Charge close out Victoire to advance to PWHL finals

Emily Clark and Rebecca Leslie both scored as the Ottawa Charge advanced to the PWHL championship after defeating the visiting Montreal Victoire 2-1 Friday to take their semifinal playoff series three games to one.

Anna Meixner and Gabbie Hughes each had an assist, and goalkeeper Gwyneth Philips stopped 19 of 20 shots for the Charge, who reached the PWHL championship for the first time.

Just two minutes into Game 4, Leslie converted the rebound off a breakaway shot from Meixner after the pair had put the pressure on with a 2-on-1.

The Charge led 1-0, and the score remained unchanged for nearly two periods before Clark gave the Charge some breathing room with a wrap-around effort 31 seconds into the third after shaking free from the defense along the right side.

Maureen Murphy and the Victoire weren't willing to concede the game or series, and with 5:02 left to play, Murphy got away from the defense along the right boards after feeds from Jennifer Gardiner and Marie-Philip Poulin found her in space.

Murphy collected the puck, juked to her left to shake free of the defense, and fired from five feet out, getting the puck through the legs of Philips to make the score 2-1.

Cayla Varnes and Laura Stacey had shots attempted in the final five minutes that didn't connect before the Victorie resorted to pulling goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens (21 saves), but they couldn't tie it up.

--Field Level Media