Flaherty’s OT goal moves Victoire closer to first Walter Cup

LAVAL — Maggie Flaherty saw five Ottawa Charge players headed toward the side boards, and made a beeline toward the slot screaming for Marie-Philip Poulin to get her the puck.

The pass from the Montreal Victoire captain, as it often does, landed right on Flaherty’s tape and she one-timed the shot over the glove of netminder Gwyneth Philips.

Flaherty’s second goal of the playoffs came 14:12 into overtime to give the Victoire a 2-1 win over the Charge in Game 2 of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Walter Cup final on Saturday at Place Bell.

The win gives Montreal a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Ottawa will host Game 3 on Monday as the Charge face elimination for the first time in this post-season.

Turns out, though, that Flaherty may not have had to yell. Poulin, who leads the PWHL in playoff scoring, said she saw her teammate out of the corner of her eye.

“She’s Pou,” said Victoire defender Kati Tabin, who also scored for Montreal, when asked about how she made the play before adding that she has eyes in the back of her head. Flaherty then added that she has eyes all around her head.

Sarah Wozniewicz scored for the Charge, who had a chance to win the game just before the play went the other way. Alexa Vasko’s shot was stopped by Ann-Renee Desbiens seconds before the winning goal. Desbiens made 20 saves on the night as Montreal outshot Ottawa 29-21.

The Charge were unhappy with the overtime winner, feeling defender Emma Greco was tripped in the defensive zone just before Flaherty was wide open.

“At the end of the day, we probably put too many players in toward the puck, but our net-front D is going to be net front but if she gets her feet wiped out from under her right before that play, it’s pretty hard to get back to where you need to be,” said Charge head coach Carla McLeod.

Ottawa was held without a shot for the first eight minutes of the game but opened the scoring on its first opportunity.

After a shot hit the post behind Desbiens, Wozniewicz found the puck in the crease and tucked it in the net.

Montreal outshot the Charge 11-5 in the opening frame, despite killing the period’s only penalty. During the kill, both teams had scoring chances.

Montreal’s Laura Stacey had a breakaway but was unable to get a shot off, while Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie fired a one-timer off the post. Philips made big saves on Catherine Dubois and Hayley Scamurra at even strength.

“It’s a long game,” said Poulin. “We were happy with the way we came out in the first 20 minutes. Sometimes, it isn’t always reflected in the score but for us it was to continue, put in the work and keep digging.”

The Victoire tied the game 32 seconds into the second period.

Off the faceoff, Tabin picked up a loose puck and roofed a backhand on Philips. It was the defender’s first goal of the playoffs.

It was the only goal of a physical middle period, with Ottawa outshooting Montreal 6-4. The best chance was a Stacey breakaway attempt when her wrist shot hit the crossbar. Both teams had unsuccessful power plays in the first half of the third period.

The Charge, who have now lost five straight games in the final dating back to last season, are down 2-0 despite being the only team to lead the series in regulation time. Montreal’s only leads have come on their overtime winners.

“Welcome to sport,” McLeod said. “You just keep going. We’re finding ways to score goals, we’re finding ways to win games throughout the playoffs. We believe in what we do.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2026.

Jared Book, The Canadian Press