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Montreal Victoire’s Alexandra Labelle (13) and Boston Fleet’s Jill Saulnier (44) vie for possession of the puck during second period PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., on Friday, April 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Christopher Katsarov<\/p>\nBy Canadian Press on April 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Montreal Victoire’s Alexandra Labelle (13) and Boston Fleet’s Jill Saulnier (44) vie for possession of the puck during second period PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., on Friday, April 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Christopher Katsarov<\/p>\n
LAVAL \u2014 Nicole Gosling picked the perfect time for to score her first career goal at Place Bell.<\/p>\n
Montreal\u2019s first-round pick in the 2025 Professional Hockey Women\u2019s League draft scored on the power play 38 seconds into overtime to earn the Victoire a 3-2 win over the Boston Fleet on Friday night. The victory came in the club\u2019s final regular-season home game and extended its lead atop the standings to two points with two games remaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good to get that one in front of all the fans,\u201d Gosling said.<\/p>\n
She had friends and family at the game, which made it even more memorable.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be in front of this crowd, the building erupts when to score,\u201d said Montreal forward Kaitlin Willoughby, who along with Jade Downie-Landry also scored their first home goals at home before the sold-out crowd.<\/p>\n
Gosling\u2019s growth throughout her rookie season came at a time where she has been asked to take on more responsibility. She has met the moment, especially while Canadian Olympic team member Erin Ambrose was on long-term injured reserve after suffering an injury in the gold medal game, forcing her to miss eight games.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old London, Ont., native was drafted fourth overall by Montreal out of Clarkson University. She was seen as a player who could lead the defence with two-way play from the left side.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has been such an amazing piece to our puzzle,\u201d said Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie. \u201cTonight, scoring that goal, I feel like that\u2019s vintage Nicole Gosling that we saw in college.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s harder to score goals in this league but she\u2019s working, she has an impact regardless of whether she puts the puck in the back of the net.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montreal goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens, who has seen Gosling for years with the Canadian national team program, agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way she is playing with confidence, we all knew that she would excel in the league,\u201d said Desbiens. \u201cBut to see her progress it\u2019s encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Gosling: \u201cI\u2019ve been leaning on my teammates a lot. They\u2019ve definitely helped me gain the confidence in being comfortable being myself, so I owe it a lot to them and each game just keeps getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The goal was Gosling\u2019s third of the season. Montreal is riding a seven-game winning streak and has points in its last 16 games, losing only twice in overtime over that span.<\/p>\n
In addition to extending its lead atop the PWHL standings, Montreal clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n
A unique PWHL rule sees the team that finishes atop the regular-season standings getting to pick its opponent in the semifinals, choosing between the teams that finish third and fourth. While that might have some squads second-guessing whether they want to provide their opponent with incentive, the Victoire _ who finished first a year ago only to lose in the first round _ aren\u2019t shying away from it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want first place,\u201d said Cheverie. \u201cIn this league you might hear people say \u2018second is better,\u2019 but, it\u2019s first place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat comes with responsibility as well, and I\u2019m not thinking about that responsibility right now. I want our team to go into the playoffs feeling the best they possibly can and if we continue to win or continue to do good things, we will have that feeling going into playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
But for the Victoire, heading into the playoffs is more important than where they fini<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re concentrating more on the process, on the things we need to improve as a team to start the playoffs strong,\u201d said Desbiens. \u201cSometimes the result of the game, you can work hard and you can still lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jared Book, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
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