Resilient Leslie plays hero and lifesaver for Charge in 2-1 win over Victoire

OTTAWA — There was a time when Rebecca Leslie wondered if she would play professional hockey.

Her performance in Game 3 of the Professional Women’s Hockey League Walter Cup final on Monday showed just how far the Ottawa native has come.

Leslie scored the biggest goal of her career to lead the Ottawa Charge to a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Victoire and extend the best-of-five series to force Game 4 on Wednesday. Montreal still leads the championship showdown 2-1.

With the game tied 1-1 Leslie gave the Charge the lead scoring with 54.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Leslie jumped on a rebound and wristed a shot past Montreal netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens.

The hometown crowd erupted for Leslie’s heroics in a moment she won’t forget.

“I’m honestly at a loss for words,” said Leslie. “It’s so special. It’s such an honour to play for my hometown, to see a record-breaking crowd … Nothing kind of compares to how I felt in that moment. It was truly such an honour.”

Leslie’s development has come from perseverance and dedication to her craft.

Last summer the 30-year-old started her off-season training early and put in numerous extra hours to work on her skating with local skating coach Shelley Kettles. The work was often gruelling and frustrating, but the rewards have been clearly visible.

Leslie finished the regular season with 14 goals, tied for second in the league, and currently ranks second in playoff scoring with six points — four goals and two assists — behind Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who has seven points (2G, 5A).

“We’ve talked a lot about the investment she made in the off-season, you know, her impact in the game has been felt from Game 1 through, obviously, tonight,” said Charge head coach Carla MacLeod. “We get a front-row seat as coaches to watch these athletes grow and mature and find their confidence.

“Often in our industry their confidence just has to catch up to the talent level, and when that, you know comes to be, that’s when we start to see moments like we’re seeing from (Leslie) this season.”

Leslie is very much a reflection of the Charge as a whole. The team likes to describe itself as resilient with a never give up attitude.

“We love what we do and for me, there are some tough years of not knowing if I was going to ever play professionally, and not knowing if, you know, it would work out and I just kept with it,” said Leslie.

“I just kind of continued to battle and work on my skating and my stick handling, and to kind of have this opportunity this year, you know, it’s been a really special year.”

The Charge know their next game will be just as big a battle and Montreal will be looking to avoid a Game 5.

“We have a no-quit attitude, and we’ve been battling the ups and downs all season, and we believe in our group,” said Leslie. “And that’s just as simple as it is.”

This marked the first game of the final that was decided in regulation time and while they fell short the Victoire liked much of their game, but head coach Kori Cheverie admitted there is room for improvement.

“I think we just need to manage the last 10 minutes better,” said Cheverie. “You know, we’ll reset, refocus and get back to it on Wednesday.”

The Victoire have plenty of depth and experience in their lineup to draw on similar situations but this is their first trip to the Walter Cup final.

“I just think, you know, we’re a team that has never been in this situation before,” Cheverie said. “So, I think it’s completely understandable to play, you know, maybe a little bit less composed in those moments.”

Cheverie said the team will use the day in-between games to review a few things and discuss areas it can improve.

Both teams will be looking for ways to get their power play going. Neither squad has been able to score with the man advantage through the first three games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2026.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press