The Backcheck

The Montreal Victoire’s four-game win streak came to an end Tuesday in Seattle with the Torrent pulling the 2-1 upset in a tightly contested matchup. Kingston, Ont., product Hannah Murphy stood on her head, stopping 37 shots. Murphy was named the first star of the game and is yet to lose this season in three starts, boasting a .966 save percentage.

Now, let’s look at other storylines around the PWHL from Week 5.

Highlight(s) of the week

The Ottawa Charge turned their season around this past week, defeating the Minnesota Frost 3-2 in overtime Sunday before coming back and winning 4-3 — again in overtime — over the Toronto Sceptres on Tuesday.

Ste. Anne’s Jocelyne Larocque banked her first point of the season on Ronja Savolainen’s first goal of the year that opened scoring, while Cochrane, Alta., product Sarah Wozniewicz played hero with the overtime winner.

On Tuesday, the club came back from a 3-0 deficit, with Ottawa native Rebecca Leslie opening the scoring for the Charge in the second period. The hometown hero also netted the overtime winner, propelling the Charge out of the league basement and one regulation win away from being back in the middle of the pack.

Repping the Maple Leaf

As the Olympic roster deadline grows closer, Larocque looks like the shoo-in, but the lone Manitoban, to make the team. Larocque is a three-time Olympian, golden at the 2014 Sochi and 2022 Beijing Games, and picking up silver after a shootout loss at the 2018 Pyeonchang Games.

Other Team Canada stalwarts sure to make the list are Captain Clutch herself, Marie-Philip Poulin, star forward Sarah Nurse and netminders Ann-Renée Desbiens and Emerance Maschmeyer.

Game to watch in Week 6

Today’s matinee matchup between Ottawa and the league-dominating Boston Fleet is the game to watch (11 a.m., Sportsnet). If Ottawa can manage to come away with points, the club will prove they’re a contender this season and will have righted their ship after a rough start.

winnipegfreepress.com/graceannepaizen