Hundreds of roaring followers dressed and draped within the group’s maroon and blue greeted the Montréal Victoire group Saturday in Montréal’s Quartier des spectacles. Captain Marie-Philip Poulin walked off the group bus carrying the Walter Cup right into a crowd of cheering supporters.
The procession set off round 11 a.m. on the intersection of Sainte-Catherine and Bleury streets, led by head coach Kori Cheverie and normal supervisor Danièle Sauvageau. Seated in a classic automotive—a turquoise Mercury Park Lane—they held aloft the gleaming Walter Cup amid cheers from the gang.
The Victoire gamers and employees paraded down Sainte-Catherine Avenue to the rhythm of “Olé olé” and “Let’s go Victoire,” chants typically led by the spectators, different occasions by the gamers.
Followers of all ages had gathered on the Parterre in Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles, the place the gamers had been capable of thank their loyal followers.
“They created a completely new neighborhood of people who find themselves , not simply in sports activities, however fascinated about seeing girls do nicely and who need to see girls accomplish issues and need to see girls excel,” mentioned Victoire fan Heidi Van Regan. “And these gamers are the proper instance of that.”
Eleni Parigoris mentioned she drove to Ottawa for the ultimate sport.
“To cheer with them there after which to cheer with them once more right here, it’s simply so particular,” Parigoris mentioned. “So excited to see them thriving with the Walter Cup, extra up shut than the place we had been in Ottawa.”
For Katrina Bitetto, mentioned the group’s victory was an emotional expertise.
“Oh my God. I believe I used to be crying,” Bitetto mentioned. “Then it was similar to we stayed with them when the Walter Cup got here out on the ice. It was simply, it’s nothing I’ve ever skilled earlier than.”
Gamers and coaches took the stage and shared the Walter Cup with followers profitable the primary championship in group historical past.
Workforce captain Marie-Phillipe Poulin mentioned seeing younger youngsters and households come out and assist the ladies’s group was an enormous change from the previous.
“Like again within the day, you see dad and mom, your little lady desires to play hockey and like, ‘sorry, I don’t suppose there’s one thing for you there,’” Poulin mentioned. “However now having the ability to assist them and permitting them to attempt hockey and being a part of a sport, it’s unbelievable.”
Victoire participant Laura Stacey mentioned for a lot of of her teammates, taking part in at knowledgeable degree had been a dream.
“We all the time dreamed about taking part in hockey for a residing, however you by no means dreamed about this,” Stacey mentioned. “A parade with this many followers bringing the Walter Cup to Canada, to Montreal. That is one thing we’re going to recollect for the remainder of our lives.”
For her teammate Ann-Renée Desbiens carry the cup residence was further particular.
“I’m so fortunate I get to win at residence, win in Montreal, win in a corporation — that has believed in me since day one and that I hope will hold believing in me — in entrance of my province, I cried, I cried a lot,” Desbiens mentioned.
The Victoire defeated the Ottawa Cost 4-0 on Might 20 to turn into the primary PWHL Canadian group to win the Walter Cup.
— With recordsdata from La Presse Canadienne
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