PDub ReDub, Playoff Edition: Victoire and Charge go at it in first all-Canadian matchup

Over the course of the PWHL postseason, PDRD will take the form of a playoff series recap following each of their conclusions. Here, the top-seeded Montréal Victoire take on the third-seeded Ottawa Charge for a spot in the Walter Cup Final.

Thursday, May 9: Game 1 (Laval, QC)

First Period

The game couldn’t have started much worse for the top seed against the chosen Charge. Kati Tabin flipped the puck over the glass just over four minutes in to send Montréal to the penalty kill. There, Brianne Jenner had entirely too much space to take a cross-ice pass from Tereza Vanišová to open the scoring. Ottawa’s captain has been heating up at the right time, now with three goals in her last four games and seven points in the last eight.

They wouldn’t be able to build off it, though. Taylor House, in the lineup for an injured Jincy Roese, took an arguable checking call against Marie-Philip Poulin, letting the other power play get going. Gwyneth Philips made an incredible save on a cross-crease attempt from the first unit but the second unit broke through in a similar manner, courtesy of Tabin redeeming herself with a pass to Maureen Murphy. 1–1, end of first.

Second Period

Goals were traded once more in the second period, and once again Ottawa would score the first of the frame. Amidst a scramble in front of the Victoire net, Ann-Renée Desbiens thought she had the puck covered, but it was actually on the stick of Danielle Serdachny behind the goal line. Serdachny flipped it out front, missing the bank off of the sprawled goaltender but nonetheless putting a pinching Ashton Bell in perfect position to convert. The defender has feasted on Montréal as of late with three goals in her last two against them, and this one would give the Charge the lead back.

Reminiscent of the first, a questionable penalty would halt Ottawa’s momentum. Rebecca Leslie was sent off for a hold, and the Victoire power play went to work again. Philips shut the door on Jennifer Gardiner in front but the forward was able to regain possession, allowing Poulin and Erin Ambrose to work a give-and-go to set up the former’s one-timer. 2–2, end of the second.

Third Period

It would be a tentative start for both teams in the third, neither wanting to make a mistake, but there could only be so long without one. A defensive lapse for Montréal left Mannon McMahon and Emily Clark on an odd-woman rush. McMahon’s pass was blocked by a backchecking Gardiner but her clearing attempt was held in by Clark. She found the trailing forward in Shiann Darkangelo, who had just hopped over the boards in favour of Clark and McMahon’s centre Gabbie Hughes, and Darkangelo sniped it short side past Desbiens for the Charge’s third lead of the game.

This time, though, there would be no response from the Victoire. A couple dangerous stretch passes were halted by offside calls on Poulin, and the shutdown play of an Ottawa defensive corps not necessarily known for such prevented an extra attacker until it was too late. The Charge emerged victorious in their first-ever playoff game, while Montréal was left searching for their first win even after their fourth.

Final Score: Ottawa Charge 3, Montréal Victoire 2 (OTT leads series 1–0)

Nat’s Stat: Montréal’s Mikyla Grant-Mentis played 12:52 in Game 1, the fourth-most among Victoire forwards behind the top line of Jennifer Gardiner (18:27), Marie-Philip Poulin (22:54), and Laura Stacey (21:04). Grant-Mentis’ ice time was the lowest of any team’s fourth-highest forward in any game this season.

Sunday, May 11: Game 2 (Laval, QC)

First Period

Montréal clearly took the poor start in Game 1 to heart. Just over two minutes in to this one, Kristin O’Neill absolutely blew by the pair of Bell and Jocelyne Larocque, beating Philips five-hole on the breakaway to open the scoring. It was illustrative of a very sloppy period for Ottawa, who looked ill-prepared for the Victoire’s initial push.

Second Period

The home side continued rolling in the second. A dangerous rush from Poulin and Laura Stacey was thwarted by a nice backcheck from Clark, though the Charge couldn’t hold down Stacey for long. She took a saucer pass from Anna Wilgren and barrelled down the right wing, snapping a shot far side to double the lead. Wilgren, a revelation on the Victoire back end in the back half of the season, also recorded an assist on the first period marker, bringing her up to five points in as many games.

Ottawa tried to respond on an odd play soon after. Aneta Tejralová threw the puck on goal with Leslie giving Desbiens trouble in front, her second effort appearing to be kicked out by a desperate Amanda Boulier. The play was reviewed, and while the puck fully crossed the goal line, it would not count as Leslie got dinged for goaltender interference. Coach Carla McLeod challenged this ruling to no avail, and immediately on the resulting penalty kill, Kateřina Mrázová found the far post. Nothing was going right for the Charge.

Third Period

At least, not until late in the third period, where the most consistently chaotic team in the PWHL often worked their best magic. Darkangelo tied up Poulin on an offensive zone draw, allowing the winger, Jenner, to come in to win it back to the point. Another seeing-eye shot from Tejralová found the back of the net, no controversy required this time. 2–1, four and a half minutes to go.

Eventually, Ottawa pulled Philips for the extra attacker, and it would be Mrázová with the line of Vanišová-Darkangelo-Jenner that had been so effective for them as of late. Mrázová kept the Charge in control with some nifty passes in the high slot, allowing the puck to find an open Vanišová on the right side. Much like the opening goal of Game 1, she threaded a pass through that found an open Jenner on the other side, who made no mistake. Tie game.

Overtime

How this one managed to get past a single overtime is a mystery. After not receiving a power play in all of regulation, Ottawa suddenly found themselves on a five-on-three after a too many players call followed by a Murphy slash. The two-player advantage was abbreviated, but the Charge failed to convert on nearly four full minutes of power play time.

In an even more stunning turn of events given the scarcity of penalty calls in the playoffs, much less overtime, Ronja Savolainen flipped the puck over the glass and her defense partner Zoe Boyd soon joined her in the sin bin for tripping. For those keeping score at home, that’s a minute and thirty-four seconds of five-on-three with all of the three being forwards thanks to the No Escape rule. Yet, somehow, Montréal also couldn’t finish it off, and on to 2OT they went.

Double overtime

Nothing.

Triple overtime

Nada.

Quadruple overtime

Absolute zer- NEVER MIND ALEX LABELLE HIT THE POST.

If nothing else, Labelle’s loud shot served as a way of ensuring the Place Bell crowd was awake and at attention for what would happen next. With four minutes remaining in the seventh period, O’Neill picked off a Vanišová touch pass and sent it across to Catherine Dubois who roofed it on Philips, finally ending this marathon of a game.

Final Score: Ottawa Charge 2, Montréal Victoire three (4OT) (Series tied 1–1)

Nat’s Stat: Game 2 between the Montréal Victoire and Ottawa Charge lasted longer than I slept after watching Game 2 between the Montréal Victoire and Ottawa Charge.