PWHL postpones Game 5 of Minnesota-Montréal semifinal due to illness

The Ottawa Charge will face either the defending champion Minnesota Frost or the Montréal Victoire in the PWHL Walter Cup Finals, but Ottawa will have to wait a little longer to find out its opponent.

The PWHL announced that the decisive Game 5 on May 11 between Minnesota and Montréal at Place Bell in Quebec, Canada, has been postponed "due to player safety concerns related to illness." The league didn't disclose which illness led to the delay, but noted that medical personnel determined the symptoms aren't consistent with hantavirus.

"The decision was made following consultation with medical personnel and in accordance with the league’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of players, fans, staff and all those involved in the competition," the PWHL said in a statement issued Monday afternoon, two hours ahead of the originally scheduled puck drop.

Game 5 will be rescheduled at a later date "as soon as medical guidance determines it is appropriate to resume play," the statement added. USA TODAY Sports reached out to the PWHL for additional comment.

This isn't the first time some players have dealt with a postponement in their careers, including Canadian Montréal forward Marie-Philip Poulin. Earlier this year, a preliminary matchup between the Finnish and Canadian national hockey teams was postponed at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February following a norovirus outbreak among the Finnish team.

Tonight’s game 5 of the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs between Minnesota and Montréal at Place Bell has been postponed. pic.twitter.com/4dL2wkfDPz— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) May 11, 2026

Ottawa punched its ticket to the Walter Cup Finals for the second consecutive year on May 10 following a double-overtime winner from Michela Cava to defeat the Boston Fleet, 4-3, and win the semifinal series, 3-1.

Montréal finished atop the PWHL standings in the regular season and earned the right to pick its first-round opponent. The Victoire selected to face the Frost, who Montréal defeated four times in the regular season.

Minnesota has won the Walter Cup in the league's first two seasons and is vying for the league's first three-peat. If the Frost advance to the championship series again, it'll mark a rematch of the 2025 PWHL Walter Cup Finals between the Charge and Frost. Meanwhile, Montréal is in pursuit of its first finals appearance.

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news —  Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: PWHL postpones Game 5 of Minnesota-Montréal semifinal due to illness