The Montréal Victoire have punched their ticket to the Walter Cup Final.
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin found the game-winner early in the third on Tuesday, as the Victoire defeated the Minnesota Frost 2-1 to win Game 5 and take the series 3-2. In between the pipes, Ann-Renée Desbiens also played hero on multiple occasions for Montréal, coming up with a number of highlight-reel saves to secure the win.
Catherine Dubois opened the scoring for Montréal in the first period, taking a faceoff feed from Poulin and burying it. Minnesota tied things up with a second period marker from Sam Cogan. Ultimately, they were unable to solve Desbiens a second time. Montréal controlled the momentum of the game following Poulin’s third-period goal.
Game 5 was originally scheduled for Monday, but the league postponed the game due to “player safety concerns related to illness.”
The Victoire got off to a rough start in this semi-final series, falling 5-4 in overtime in a messy Game 1 at home. They responded with a 1-0 win in triple overtime in Game 2. Next, they split the two contests in Minnesota, forcing Tuesday’s do-or-die contest.
Montréal will now face the Ottawa Charge in the Walter Cup Final. Last season, Ottawa eliminated Montréal in round one, then fell in four games to the Minnesota Frost in the Final. This season, the Charge advanced to the Final after defeating the Boston Fleet in four games.
Game 1 between the Victoire and Charge is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at Place Bell. Game 2 runs on Saturday at 2 p.m., then Games 3 and 4 (if needed) are set to take place at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre on Monday at 6 p.m. ET and Wednesday at 7 p.m, respectively.