Montreal Victoire win first Walter Cup, beat Ottawa 4-0

The Montreal Victoire are Professional Women’s Hockey League champions for the first time, defeating the Ottawa Charge 4-0 on Wednesday night in Ottawa to claim the Walter Cup. The victory in Game 4 of the best-of-five final series also marks the first championship for a Canadian team in the league’s three-year history.

Forward Abby Roque led the decisive win, scoring twice. She opened the scoring late in the second period when a shot deflected off a defender and past Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips. Roque then secured the victory with a pivotal shorthanded goal midway through the third period, skating the length of the ice on a penalty kill to score on a backhand. Teammates Maggie Flaherty and Lina Ljungblom added third-period goals to seal the 4-0 result.

Victoire goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens made 23 saves to earn the shutout, her second of the playoffs. Philips stopped 12 shots for the Charge. The first three games of the series were closely contested, with Montreal winning the first two in overtime before Ottawa staved off elimination with a 2-1 victory in Game 3.

The Victoire returned to Montreal on Thursday morning to a celebration with fans at the Verdun Auditorium, the...