San Jose, Calif., which will increase its size to 12 teams spread more widely across North America. The league could soon be split into two conferences, or multiple divisions, with a schedule designed to maximize rivalries and limit any travel concerns that might come with a larger footprint.

Original six teams (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York and Minnesota) were largely clustered in the Northeast, save for the Minnesota Frost. Next year, there will be two teams in the Midwest (Detroit and Minnesota) and four in the West (Seattle, Vancouver, San Jose and Las Vegas), while the remaining six teams are in the East (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York and Hamilton).

PWHL Season Recap:

1. Montreal Victoire (62 pts)
2. Boston Fleet (62 pts)
3. Minnesota Frost (50 pts)
4. Ottawa Charge (44 pts)
5. Toronto Sceptres (38 pts)
6. Vancouver Goldeneyes (37 pts)
7. New York Sirens (36 pts)
8. Seattle Torrent (31 pts)

Playoffs

Semifinals

Ottawa defeated Boston 1-2, 3-1, 2-1, 4-3(2 ot)

Montreal defeated Minnesota 4-5(ot), 1-0(3 ot), 2-1, 1-3, 2-1

Final

Montreal defeated Ottawa 3-2(ot), 2-1(ot), 1-2, 4-0