In her first PWHL game, Montreal forward Mélodie Daoust said she was nervous during her first shift. On her second shift, she helped set up her team’s first goal of the game.
The 32-year-old is no stranger to big moments, nor is she a stranger to stepping up in them, but the MVP of the 2018 Olympics and top forward of the 2021 World Championships is no longer a full-time hockey player. Her commitment to running the hockey program at Collège Bourget with Hanna Bunton and shared custody of her five-year-old son, Matteo, means that she started the year as a reserve player for Montreal and signed a 10-day contract prior to Saturday’s game.
The game, where she scored the game-winning goal on top of being right in the middle of the other two goals in Montreal’s 3-1 win against Boston, was her first since the PWHPA’s championship game on March 12, 2023.
“It was incredible to feel the atmosphere going out on the ice,” Daoust said. “I had chills when I scored my first goal when the fans started to cheer. It warmed my heart and it was great to be able to do it in Montreal.”
Just 3:51 into the game, Daoust performed a give-and-go with Kati Tabin and fired a shot towards the net. The loose puck eventually found its way right on the stick of Marie-Philip Poulin, who made no mistake for her seventh goal of the season.
La première ligne fait déjà des dommages!
— PWHL Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) March 2, 2024
Poulin lighting up the lamp early! pic.twitter.com/beRcXB8vle
Early in the second, Poulin and Daoust used their smarts and history to call a play on the offensive zone faceoff. Poulin played the puck to herself and Daoust drove the net and Poulin made a perfect pass and Daoust only had to tap it in to make it 2-0 and score her first goal in her debut.
Nulle autre que Mélodie Daoust!
— PWHL Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) March 2, 2024
Our first line is cooking pic.twitter.com/eTFKhBsCCI
Hilary Knight, who played with Daoust and Poulin during the 2018-19 CWHL season as a member of Les Canadiennes cut the lead to 2-1 when she fired a shot from the left circle that beat Montreal goaltender Elaine Chuli. Chuli made 30 saves on 31 shots to lower her goals against average on the season to 1.19 and raised her save percentage to .962. She is the only goaltender to win all her starts, at 5-0.
The Knight goal started when Alina Müller caused the turnover and broke into the zone with Knight.
Montreal restored the two goal lead early in the third period. Two minutes and 29 seconds into the period, Erin Ambrose took a long point shot that made its way through traffic, including Daoust setting a screen, to make it 3-1. Ambrose was also on the 2018-19 Canadiennes with Poulin, Daoust, and Knight. It was Ambrose’s third goal of the season. Poulin had her third point of the night on the goal, while Mariah Keopple earned her first professional point.
Ambrose de la ligne bleue!
— PWHL Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) March 2, 2024
Ambrose gets her third of the season! pic.twitter.com/wtuh1yClI4
All in all, Daoust and Poulin were on the ice for all three Montreal goals. Daoust played 17:48 in her debut.
“If you’re playing on a line with Marie-Philip, you expect to get a lot of ice time,” Daoust said. “For me, that wasn’t my focus. I really wanted to focus on each of my shifts and do what I was able to do to help the team.”
“She’s definitely a special player that can be inserted into the lineup and have an impact right away,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “It seemed like a good fit to go with her, Pou and [Laura Stacey]. She’s got a knack for the net so she had a big impact for us.”
“Pou and I played together a lot in the past with Team Canada,” Daoust said. “Yes, we have a good chemistry on the ice but you can’t forget Laura, who does the job on the forecheck like nobody else. We don’t give her enough credit but she’s the one who gets us the puck so we’re able to make plays.”
Playing her first game with the increased physicality that the PWHL has brought didn’t faze Daoust, either.
“I love it,” Daoust said. “I think the physical play is something that was missing from our sport and it makes every game interesting.”
As mentioned, Montreal made several roster moves before the game. Alex Poznikoff was signed to a standard contract for the rest of the season, with Kennedy Marchment placed on long-term injured reserve. Daoust was signed to a 10-day contract because Claire Dalton missed the game for precautionary reasons related to an injury. This means that all three reserve players to start the season on Montreal’s roster have been signed to a contract and played a game.
With the win, Montreal stays in first place in the league. They are three points ahead of second-place Toronto and five ahead of Minnesota in third place. They have 10 games remaining this season, including three over the next week. They travel to New York on Wednesday before facing Toronto on Friday and then returning home to face Ottawa at Place Bell on March 10.
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