Ottawa Charge force Game 4 with late Walter Cup comeback
Rebecce Leslie’s late strike salvages series hopes for Ottawa after Montreal held a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Ottawa Charge have kept their Walter Cup aspirations alive, staging a dramatic late comeback to defeat the Montreal Victoire 2-1 in Game 3 of the best-of-five finals. The victory, secured with just 54 seconds remaining in regulation, prevents elimination for the home side and forces a decisive Game 4 at the Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday night.
Prior to the match, Montreal coach Kori Cheverie had acknowledged the difficulty of the third game, noting that her team was permitted to celebrate their 2-0 series lead until puck drop. The trophy appeared to be within reach for the Victoire, who took a 1-0 lead with just over five minutes left in the period through a rebound goal by Hayley Scamurra.
For nearly 50 minutes, the contest remained deadlocked at 0-0. Goalies Ann-Renée Desbiens for Montreal and Gwyneth Philips for Ottawa combined to stop 40 shots, creating a tense atmosphere that only broke when Scamurra capitalised on a deflection off the end boards.
Ottawa’s resilience was evident shortly after, with rookie forward Peyton Hemp scoring her first playoff goal to equalise. The momentum shifted decisively when Rebecce Leslie, who leads the league with four playoff goals, scored the game-winner in the final minute, silencing the Montreal defence and energising the home crowd.
The 16,894 spectators in attendance set a new record for the largest crowd at a PWHL playoff game. The series now returns to Ottawa for Game 4, where the Charge will look to complete the upset against a Victoire side that had seemed poised to close out the finals.
