Montreal Victoire goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens admitted to experiencing goosebumps at the mere thought of envisioning teammate and captain Marie-Philip Poulin lifting Walter Cup championship trophy.
鈥淪he is a legend. the one and only one,鈥� Desbiens said during a Zoom conference call with reporters on Wednesday. 鈥淔or me to witness that, I would be so lucky as a teammate to have this opportunity to share this moment with her because of everything she鈥檚 done, and because of everything she鈥檚 still doing.鈥�
Poulin and the Victoire aren鈥檛 there yet. But they are preparing to open their best-of-five Walter Cup Finals series, hosting the Ottawa Charge on Thursday night. What鈥檚 also true is the Victoire wouldn鈥檛 be making their first finals appearance if not for Poulin who, at 35, continues adding to the clutch reputation she earned by scoring three Olympic gold medal-clinching goals.
Despite a lower-body injury limiting her ice time, Poulin delivered two winning goals 鈥� including the 鈥� in Montreal鈥檚 five-game elimination of the two-time defending champion Minnesota Frost. Her other winner came in a 1-0 triple-OT decision .
In advancing, the Victoire avoided a repeat of their past two semifinal losses, and became the PWHL鈥檚 first higher-seeded team to win a playoff series in the league鈥檚 three seasons.
鈥淪he is the best player in the world,鈥� Victoire coach Kori Cheverie said, noting Poulin also blocked two shots in the closing minutes of Montreal鈥檚 2-1 Game 5 win. 鈥淥ur team is so proud of her. And we鈥檙e lucky that she鈥檚 with us and continues to be a great captain.鈥�
It鈥檚 the Charge standing in Montreal鈥檚 way in the PWHL鈥檚 first all-Canadian title matchup. Ottawa returns to the finals after .
The fourth-seeded Charge are the more rested team after having been off since a in Game 4 on Sunday.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of our group that we鈥檙e able to make it back here,鈥� Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy to get to this point. We know there鈥檚 one step left, and it鈥檚 going to be the hardest step.鈥�
The meeting is a rematch of last year鈥檚 semifinals, in which the fourth-seeded Charge upset Montreal in four games all decided by one goal. Montreal won this year鈥檚 season series by going 3-0-1.
The teams feature two respected leaders in Poulin and Jenner, long-time Team Canada teammates. The goalie matchup pits Desbiens, another Team Canada veteran, facing off against Team USA backup Gwyneth Philips, who was last year鈥檚 playoff MVP.
鈥淲e were a great team last year, and I think we鈥檙e a great team this year,鈥� Charge coach Carla MacLeod said. 鈥淲e know it鈥檚 a fresh go at it, but at the same breath there鈥檚 a presence in our room that understands what it鈥檚 going to take to try to get this thing done.鈥�
Women behind both benches
This marks the first PWHL final in which both teams are coached by women, which MacLeod called 鈥渁 complicated鈥� subject to address in a text to The Associated Press.
鈥淚n 2026, it shouldn鈥檛 be considered special to have two women coaching in a final. But the reality is, there are only two female coaches in the league, so it still matters,鈥� she wrote.
鈥淭he PWHL has helped create a space where women can be seen as leaders in professional sport, and that visibility matters,鈥� MacLeod added. 鈥淚 hope we get to a place where women coaches are given the same opportunities as men 鈥� where their experience is recognized simply as experience, and they’re trusted to coach and lead all athletes regardless of gender.
鈥淕ood hockey is good hockey. Good coaching is good coaching.鈥�
USA gold-medal presence
Philips, Ottawa defender Rory Guilday and Montreal forward Hayley Scamurra have a chance to win a second championship in three months. All three were members of the .
鈥淚t鈥檚 been nice for me to come out of that with the gold medal and ride that momentum and bring positive energy to the team,鈥� said Scamurra, who scored Montreal’s winning goal in a 2-1 victory against Minnesota in Game 3. 鈥淚鈥檝e just been feeling really confident, honestly, all season, but especially after (winning gold). It鈥檚 been fun to play with an edge, and excited to bring that to the finals for the Walter Cup.鈥�
Can鈥檛 avoid Ottawa now
As regular-season champs, the Victoire bucked the standings over Ottawa as their semifinal opponent. Now they can鈥檛 avoid the Charge.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if anything was about avoiding, because I would say that playing the back-to-back Walter Cup champions is probably just as hard of a competition that we would face,鈥� Cheverie said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, we said we have to go through everybody if we want to get to where we want to get to.鈥�
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