In their fifth and final\u00a0meeting\u00a0of the\u00a0regular\u00a0season, the Montr\u00e9al Victoire edged out the Toronto\u00a0Sceptres\u00a04-3\u00a0in a\u00a0shootout\u00a0thanks\u00a0to captain Marie-Philip Poulin\u2019s game-winning shootout goal in front of\u00a0an all-time-high\u00a0sold-out\u00a0crowd of 8,671 at Coca-Cola Coliseum\u00a0on Tuesday.\u00a0The Victoire\u00a0have\u00a0now won six straight\u00a0contests\u00a0and\u00a0sit\u00a0in first place\u00a0in the\u00a0PWHL,\u00a0three\u00a0points ahead of\u00a0Boston\u00a0who have three games in hand.\u00a0Montr\u00e9al\u00a0netminder\u00a0Sandra\u00a0Abstreiter\u00a0turned away\u00a023\u00a0of\u00a026\u00a0shots\u00a0in\u00a0regulation and\u00a0overtime,\u00a0and\u00a03\u00a0of\u00a06\u00a0in\u00a0the shootout\u00a0for her second win\u00a0in her third\u00a0appearance\u00a0this\u00a0season.\u00a0Meanwhile,\u00a0Toronto\u2019s\u00a0Raygan Kirk stopped\u00a031\u00a0of\u00a034\u00a0through 65\u00a0minutes\u00a0and\u00a02\u00a0of\u00a06\u00a0in\u00a0the shootout\u00a0in\u00a0the loss.\u00a0Maggie\u00a0Connors provided the lone\u00a0goal\u00a0of\u00a0the first period with a shot from behind the goal that deflected off\u00a0Abstreiter\u2019s\u00a0skate and into the net\u00a0to give the home team a 1-0 lead.\u00a0Sceptres\u00a0captain Blayre Turnbull\u00a0doubled\u00a0Toronto\u2019s\u00a0lead\u00a0to 2-0\u00a0with her one-timer from the right circle\u00a0off\u00a0a spinning pass from Daryl Watts.\u00a0Poulin got the Victoire on the board\u00a0and back into the\u00a0game\u00a0at\u00a08:04\u00a0of\u00a0the second period\u00a0when she tipped\u00a0Nicole\u00a0Gosling\u2019s\u00a0point shot\u00a0to\u00a0make the score 2-1.\u00a0Forward\u00a0Hayley\u00a0Scamurra\u00a0then\u00a0knotted\u00a0the game\u00a0at\u00a0two\u00a0just over five minutes\u00a0later with\u00a0a power-play tally\u00a0at\u00a013:20.\u00a0Lina\u00a0Ljungblom\u00a0claimed Montr\u00e9al\u2019s first lead of the game at\u00a07:30\u00a0in the final frame, before\u00a0Toronto\u2019s Jesse Compher\u00a0found the back of the\u00a0net\u00a0with just\u00a0over a minute\u00a0remaining in regulation to send the\u00a0game to\u00a0overtime.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Toronto and Montr\u00e9al are the first\u00a0teams to close out their head-to-head\u00a0season series,\u00a0which\u00a0Montr\u00e9al\u00a0won\u00a0with a record of 2-2-0-1.\u00a0The\u00a0Sceptres\u00a0will look to bounce back as they host the\u00a0Minnesota Frost\u00a0on Sunday, Mar. 8 for the second\u00a0game\u00a0of\u00a0their\u00a0three-game homestand. The\u00a0Victoire\u00a0aim\u00a0to\u00a0keep\u00a0their momentum\u00a0after\u00a0a\u00a0break\u00a0when they host\u00a0the Boston Fleet\u00a0at\u00a0Place Bell\u00a0on Sunday, Mar. 15. \u00a0\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
QUOTES\u00a0\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Victoire goaltender\u00a0Sandra\u00a0Abstreiter\u00a0on giving\u00a0up\u00a0two goals early and being able to come back strong\u00a0to\u00a0make important saves:\u00a0\u201cNobody was mad at me or anything like that. I\u00a0wouldn’t\u00a0expect it any differently, honestly, from these guys.\u00a0They’re\u00a0great,\u00a0they’ve\u00a0been so supportive. They were super hype when everyone found out that I was getting the start.\u00a0So,\u00a0it was honestly just them keeping me positive, and then I was able to clear my head from that as well and see positive.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Montr\u00e9al Head Coach\u00a0Kori Cheverie\u00a0on the team’s current win streak:\u00a0\u201cIt’s\u00a0hard to keep the momentum at times. I think every time I go\u00a0do\u00a0interviews,\u00a0I get told that there’s some sort of new streak that I would prefer us not to talk about. And for us,\u00a0we looked at these three\u00a0games as\u00a0just\u00a0kind of like\u00a0a small micro-cycle that we wanted to focus on. I love that the team wanted nine out of nine points. We got eight out of nine.\u00a0We’re\u00a0happy with that, but there was lots of learning tonight too, and\u00a0it’s\u00a0very valuable\u00a0to be able to learn in some of these moments as we continue to push down the stretch.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sceptres\u00a0captain\u00a0Blayre Turnbull\u00a0on\u00a0returning to play\u00a0against\u00a0Olympic\u00a0teammates\u00a0and the schedule\u00a0coming back:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s interesting because\u00a0you go through\u00a0something\u00a0as\u00a0big as the Olympics\u00a0and I\u00a0think\u00a0whether\u00a0you\u00a0win or lose,\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0still thinking about\u00a0your\u00a0time there\u00a0days after getting home.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0interesting, but I think the good thing about our group here in Toronto\u00a0is that\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0very focused\u00a0on\u00a0what we need to\u00a0accomplish, and I\u00a0know the group\u00a0in\u00a0Montr\u00e9al\u00a0is as well.\u00a0When\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0on the ice,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0Toronto\u00a0versus\u00a0Montr\u00e9al.\u00a0After the game, shaking hands\u00a0I\u00a0can say,\u00a0\u2018Thank\u00a0god we have a break coming up.\u2019\u00a0A couple\u00a0days\u00a0off\u00a0will be much\u00a0needed.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Toronto Head Coach\u00a0Troy Ryan\u00a0on the power play: \u201cThe power play was not overly effective tonight.\u00a0We\u2019ve\u00a0juggled it around a little bit\u00a0as of\u00a0late. Obviously during the\u00a0Olympic\u00a0break,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not something that you work on because a lot of your players that are on the power play are at the Olympics. It\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0been overly\u00a0effective\u00a0all year. There was a little spell there before the break that it was\u00a0kind of clicking\u00a0pretty good, but you need a bit more of the basics. One of the things\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0always said is to get pucks inside, get\u00a0people heading downhill, numbers\u00a0at\u00a0the net,\u00a0good shot mentality,\u00a0good puck\u00a0retrieval\u00a0and\u00a0repeat.\u00a0If\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0constantly looking for high-level skill\u00a0plays,\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0not going to be\u00a0effective.\u00a0You\u2019ve\u00a0got to\u00a0create the advantage\u00a0with a\u00a0mentality and not just the skill.\u201d\u00a0\u202f<\/p>\n
\u00a0NOTABLES\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Montr\u00e9al officially wins the\u00a0head-to-head season series\u00a0over Toronto\u00a010-5 in points, but\u00a0Toronto holds the all-time lead\u00a0through three\u00a0regular seasons\u00a026-22 in points.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Victoire\u00a0tied a\u00a0team record\u00a0with\u00a0their sixth\u00a0straight win,\u00a0previously winning six\u00a0straight\u00a0last\u00a0season\u00a0from\u00a0Jan.\u00a017 to\u00a0Feb.\u00a015, 2025.\u00a0They also extended their road win streak to three games.\u00a0Both streaks\u00a0tie Ottawa\u00a0for the\u00a0longest\u00a0such\u00a0streaks in the PWHL this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tonight\u2019s shootout set a PWHL record for most total goals with seven,\u00a0beating the\u00a0previous\u00a0record of five.\u00a0Montr\u00e9al became the first team in PWHL history to score four times in a single shootout,\u00a0while Toronto set a team record with three shootout goals, their first three\u00a0shootout goals of the season on\u00a015 total attempts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Victoire\u00a0are\u00a0the\u00a0only\u00a0PWHL team without a loss\u00a0beyond regulation\u00a0(4-0),\u00a0including a 2-0\u00a0record in\u00a0shootouts,\u00a0with both\u00a0shootout\u00a0wins\u00a0earned\u00a0against\u00a0the\u00a0Sceptres. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Montr\u00e9al\u00a0allowed\u00a0only three shots\u00a0on goal\u00a0during tonight\u2019s first\u00a0period,\u00a0the\u00a0fifth\u00a0time they have\u00a0limited\u00a0opponents to\u00a0three shots in a regulation\u00a0period this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both teams have now played\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0league-high 10\u00a0one-goal games, with Montr\u00e9al\u00a0winning six of\u00a0their one-goal decisions and Toronto winning five.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite each team scoring a third period goal,\u00a0Toronto (11) and Montr\u00e9al\u00a0(12)\u00a0have scored the fewest goals in the third\u00a0period of any PWHL teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tonight\u2019s\u00a0sold-out crowd of\u00a08,671\u00a0fans\u00a0is the\u00a0largest\u00a0attendance for a PWHL game\u00a0played at\u00a0Coca-Cola\u00a0Coliseum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marie\u2011Philip Poulin\u00a0scored\u00a0two shootout goals for the first time in her career\u00a0and is\u00a0the\u00a0league\u2019s all-time leader with nine,\u00a0including\u00a0five\u00a0shootout winners.\u00a0The Victoire captain, who led the game with seven shots, also added her first goal\u00a0post-Olympics,\u00a0bringing her career total to 65 points in 68 games as the PWHL\u2019s all-time points leader.\u00a0She now has points in three straight games\u00a0and is tied\u00a0for the\u00a0league\u2019s scoring lead with\u00a016\u00a0points\u00a0(8G, 8A) in 17 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hayley\u00a0Scamurra\u00a0has seven\u00a0points in\u00a0her last eight games with\u00a0tonight\u2019s goal,\u00a0and nine points (2G, 7A)\u00a0in 18 games\u00a0overall,\u00a0which is one\u00a0point\u00a0shy of tying her career high of 10 (5G, 5A) as a member of the Charge during the inaugural season.\u00a0The Olympic gold\u00a0medalist\u00a0ended\u00a0a 14-game goalless streak with her second-period\u00a0tally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lina\u00a0Ljungblom\u00a0has now recorded two goals and one assist in the Victoire\u2019s three games since returning from the Olympic break, where she reached the same points total (2G, 1A) for Team Sweden. Prior to playing in the Olympics,\u00a0Ljungblom\u00a0went without a point in her\u00a0previous\u00a012 regular-season appearances with Montr\u00e9al, dating back to the 2024-25 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maggie Connors\u00a0notched her second goal\u00a0and third point\u00a0of the season in her\u00a019th game, matching her\u00a0goal\u00a0total\u00a0and\u00a0surpassing her\u00a0point\u00a0total\u00a0from the 2024-25 season\u00a0in 30 games.\u00a0The Toronto forward ended\u00a0a\u00a0streak of\u00a011\u00a0games without a point, which tied a single-season career high from\u00a0Jan. 22 to\u00a0Feb.\u00a025 of\u00a0last season,\u00a0and\u00a0puts her\u00a0halfway to her career high\u00a0point\u00a0total in 24 games during the inaugural season (3G, 3A).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blayre\u00a0Turnbull\u00a0scored\u00a0on\u00a0her\u00a0bobblehead\u00a0giveaway\u00a0night\u00a0to bring\u00a0her\u00a0season total to five\u00a0goals\u00a0in\u00a019\u00a0games, matching\u00a0her career high\u00a0in 30 games last season.\u00a0The\u00a0Sceptres\u00a0captain\u00a0is one point away from becoming the eighth\u00a0player\u00a0in team history to reach 30 career points\u00a0in a\u00a0Toronto\u00a0uniform. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Jesse Compher\u00a0notched her sixth goal of the season to tie\u00a0Daryl\u00a0Watts\u00a0for the team lead. The tally was her first at Coca-Cola Coliseum since Feb. 14, 2025, in Toronto\u2019s 3-1 win against visiting Boston.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sandra\u00a0Abstreiter\u00a0earned her second career victory \u2014 both with Montr\u00e9al this season \u2014 and first shootout win\u00a0of\u00a0her career. The appearance marked her third start of the season for the Victoire, and first since Jan. 2.\u00a0Abstreiter\u00a0won\u00a0three of her five\u00a0starts\u00a0for Germany at the Olympics, posting a .907 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nat\u00e1lie\u00a0Ml\u00fdnkov\u00e1\u00a0notched her fourth assist and eighth point in 18 games with Montr\u00e9al this season. The Victoire forward now has points in three of her last four games, moving into a tie for fourth place in\u00a0rookie\u00a0scoring. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Alexandra Labelle\u00a0snapped a 13-game point drought,\u00a0assisting\u00a0on\u00a0Ljungblom\u2019s\u00a0third-period tally. \u00a0The forward now has two points, both assists, through 16 games this season \u2014 her career-high is four points (1G, 3A), set last season with the Victoire in 19 games. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Nicole Gosling\u00a0notched her sixth assist for her seventh point of the season in 18 games. The Victoire defender holds the fourth most points scored among rookie defenders\u00a0and\u00a0moves into a tie for ninth in scoring among all rookies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maggie Flaherty\u2019s assist brought her to seven points (3G, 4A) in 18 games this season, moving her into a tie for seventh in league scoring among defenders.\u00a0The Minnesota native has now set a new career-high in points, surpassing her inaugural\u2011season total of six points (1G, 5A) in 24 games. She also ranks second on the team in power\u2011play assists (3), trailing only\u00a0Erin Ambrose\u00a0(4).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maureen Murphy\u00a0recorded\u00a0a power-play assist \u2014 her first of the season and third of her career \u2014 and now\u00a0has three points (1G, 2A) in Montr\u00e9al\u2019s last two games. The Victoire forward sits one point away from 30 for her career, a milestone that 31 PWHL players have reached in the league\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amanda Boulier\u00a0has her first point streak of the season and her first since scoring points in three consecutive games during the inaugural season between Feb. 4 to Feb. 17 (1G, 2A). She is now a third of the way to her career high points total of nine (1G, 8A) in 23 games across Ottawa and Montr\u00e9al during the inaugural season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watts\u00a0tallied\u00a0a primary helper\u00a0for the 29th\u00a0assist\u00a0of her career, putting her one away from becoming the fifth player in PWHL history to reach 30 career assists.\u00a0The forward now has\u00a0thirteen\u00a0points on the season (6G,\u00a07A),\u00a0moving into\u00a0a tie for\u00a0eighth\u00a0place in\u00a0PWHL scoring\u00a0while continuing to\u00a0lead Toronto in\u00a0points. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Renata Fast\u00a0recorded\u00a0the primary helper on\u00a0Toronto\u2019s\u00a0late game-tying\u00a0goal,\u00a0marking\u00a0her\u00a0third point in the\u00a0Sceptres\u2019\u00a0three games since the Olympic break (1G, 2A)\u00a0\u2014\u00a0doubling\u00a0her\u00a0season point total\u00a0to\u00a0six\u00a0(1G,\u00a05A)\u00a0in\u00a015 games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ella Shelton\u2019s assist put her two away from\u00a0becoming the\u00a0first defender\u00a0in PWHL history\u00a0to\u00a0reach\u00a045 career points\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a milestone which only 11 players have reached.\u00a0She now\u00a0has six\u00a0points\u00a0(2G, 4A)\u00a0on\u00a0the season\u00a0and is tied for\u00a0the team\u00a0scoring lead\u00a0among\u00a0blue\u00a0liners\u00a0with\u00a0Fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Raygan Kirk\u00a0suffered her first loss since Toronto\u2019s last matchup with\u00a0Montr\u00e9al on Jan. 28.\u00a0Tonight\u2019s start marked\u00a0the fifth time\u00a0that\u00a0the\u00a0Sceptres\u00a0netminder\u00a0has made at least 30 saves\u00a0across 14\u00a0games\u00a0this season,\u00a0a feat\u00a0which she reached three times\u00a0in 10 games\u00a0during the 2024-25 regular season.\u00a0Kirk\u00a0remains\u00a0winless in\u00a0four career shootout games. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Ann-Ren\u00e9e Desbiens\u00a0served as Montr\u00e9al\u2019s backup today for a day of rest after nine consecutive games between the pipes, including two wins since returning from the Olympics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emma Gentry\u00a0missed\u00a0the\u00a0third\u00a0game of her\u00a0rookie\u00a0campaign with the\u00a0Sceptres\u00a0due to\u00a0a lower-body injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
THREE STARS\u00a0\u202f<\/p>\n
1.\u202f\u202fMarie-Philip Poulin\u00a0(MTL)\u00a01G,\u00a0SOWG\u00a0
2.\u202f\u202fNicole Gosling (MTL)\u00a01A\u00a0
3.\u202fMaggie Connors (TOR) 1G\u202f\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
STANDINGS\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Montr\u00e9al:\u202f35\u202fPTS (9-4-0-5) \u2013\u202f1st\u202fPlace\u202f\u00a0
Toronto:\u202f24\u202fPTS (6-1-4-8) \u2013\u202f4th\u202fPlace\u202f(Tied)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
UPCOMING SCHEDULES\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Toronto:\u00a0Sunday,\u00a0Mar.\u00a08\u00a0vs.\u00a0Minnesota\u00a0at\u00a012\u00a0p.m. ET\u202f\u00a0
Montr\u00e9al: Sunday,\u00a0Mar. 15\u00a0vs. Boston\u00a0at 1 p.m. ET\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n