{"id":576741,"date":"2026-04-02T05:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/576741\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T05:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:28:08","slug":"montreal-clinches-playoff-spot-with-3-0-win-over-vancouver-pwhl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/576741\/","title":{"rendered":"MONTR\u00c9AL CLINCHES PLAYOFF SPOT WITH 3-0 WIN OVER VANCOUVER | PWHL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Highlights and Press Conferences available on\u202fMontr\u00e9al<\/a>\u202fand\u00a0Vancouver<\/a>\u202fYouTube channels\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

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LAVAL, QC\u202f(April 1, 2026) \u2013\u202f\u00a0The Montr\u00e9al Victoire became the second team to punch\u00a0a ticket to the\u00a02026\u00a0PWHL\u00a0Walter Cup Playoffs, led\u00a0by\u00a0Ann-Ren\u00e9e Desbiens\u2019 sixth shutout of the season and two goals from Hayley\u00a0Scamurra, shutting out the Vancouver Goldeneyes 3-0 in front of 9,176\u00a0fans\u00a0at\u00a0Place Bell\u00a0on\u00a0Wednesday night.\u00a0Scamurra\u2019s\u00a0two-goal night included the game winner, while Laura Stacey and Skylar Irving notched two assists apiece to lead the offence for the Victoire. After the game seemed\u00a0headed towards\u00a0overtime, still\u00a0scoreless\u00a0midway through the final frame,\u00a0Scamurra\u00a0 finished off a cycle between Irving and Stacey, finding space in the slot to put home a one-time snapshot for her fourth of the season. With Vancouver goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer on the bench for the extra attacker,\u00a0Scamurra\u00a0finished off a rush pass from Stacey, who set a new career high in assists, to double Montreal\u2019s\u00a0lead\u00a0to 2-0\u00a0with 1:37 remaining. Defender Maggie Flaherty iced the game for the Victoire with another empty-net marker, her fourth tally of the season, with 42 seconds\u00a0remaining. Along with clinching a playoff position, Montr\u00e9al set a new PWHL record with the win,\u00a0extending their point streak to 12\u00a0straight games. Desbiens secured her 15th win of the season while Maschmeyer stopped 25 of 26 shots in the loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Montr\u00e9al\u00a0now\u00a0sit\u00a0two points behind first-place Boston in the standings and six points ahead of Minnesota, who lost to New York in overtime tonight. With New York\u2019s win, Vancouver is now two points behind the sixth-place Sirens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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QUOTES\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Victoire Head Coach\u00a0Kori Cheverie\u00a0on the team winning a game without the team having its best outing: \u201cI thought Vancouver played a\u00a0really tough\u00a0game. They were very physical and played desperate hockey.\u00a0I think it\u00a0took us until the third period to\u00a0kind of match\u00a0that desperation. Even after we scored the empty net goal, there was still lots of\u00a0game\u00a0left to play in my mind even though it was like\u00a0the\u00a01:40 or 1:50 minute\u00a0mark, and I think we found a way\u00a0to win when I didn’t think we had our A-game.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Montr\u00e9al\u00a0alternate captain\u00a0Laura Stacey\u00a0on everyone stepping up during captain Marie-Philip Poulin’s absence:\u00a0\u201cShe’s a huge loss and she is irreplaceable.\u00a0That being said, I don’t think there is any more pressure.\u00a0It’s\u00a0a team sport, and all of us want to stand up and make her proud, make each other proud. We want to score, we want to put pucks on the net, and at the end of the day, we just want to win hockey games. What we can do is show up and find a way to be the best version of us every night, and if you do that, that void gets a little smaller.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Vancouver\u00a0Head Coach\u00a0Brian Idalski\u00a0on\u00a0the game as a whole: \u201cIt was a playoff type atmosphere, and anybody’s game\u00a0coming\u00a0into the third. So,\u00a0hats\u00a0off to\u00a0Montr\u00e9al.\u00a0I thought they played a very solid game from start to finish.\u00a0Obviously [through the first two periods Vancouver\u00a0had]\u00a0some pretty big penalty kills,\u00a0and I thought we did much better in the second with the neutral zone and played some good road hockey.\u00a0Just hoping to create a little more in the third there, get an opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Goldeneyes alternate captain\u00a0Sarah Nurse\u00a0on\u00a0her team\u2019s performance:\u00a0\u201cI think we could have done a better job of getting in front of Ann-Ren\u00e9e\u00a0[Desbiens]\u00a0for sure. You pre-scout a very good goalie and some keys to success are definitely taking away their eyes and creating havoc\u00a0at\u00a0the net. I think\u00a0that’s\u00a0something that we need to do a better\u00a0job of. I\u00a0don’t\u00a0think we gave\u00a0a lot up\u00a0in the first two periods, which I was\u00a0very proud\u00a0of. And then coming into the third,\u00a0it’s\u00a0obviously disappointing when that one goal is the goal,\u00a0I think that\u00a0was a little frustrating coming out of that game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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NOTABLES\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Montr\u00e9al became the first team to secure playoff berths in three straight PWHL seasons.\u00a0With six games\u00a0remaining,\u00a0this\u00a0is\u00a0the fastest\u00a0the team has\u00a0ever\u00a0clinched\u00a0after locking up a\u00a0playoff spot\u00a0with\u00a0four\u00a0games\u00a0left in their\u00a02024-25\u00a0season\u00a0and\u00a0with two games left in the inaugural season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Victoire\u00a0set\u00a0a PWHL record with\u00a0a\u00a012-game point streak, surpassing\u00a0Toronto\u2019s\u00a011-game\u00a0point streak\u00a0from\u00a0Jan. 26 \u2013 Mar.\u00a020, 2024, during the inaugural season.\u00a0In 12 games since\u00a0Jan. 21,\u00a0Montr\u00e9al has\u00a0collected\u00a030\u00a0of\u00a0a possible\u00a036\u00a0points (8-2-2-0).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Montr\u00e9al has 13 regulation wins for the first time in team history,\u00a0doing so in\u00a024 games,\u00a0after\u00a0securing 12\u00a0in\u00a02024-25 (30 games) and\u00a010 in the\u00a0inaugural season (24 games).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vancouver\u2019s record\u00a0as the road team\u00a0in\u00a0their opponent\u2019s\u00a0home\u00a0market\u00a0drops to 1-0-1-8, after picking up their first regulation road win Sunday in Toronto.\u00a0Tonight was the first game the team played at\u00a0Place Bell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Goldeneyes have been shut out a league-high five times, including twice\u00a0by the Victoire in\u00a0both\u00a0games played in the province of\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec (previously\u00a0Jan.\u00a011 in Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0City).\u00a0All five of their shutout\u00a0losses\u00a0have\u00a0come on the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ann-Ren\u00e9e Desbiens\u00a0continued her career year with her sixth shutout of the season, one shy of the PWHL\u00a0lead \u2014 and a\u00a0single-season record\u00a0\u2014\u00a0held\u00a0by Aerin Frankel (BOS). The shutout was her second against Vancouver this season (Jan. 11). With the win, Desbiens recorded her 15th victory\u00a0of\u00a0the campaign, becoming the first goaltender in PWHL history to post multiple 15-win seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hayley\u00a0Scamurra\u00a0notched her fourth and fifth goals of the season in her 24th game, tying the career high she set during the PWHL\u2019s inaugural season with Ottawa, also in 24 games.\u00a0She now has two\u00a0game-winners in her career, both\u00a0this\u00a0season\u00a0with the Victoire.\u00a0With\u00a0the tallies,\u00a0Scamurra\u00a0extended her point streak to three games (3G, 1A), marking her longest run of the campaign and tying the longest streak of her career, set twice in 2024. She also took a season-high 20 draws in the contest, winning 11 for a success rate of 55%, while playing a season-high 20:51.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laura Stacey\u00a0had two assists, both primary, to reach 12 on the season in her 24th game, surpassing the career high (11) she set in 2024-25 in 27 games. The forward now has 18 points (6G, 12A) in 2025-26, tied for\u00a0seventh\u00a0in the PWHL, and moves into a tie for first in team scoring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Emerance Maschmeyer\u00a0allowed just one goal against, the sixth straight game in which she has given up two or fewer goals in a game, the longest active streak in the PWHL.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Skylar Irving\u00a0recorded the first multi-point game of her career,\u00a0assisting\u00a0on\u00a0both of\u00a0Scamurra\u2019s\u00a0third-period tallies. She now has eight points (2G, 6A) on the season,\u00a0seven of which\u00a0have\u00a0come in\u00a0her last\u00a011 games\u00a0and\u00a0is tied for 11th among all PWHL\u00a0rookies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maggie Flaherty\u00a0scored her fourth goal of the season and now has eight points \u2014 her\u00a0previous\u00a0career high was six, which she recorded with Minnesota in 2024. She has now recorded half of her career points this season, with the goal snapping a five-game pointless drought.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Jessica DiGirolamo\u00a0snapped a 12-game point drought with an assist tonight. The defender has three points on the season (1G, 2A) in 24 games, two shy of the career high she set with Boston in 2024-25.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Shiann\u00a0Darkangelo\u00a0recorded an assist for the second straight game, the second time she has a point in back-to-back games this season. The Victoire center has seven points (3G, 4A) and is still looking for her first three-game point streak this campaign.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Sarah Nurse\u00a0took a game-high 25 faceoffs in the game, winning 14,\u00a0for a success rate of 56%. She also led the way in the shot category, firing five shots on goal in her first game against the Victoire this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Anna Meixner\u00a0tied a career high with four shots on goal for the Goldeneyes, matching the mark she previously set on March 14 against Ottawa. The\u00a0second-year\u00a0forward, who skated on Vancouver\u2019s second line alongside Jenn Gardiner and Mannon McMahon\u00a0for the first time,\u00a0had\u00a0the second-most shots\u00a0among all skaters in the contest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Erin Ambrose\u00a0returned to Montreal\u2019s lineup\u00a0after an\u00a0eight-game absence. The defender, who\u00a0had\u00a0been on the team\u2019s LTIR with a lower-body injury sustained at the Olympics,\u00a0played\u00a014:29\u00a0in\u00a0her return.\u00a0Entering today\u2019s game, Ambrose had four assists in 14 regular-season games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

THREE STARS \u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ann-Ren\u00e9e Desbiens (MTL)\u00a018\/18 SVHayley\u00a0Scamurra\u00a0(MTL)\u00a02GLaura Stacey\u00a0(MTL) 2A<\/p>\n

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STANDINGS\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Montr\u00e9al:\u202f49\u202fPTS (13-4-2-5) \u2013\u202f2nd\u202fPlace\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vancouver:\u202f27\u202fPTS (7-1-4-12) \u2013\u202f7th\u202fPlace\u00a0
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UPCOMING SCHEDULES\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Montr\u00e9al: Friday, April\u00a03 at. Ottawa at 7:00 p.m. ET\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vancouver:\u00a0Saturday, April\u00a04\u00a0at\u00a0Minnesota\u00a0at\u00a011 a.m. PT\/2:00 p.m. ET\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

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CLICK HERE FOR STATS\u202f<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Highlights and Press Conferences available on\u202fMontr\u00e9al\u202fand\u00a0Vancouver\u202fYouTube channels\u202f\u202f\u00a0 \u00a0 LAVAL, QC\u202f(April 1, 2026) \u2013\u202f\u00a0The Montr\u00e9al Victoire became the second…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-576741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}