LAVAL, QC (May 8, 2025) – The Ottawa Charge won the first playoff game in team history, skating to a 3-2 victory over the Montréal Victoire in Game 1 of the PWHL Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, on Thursday night at Place Bell. Shiann Darkangelo scored the game-winning goal, breaking a 2-2 tie midway through the third period, to give the Charge a fifth straight road win and an early lead in the best-of-five series. The top ranked Victoire, who opened the playoffs at home for the second straight season, have yet to win a playoff contest through four all-time games, including three at Place Bell. Captain Brianne Jenner opened the scoring on the power play at 4:54 of the first period to give Ottawa their first of three leads in the game. Montréal forward Maureen Murphy evened the score with her own power play goal at 12:13, making it 1-1 going into the second period. The teams traded goals in the middle frame, first by Ottawa’s Ashton Bell at 5:07, followed by Victoire captain and regular-season goal scoring leader Marie-Philip Poulin with the team’s second power play goal of the game, at 7:12. The Victoire outshot the Charge 33-27 but couldn’t find a winning answer against red-hot rookie Gwyneth Philips, who recorded 31 saves in her playoff debut. Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 24 shots in her fourth career playoff start. The series continues on Sunday afternoon at Place Bell.