Montréal Victoire Win First PWHL Championship
The new women's hockey team defeats Ottawa in four games, returns home to celebrate with thousands of fans at Verdun Auditorium.
Montréal Victoire did what no other franchise had done before: win the PWHL championship in its inaugural season. The team's 4-0 victory over Ottawa in Game 4 on Wednesday night sealed it, and by Thursday afternoon, the players were back home.
Thousands of fans packed the Verdun Auditorium—draped in maroon and blue—to welcome the Walter Cup champions. The energy was raw, unfiltered, the kind of celebration that only comes when a city gets exactly what it's been waiting for. These weren't veterans returning with a repeat title; they were rookies proving the league belonged in Montréal.
The Victoire dominated a four-game series against a strong Ottawa squad, showing the kind of depth and poise that catches people off guard. First seasons aren't supposed to end this way. But this team rewrote that script.
What happens next matters just as much. A championship in year one sets a standard—one that will define whether this franchise becomes a dynasty or a feel-good flash. Right now, Montréal's got momentum, a fanbase that showed up, and a roster that proved it deserves the hype.