Last season, the Montreal Victoire had the goaltender who led the league in save percentage, goals against average, and was coming off of a professional hockey championship. It wasn’t Ann-Renée Desbiens, who has been Canada’s number-one goaltender since 2019. It was Elaine Chuli.
Now, with Desbiens out with a lower-body injury, Chuli will have an opportunity to be the goaltender leaned on as the Victoire continue their push towards the playoffs. With six games remaining, Montreal’s lead atop the PWHL standings has dropped to five points.
The role that Chuli came into in Montreal was not an easy one. Chuli has been a starter for most of her career, but in Montreal, she’s had to adjust. Over two seasons, she has played just 15 of the team’s 48 games—watching from the bench 68.8% of the time. That’s a stark contrast from her previous nine seasons, where she played in 75% of games across the NCAA, CWHL, and PHF.
The 30-year-old has seen her career take her from growing up in Ontario to the University of Connecticut and then to China playing for the Vanke Rays of the CWHL before returning to the Toronto Furies of the CWHL and Toronto Six of the PHF.
“It’s definitely tough,” Chuli said earlier in the season about not being the number one goaltender. “I think any goalie you talk to would tell you it’s easier when you’re playing. I think everything I’ve went through in my career helps me and sets me up for this.”
Chuli points to the work that she does with Victoire goalie coaches Olivier Michaud and Bruno-Pierre Guillemette. Not only are they on the ice before every team practice, they work with Chuli, Desbiens, and third goaltender Sandra Abstreiter during and in between drills plus video sessions and debriefs.
“She knew when she came with us what her role was going to be,” Guillemette said. “She wants to play as many games as she can, like every goalie wants to. She always wants to learn, she wants to [improve] her game, she’s asking questions.”
That takes us to last Tuesday. With 6:50 remaining in the second period, Desbiens fell awkwardly, and had to leave the game, unable to put any pressure on her left leg and was helped off the ice. Chuli came into the game, and did not allow a goal for the rest of regulation or the overtime period. It was her first game action since a start in Toronto on March 6, where she was pulled midway through the second period after allowing three goals.
“Obviously that was tough,” Chuli said about entering the game after the injury to Desbiens. “I’ve never been in a game like that, so just get in there and do what you can to try and get the team a win.”
She made 10 saves before losing in the shootout.
“I really like where [Chuli] is,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “We had great conversations after that Toronto game. She’s put in the work and she’s earned her spot to be in the lineup. Something I like the most about her is how competitive she is and how much she wants to compete in practice and make herself better. I love the response from her going into the net halfway through and she made some great saves for us.”
She’s not the only one who notices the goaltender’s competitiveness.
“She wants to compete,” Guillemette said. “She wants to stop every puck.”
After a stellar campaign last year (6-1-1, 1.61 GAA, .949 SV%), Chuli’s numbers this season (3-3-0, 2.83 GAA, .900 SV%) are down. Still, she remains confident in her approach.
“Sometimes the outcome might not be what you’re looking for, but the process is the same,” she said. “You just have to stick with it.”
Desbiens leads all PWHL goaltenders in wins, goals against average, and save percentage this season. Over the last two seasons, Cheverie has said both her goalies have given them a chance to win every game they have played regardless of who is in net. That kind of confidence goes throughout the lineup.
“Chuli is so critical to our success,” said Montreal defender Amanda Boulier. “As much as Ann is going to be receiving votes for Prime Minister soon, I think Chuli is so critical. Having the best goalie tandem in the league is so helpful for us. Every time she gets in there, even if she hasn’t played a game in two weeks, she’s always ready. That’s a really tough role to be in, but I think she plays it gracefully and really well.”
“Obviously we know what Ann brings to the team, but we also know what Chuli and Sandra bring to our team as well,” said Victoire forward Laura Stacey. “Hockey’s a team sport and we need to rally around her, help her out, but we have full confidence in our team and in Chuli that we still got this.”
Leah Lum played with Chuli at UConn, won the Isobel Cup with her with the Toronto Six, and played in Montreal last season.
“We always knew that we could count on her,” Lum said last season. “That girl has been a brick wall her entire life. She has a really good head on her shoulders.”
One game that Lum remembers is Game 2 of the 2016 Hockey East quarterfinal. Chuli made 69 saves in a triple overtime win over New Hampshire, including 21 in the first overtime period alone, to sweep the series.
“That girl is just built different,” Lum said.
Chuli’s first start with Desbiens out will likely be Sunday at Place Bell against the Toronto Sceptres. It will be her first start since being pulled against that same Toronto team a few weeks earlier. Puck drop is at 12:00 p.m. Eastern (TSN/RDS in Canada, YouTube internationally).
Notes
- There was no immediate word on Desbiens’ injury status but she is out for at least the foreseeable future. She was not on the ice at practice, and it is believed that the team has signed former McGill and Montreal Force (PHF) goaltender Tricia Deguire to a 10-day contract. The contract has not been officially announced at this time. A 10-day contract would mean that Desbiens does not have to be placed on LTIR.
- Desbiens was named to Canada’s roster for the upcoming World Championship on Friday. It could be seen as potentially good news in that Desbiens might not be out long-term, or it could be that the roster was already in place before Desbiens’ injury and they did not want to rush to name an injury replacement.
