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Victoire vs. Frost recap & highlights: Desbiens delivers as Montreal prevails in the shootout

Posted on by Nathan Ni
Photo by Laurent Corbeil/PWHL

Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 40 of 41 shots in regulation and turned away all five Minnesota Frost attempts in the shootout as the Montreal Victoire escaped Place Bell with their 15th win of the season.

It’s unusual to see Montreal on the back foot as much as they were on Tuesday night. Montreal has been the class of the PWHL’s sophomore season, coming into the game seven points ahead of the second place Toronto Sceptres.

Perhaps the team’s intensity has naturally diminished, given that the team is virtually assured of a post-season position despite having one-third of the campaign still to play.

Perhaps this is simply regression to the mean, as the Victoire’s 8–3–1–2 start to the season had given way to a more pedestrian 2-1-0-2 since the February international break.

Or perhaps it was the opposition: of Montreal’s four regulation losses thus far, two have been to the Frost. In fact, Minnesota is the only team to have defeated the Victoire multiple times this season.

Regardless of the reason, the Victoire played much of the match on their heels and found it difficult to assert themselves. From the get-go, Minnesota’s aggressive forecheck and neutral zone press wreaked havoc with Montreal’s zone exits and transition play. Montreal also had difficulty winning board battles in the offensive zone to generate sustained zone time, a trend that would persist for most of the night.

The Victoire’s answer to Minnesota’s early pressure was Desbiens, who played heroine four or five times in the opening frame to keep the game scoreless. Ironically, Montreal’s best minutes of the period came during a late Minnesota power play. With Lina Ljungblom in the box for playing with a broken stick, the Victoire penalty killers blocked four shots and created some momentum for the team. The successful penalty kill was followed up by a solid shift in the Frost zone, setting the tone for the intermission.

Despite a 13-4 Minnesota advantage on the shot clock, Montreal would strike first. From the faceoff, Marie-Philip Poulin sent the puck into the Victoire zone. Erin Ambrose and Kati Tabin successfully deflected the Frost forecheck, sending the puck to Jennifer Gardiner at the blueline, who whipped a pass cross-ice to a sprinting Laura Stacey. Stacey took the puck off the boards in full stride, cutting across the net and sliding a backhand past Maddie Rooney to give the Victoire a 1-0 lead.

That goal sparked a Montreal push, and while the scoreboard remained unchanged, the Victoire managed to keep Minnesota shotless in the second frame until the 12:49 mark. However, the Frost’s first shots of the second forced more fine saves from Desbiens. They were also followed by a return to the pattern of the first frame: continued Minnesota pressure leading to three consecutive Montreal penalties.

While the Frost failed to convert on the first two opportunities (including a five-on-three), the third time was the charm, with Taylor Heise ripping a wrister past Desbiens from the high slot. The two teams headed to the second intermission knotted at one, but with Minnesota holding a 26-14 advantage in shots on goal.

Minnesota kept pushing through the third period, only to be met with Desbiens at every turn. In reply, the Victoire attacked on the counter, and found an offensive zone shift here and there courtesy of the Gardiner-Poulin-Stacey trio. With a little more luck, Montreal could have found themselves ahead, as both Stacey and Abby Boreen found iron behind Rooney. Nonetheless, the team managed to buy themselves enough breathers to prevent the Frost waves from becoming an overwhelming tsunami.

As often is the case, the limiters were turned off for overtime, as the Frost and Victoire traded rushes until Boreen took a penalty for boarding Kelly Pannek with three minutes left in the extra frame. Ironically, Montreal had the best chance on the Minnesota power play, with Gardiner shooting wide on a clear cut breakaway. A 41-22 shot advantage for the Frost went for naught as the game would be decided by a shootout.

To the surprise of no one, Montreal led with Marie-Philip Poulin. To the surprise of no one, Captain Clutch snapped a wrist shot past Rooney’s blocker to put the Victoire up 1-0. It was the only goal of the shootout, and the third shootout winner (of three Montreal shootout wins) of Poulin’s season. From there, Desbiens stopped Britta Curl (to the delight of the crowd), Brooke McQuigge, Grace Zumwinkle, Heise, and Claire Thompson in succession to seal the win.

Montreal heads to Toronto to play the Sceptres on Thursday night, the first game of a four game road trip. Minnesota, meanwhile, has a Friday night date with the Ottawa Charge in Raleigh, North Carolina, as the PWHL continues its Takeover Tour.

Notes

  • Taylor Heise’s goal was the first allowed by the Victoire penalty kill in 18 opportunities.
  • This was only Montreal’s fourth game this season that was tied after two periods—the Victoire evened up their record to 2-2.
  • Laura Stacey has now scored in four consecutive games, a team record.
  • 40 saves marks a season high for Ann-Renée Desbiens. She has now allowed two goals or fewer in 13 consecutive matches.
  • 41 shots allowed is a team high for Montreal this season, surpassing the previous mark of 40.
  • Official attendance at Place Bell was 8,923.

Standings

TEAM GP GR RW OW SW OL RL PTS GF GA MAX PTS MAGIC TRAGIC #1 HOME
MTL 20 10 10 2 3 1 4 41 56 44 71 17 42 21 19
TOR 21 9 8 2 0 4 7 32 55 55 59 26 30 30 28
BOS 20 10 6 2 3 3 6 31 51 46 61 27 32 31 29
MIN 21 9 6 2 2 4 7 30 58 59 57 28 28 32 30
OTT 20 10 7 1 0 4 8 27 47 53 57 31 28 35 33
NY 20 10 4 2 1 4 9 22 47 57 52 36 23 40 38

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