AMESBURY, Mass. - A record nine athletes who competed in Hockey East, including some of the most decorated players in league history, claimed the 2026 Walter Cup with the Montréal Victoire claiming the top prize at the highest level of women’s professional hockey for the first time in club history.

Boston University’s Marie-Philip Poulin was awarded the 2026 Ilana Kloss Trophy for the Most Valuable Player in the 2026 PWHL playoffs after tying the league record for points in a single playoff run with eight (4g, 4a), including two game-winning goals. She is the second consecutive Hockey East product to win the award, following Northeastern’s Gwyneth Philips in 2025. Poulin also won the 2024-25 Billie Jean King Most Valuable Player award as the season MVP and the PWHL Forward of the year last season.

Helping Poulin and the Victoire claim the Walter Cup were goaltenders Sandra Abstreiter (Providence) and Megan Warrener (UConn), defenders Tamara Giaquinto (Boston University), Nadia Mattivi (Boston University), and forwards Skylar Irving (Northeastern), Natálie Mlýnková (Vermont), Maureen Murphy (Northeastern/Providence), and Hayley Scamurra (Northeastern).

The Walter Cup concludes a year that saw a record number of Hockey East alumnae compete in the PWHL after a 2025 Entry Draft where nine league products were selected. In recent weeks, the PWHL has announced four expansion teams set to begin play in 2026-27, bringing the highest level of women’s professional hockey to 12 teams. The four new locations are San Jose, Detroit, Las Vegas, and Hamilton, Ontario and will join the league’s eight current markets in Boston, Minnesota, Montréal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver. Details about a forthcoming expansion roster building process, and how expansion teams will be integrated into the 2026 PWHL Draft, will be announced in the coming weeks by the league.