Victoire select defending champion Frost as first-round PWHL playoff opponent

MONTREAL — The Montreal Victoire didn’t waste any time in selecting a first-round playoff opponent after finishing first overall in the Professional Women’s Hockey League with a 2-1 shootout victory on Saturday over the host Seattle Torrent.

Given the choice between the fourth-place Ottawa Charge and the two-time Walter Cup defending champion Minnesota Frost, the Victoire selected the third-place Frost for the best-of-five semifinal.

The Charge will play the Boston Fleet in the other semifinal.

Montreal (16-6-2-6) will begin its series against Minnesota (13-3-5-9), on Saturday, May 2 (2 p.m. ET) at Place Bell.

This season, the Victoire won all four games of their head-to-head season series against the Frost, including two overtime victories. This is the third straight season the Victoire have qualified for the playoffs and second straight season they finished in first and selected the third-place team as their opponent.

Boston (16-5-4-5) earned home ice advantage by finishing second and will take on Ottawa (9-8-1-12) beginning Thursday, April 30 (7 p.m. ET) at the Tsongas Center.

This is the second playoff appearance for both teams after each advanced to the finals in their playoff debuts (Boston in 2024, Ottawa in 2025). All four games of this season’s head-to-head series required extra time, including three shootouts, with the Charge winning three of the four matchups against the Fleet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2026.