The Montréal Victoire captured Canada’s first Walter Cup Wednesday night, defeating the Ottawa Charge 4-0 in Game 4 to clinch the Professional Women’s Hockey League championship.
At the centre of the celebration was captain Marie-Philip Poulin, the former McGill Martlets skills coach who once again delivered when it mattered most. Poulin was named playoff MVP after leading Montreal throughout the post-season with eight points in nine games.
Poulin, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and four-time World Champion known as Captain Clutch, assisted on Montreal’s opening goal in the championship clincher and helped guide the Victoire to the team’s first title in front of a sold-out crowd in Ottawa.
Forward Jade Downie-Landry (BA’20, BEd’23), a former Martlets captain and standout player, completed a difficult comeback season by hoisting the Walter Cup.
Downie-Landry missed the opening months of the season with a serious upper-body injury and did not return to Montreal’s lineup until January. The Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu native worked her way back into the lineup during the second half of the season and appeared in three playoff games during Montreal’s run to the title.
Another former Martlet, standout goalie Kim St-Pierre, now retired from competitive hockey, serves as the Victoire’s Director of Business Operations.
