During the team’s post-game press conference, Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie said that there was no panic in her team.
She was talking about the fact that they came back from two separate one-goal deficits only to fall 3-2 in a shootout against the Boston Fleet on Tuesday night, but it could also be about the loss of goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens late in the second period.
Desbiens fell awkwardly in her crease, and instantly went down in pain. She left the game and needed help from her teammates to get off the ice, not putting any pressure on her left leg. Cheverie said that they will need to get Desbiens evaluated, but that she was in good spirits after the game.
Elaine Chuli entered the game, and did not allow a goal through the remainder of regulation and overtime, making 10 saves. Desbiens leads the PWHL in wins, save percentage, and goals against average, and it appears pretty evident that she will miss at least some time, given the pain she seemed to be in.
“I’m happy with our group tonight,” Cheverie said. “We didn’t get the result that we wanted, but there were a lot of positives. A lot of character-building moments, a lot of bounce backs. I loved the response when [Desbiens] left the net and [Chuli] came in. [Chuli] gave us a chance to win, that’s all you can ask of the group. We talked about it being a playoff game. We want to be in those moments. We want to experience that. We want to know what it takes to win in those situations.”
Hilary Knight opened the scoring for Boston in the first period, scoring a power play goal in the final minute. It was Boston’s fourth power play of the opening frame.
Montreal tied the game 6:08 into the second period when Lina Ljungblom fed Amanda Boulier in the slot, who beat Emma Söderberg. It was Boulier’s first goal of the season.
Une passe bien servie de Lina à Bou
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) March 19, 2025
Lina served a nice plate to Bou pic.twitter.com/NILA7Qa0vB
Boston re-took the lead just over five minutes later when Susanna Tapani was left alone behind the Montreal defence, and put a wrist shot over the shoulder of Desbiens to give Boston a 2-1 lead.
Desbiens left the game with her injury less than two minutes after that goal.
The Victoire tied the game again, this time on the power play. Anna Wilgren shot it through traffic and it went off the post and in for her second goal of the season to make it 2-2.
QUEL TIR D'ANNA!
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) March 19, 2025
WHAT A SHOT BY ANNA! pic.twitter.com/Z6UvqB1Zz9
The goal came with 3:16 remaining in the period.
There was no scoring in the third period, even though Montreal had the better chances and outshot the Fleet 8-4 in the final period of regulation. Boston returned the favour, outshooting Montreal 4-2 in overtime before a shootout was needed.
The teams matched goals in the third and fifth rounds of the shootout. In round six, Tapani scored for Boston, and Söderberg stopped Marie-Philip Poulin, who was making her third attempt in the shootout after going 1/2 in her first two tries.
Montreal now has some time off before their next game, Sunday at 12:00 p.m. when they host the Toronto Sceptres.
Notes
- Kaitlin Willoughby made her Victoire debut after being acquired at the PWHL trade deadline. She played 9:22 on the fourth line, getting one shot on goal.
- Tuesday’s game ended four straight road games for Montreal. They now have six games remaining, three at home and three on the road.
- This was the fourth straight game between Montreal and Boston to require overtime. Two of the games went to shootouts, with Boston winning both. Including playoffs, nine of the 12 all-time meetings between the two teams have gone longer than 60 minutes.
- Laura Stacey was moved back to the second line with Kristin O’Neill and Mikyla Grant-Mentis. The line had several chances as Cheverie tries to get that line going.
Standings
| TEAM | GP | GR | RW | OW | SW | OL | RL | PTS | GF | GA | MAX PTS | MAGIC | TRAGIC | #1 | HOME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTL | 24 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 45 | 64 | 56 | 63 | 6 | 29 | 14 | 13 |
| BOS | 24 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 40 | 66 | 55 | 58 | 11 | 24 | 19 | 18 |
| TOR | 23 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 60 | 58 | 57 | 15 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| MIN | 25 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 35 | 68 | 67 | 50 | 16 | 16 | 24 | 23 |
| OTT | 23 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 30 | 52 | 65 | 51 | 21 | 17 | 29 | 28 |
| NY | 23 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 27 | 56 | 65 | 48 | 24 | 14 | 32 | 31 |
Boston gained a point on Montreal and now sits five points back of the Victoire. Montreal inches closer towards clinching a playoff spot, and have three more games before the World Championship break.
Full Highlights
