As the shootout entered the fifth and final round, Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie had a decision to make. Neither team had scored to that point in the shootout, and Cheverie sent out Marie-Philip Poulin for her second attempt in the shootout.
Poulin failed to score on a breakaway in the last minute of overtime, and in her first shootout attempt.
“We did the math quickly, and she’s not going to miss three in a row,” Cheverie said jokingly.
She didn’t.
Poulin beat Emerance Maschmeyer to score, and Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped Katerina Mrazova to seal the 4-3 shootout win for Montreal against the Ottawa Charge in the season opener for both teams on Saturday at Place Bell.
Montreal outshot Ottawa 46-32, 36-19 through the first 40 minutes. It was Ottawa who struck first, however. 7:49 into the first period, Anna Meixner put the puck on net, and the loose puck was batted home off of Montreal forward’s Abby Boreen’s stick and in. Emily Clark received credit for the goal.
The Victoire kept pushing, but their attempts were denied by Maschmeyer, who ended the night with 43 saves. Early in the second period, Ottawa doubled their lead on another fortuitous bounce. Danielle Serdachny threw the puck into the crease, where it went off of Kati Tabin’s skate and in. It was Serdachny’s first PWHL goal in her first PWHL game after being drafted second overall in the 2024 Draft. The goal came just 2:20 into the second period.
“I didn’t like the bounces that we received,” Cheverie said. “Not saying we didn’t deserve the bounces, but I felt like we made a couple of poor decisions and all of a sudden there’s a three-on-one at our net and then it goes in off of us. I didn’t like the below the goal line goal at all. We knew that’s what they were trying to do and so then to get beat on something that we knew, that doesn’t sit well.”
“Honestly, I don’t even think you would have been able to tell we were down 2-0,” said Victoire defender Erin Ambrose on the bench’s mentality after the second goal. “I looked up at the clock when they scored their second goal and they had 10 shots, but two of them were us putting the puck on net. If you look at the way we played, it never really wavered at all and it was pretty impressive for us in our first game to not go off script at all and just stay the course.”
Just over 3:30 later, Montreal got their first goal of the season. Third-round pick Abby Boreen took the puck in the neutral zone, and skated into the Ottawa end, wiring a wrist shot short-side on Maschmeyer to make it 2-1.
Abby Boreen compte son premier but dans l'uniforme de la Victoire🔥
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) November 30, 2024
Things you love to see: Abby Boreen scoring the first goal in a Montréal Victoire jersey pic.twitter.com/DHeqiQERZH
Montreal would tie it up on the power play just over midway through the period. Ambrose set up Laura Stacey for the one-timer, and Stacey made no mistake.
LAURA DE RETOUR À SON POSTE
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) November 30, 2024
LAURA STACEY EVERYBODY pic.twitter.com/lNgql7SEmc
Stacey led all players with seven shots on goal in the game.
Ottawa re-took the lead with a power play goal of their own, showcasing the league’s new “No Escape” rule. In the second period, with the long change, Montreal was stuck with the players on the ice when the penalty was taken. They tried to take advantage of a short clear to change, but Ottawa transitioned the puck quickly and former Montreal player Tereza Vanišová had a breakaway on Ann-Renée Desbiens. She made no mistake, scoring her first goal with Ottawa in her seventh game after the trade.
The Victoire once again tied the game with a power play goal. Cheverie elected to start the power play with the second unit of Cayla Barnes, Jennifer Gardiner, Boreen, Claire Dalton, and Lina Ljungblom. After some heavy pressure, and some chances by Boreen, the puck was reset by Barnes. Barnes then set up Gardiner at the top of the right circle, and her shot went through Maschmeyer.
https://t.co/Hjgd2zdMI7 pic.twitter.com/txwuagAiwl
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) December 1, 2024
The goal epitomized the improvements Montreal added to the lineup. Of the four players on the ice, only Dalton was with the team last year. The play went from third-round pick Boreen to the team’s first-round pick Barnes, and was scored by the team’s second-round pick Gardiner, for her first PWHL goal.
Barnes, who earned her first PWHL point on the play, was uncertain to play after suffering an injury in the Rivalry Series just before training camp. Her first practices with the team happened in the last two days before Saturday’s game, and her ice time was limited. She was still able to make a contribution and showed why the team picked her in the first round of the draft.
The last nine minutes of the third period and overtime was a back-and-forth affair, with Ottawa showing their best play of the game. Desbiens and Maschmeyer both made big saves, leading to the shootout. Desbiens made all five saves, securing Montreal’s first ever shootout win. They were the only team to not win a shootout in the league’s inaugural season.
Montreal now has a couple of days off before their next game, Wednesday night at Place Bell against the New York Sirens. New York will open their season on Sunday against the defending champion Minnesota Frost.
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