Ottawa Charge advances to PWHL final after upset of Montreal Victoire at packed TD Place

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After sneaking into the playoffs in the final game of the regular season, the Ottawa Charge is now soaring into the Professional Women’s Hockey League championship series.

Rebecca Leslie scored a tone-setting goal at the two-minute mark and rookie goalie Gwyneth Philips once again rose to the occasion as Ottawa completed a first-round upset of the first-place Montreal Victoire with a 2-1 victory in front of 8,012 fans at The Arena at TD Place.

The largest crowd to witness a PWHL playoff game this year saw the Charge, which finished third in the regular season, close out the Victoire in the best-of-five series, 3-1.

The Charge will have home ice advantage in a best-of-five final against the defending Walter Cup-winning Minnesota Frost, which starts Tuesday (7 p.m.) at TD Place.

Game 2 will also be in Ottawa on Thursday, before the series moves to Minnesota for Game 3 on Saturday, May 24 and Game 4 on Monday, May 26.

If necessary, the fifth and final game will be played Wednesday, May 28, at TD Place.

Emily Clark wheeled around Victoire star Marie-Philip Poulin to give the Charge a cushion 31 seconds into the third period, while Philips lost her bid for a second straight shutout when Maureen Murphy scored with 5:02 left.

But despite some frantic moments around the Ottawa net, Montreal couldn’t come up with the equalizer.

The Victoire tinkered with its top line, moving Lina Ljungblom to Jennifer Gardiner’s spot alongside Poulin and Laura Stacey, but it wasn’t a recipe for success.

Philips stopped 19 shots, while being tested just four times in the third, while Ann-Renee Desbiens made 20 saves in the Victoire net.

Montreal jumped onto the attack right from the opening faceoff but the Charge took advantage of an opening in the coverage for a 2-on-1 break, with Leslie passing to Anna Meixner, then driving to the net to bang the rebound from her linemate’s shot into a wide-open net.

Leslie, the lone locally born player on the Charge, had just one goal and two assists in 27 games this season, her first with the team.

While Philips was extending her shutout streak through a fifth period, her teammates had a couple of chances to build on the lead.

But after Kristin O’Neill was called for tripping Danielle Serdachny early in the middle frame, the Charge failed to convert the night’s first power play. And just past the 11-minute mark, Tereza Vanisova was stopped on a breakaway by Desbiens, who also got a pad on Brianne Jenner’s attempt to slide in the rebound.

Montreal was gifted its first power play at 14:34 of the second when Stacey fell after skating past Emily Clark just outside the Ottawa blueline.

The Victoire had three shots on goal while Clark served her tripping minor, but Philips was equal to the task.