The Ottawa Charge, barely battling through the playoffs in the final game of the season, pulled off a shock upset by knocking off favorites Montreal Victoire to advance to the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) final.

In front of a packed TD Place Arena, the Charge won the best-of-five series 3-1 in front of their largest crowd of the season. The Ottawa team will now play the Minnesota Frost for the championship. The first two games will be played in Ottawa on May 20 and 22, then the series will travel to Minnesota (May 24 and 26) and, if necessary, a fifth game will be played in Ottawa on May 28.

Emily Clarke's goal early in the third period was the deciding one. Her shot went past Victoire star Marie-Philip Poulin to give Ottawa a comfortable lead. Charge goalie Ariel Phillips stopped 19 shots and proved her reliability once again, especially in a tense final stretch when Montreal couldn't tie the game.

Maureen Murphy scored Victoire's only goal with five minutes remaining. Attempts to change the game, including a change in the top three, were unsuccessful.

Ottawa's local star Leslie opened the scoring with a quick double-team attack. It was her second goal of the season. Despite a number of high-stakes opportunities, Victoire failed to capitalize on any of their power plays.