Why fans see this PWHL final between Ottawa and Montreal as a celebration of Canadian hockey

France Bergeron is a season-ticket holder with both the Montreal Victoire and the Ottawa Charge and she says she's watching her two lovers face off in the PWHL final. She stands in front of Place Bell ahead of Game 2 on Saturday. Photo by Natasha Baldin /Postmedia

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LAVAL, Que. — For PWHL superfan France Bergeron, the 200-kilometre trip between Ottawa and Montreal has become a common rabbit run throughout this hockey season.

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As a season-ticket holder for both the Ottawa Charge and the Montreal Victoire, Bergeron describes herself as having “a polyamorous relationship” between the two Professional Women’s Hockey League teams.

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“For me, it’s just women’s hockey,” Bergeron told the Ottawa Citizen outside of Place Bell on Saturday while wearing a Victoire jersey and a Charge hat.

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“It’s good hockey, and it’s Canadian hockey.”

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While Bergeron watched her “two lovers face off” in the PWHL final, cheering for every goal regardless of which team scored, she was far from the only one choosing to view this series as a celebration of Canadian hockey.

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This season marks the first time in the PWHL’s three-year history that the Walter Cup will be awarded to a Canadian team. The Minnesota Frost claimed the league’s first two titles.

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Also, both teams feature prolific Canadian stars as the faces of their respective franchises. Montreal’s Canadian group includes Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Ann-Renée Desbiens. On the other side, Ottawa’s roster includes Brianne Jenner, Emily Clark and Jocelyne Larocque.

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And, even if the Canadians couldn’t come away with Olympic gold in Milan back in February, at least some of them will end their season with a Walter Cup.

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Ottawa Charge fan Marie-Pier Thibault shows off her custom bedazzled jersey before the start of Game 2 of the PWHL Walter Cup final in Laval on Saturday. Photo by Evan Buhler /Postmedia

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For Jacklyn Cyr and Teagan McLaren, who made the trip to Laval from their hometown of Kingston for Game 2, it has been hard to pick a side.

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“With these two teams, I don’t think it’s a head-to-head,” Cyr said. “I think everyone just cheers for everyone, like when Laura Stacey got hurt (in Game 1), everyone from Ottawa was in a panic, and it’s not even their team.”

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“I had tears in my eyes when she was in that much pain, and I was just watching from my couch,” McLaren added.

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With Ottawa and Montreal only a two-hour drive away, many fans decided to make the trip from the national capital to Place Bell for Game 2.

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A large group of Charge fans start a chant outside the arena before Game 2 of the PWHL Walter Cup final in Laval on Saturday. Photo by Evan Buhler /Postmedia

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You could often hear Charge fans coming before you saw the red jerseys amid a sea of the Victorie’s maroon and cream.

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And the Ottawa fanbase’s signature kazoo rally cries certainly came on the road.

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“Buh-da-da-da-da-DA!” Followed swiftly by an emphatic, “Charge!”

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But, with Charge fans seriously outnumbered, it didn’t take long before the Montreal fans caught on, countering the post-kazoo “Charge!” response with “Victoire!”

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A group of about 40 Charge fans made the trip to Laval together on a yellow school bus that left Ottawa at about 8:30 a.m. Puck drop was at 2 p.m.

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Noel Kivimaki gives a cheer to fellow Charge fans before the start of Game 2 of the PWHL Walter Cup final in Laval on Saturday. Photo by Evan Buhler /Postmedia

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Among them was Patrick Farley, who sported white, yellow and red face paint and wore a red Emily Clark Charge jersey.