Shiann Darkangelo broke a third-period tie, Gwyneth Philips made 31 saves and the Ottawa Charge beat the Montreal Victoire 3-2 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the PWHL semifinal series.

The Charge lost a couple of early one-goal leads in its first PWHL playoff game, but then held on to the only one that mattered. Shiann Darkangelo’s wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle at 9:17 of the third period stood as the winner as the Charge grabbed command of its best-of-five opening round series with a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Victoire at Place Bell in Laval.