After six straight wins in a league as competitive as the PWHL, there is always the expectation that the other shoe will drop. That’s what happened for the Montreal Victoire as they lost 4-0 to the Minnesota Frost at Place Bell on Tuesday night.
Maddie Rooney made 21 saves in the shutout, and Denisa Křìžová scored twice, including an empty-netter as the Frost snapped their three-game losing streak. Minnesota moved into second spot in the league, but remain five points behind Montreal and the Victoire still have three games in hand. It was Montreal’s first loss since January 12 when the Frost beat them in Denver.
“We kind of knew we were due for a game like this,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “Things were feeling just a bit too easy and it’s good that it happens now but at the same time we have to move forward and there’s no point in crying over spilt milk. We just move on and respond on Saturday.”
Montreal had a solid start to the game, with the line of Laura Stacey, Kristin O’Neill, and Dara Greig generating chances. Stacey alone had six of Montreal’s 21 shots. When Minnesota opened the scoring with 1:17 left in the first period, they couldn’t respond in the second period, mustering only three shots in the middle frame.
“We could tell that the team was a little flatter than they usually are,” Cheverie said. “It wasn’t just a player here and there, it was the whole team that came out a little flatter. We have multiple Tuesday night games so I hope it’s not the Tuesday.”
“We all know it wasn’t our best performance,” said Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin. “We were a little flat the entire the game. It’s one game, it’s on us to rebound on Saturday, it’s very important for us.”
In the postgame press conference, the mood seemed lighter than one might expect with three players on the podium. Poulin, Stacey, and Amanda Boulier weren’t as happy as after a win, but the spirits weren’t completely down, either with laughs during the availability.
“We weren’t happy with the result,” said Boulier. “If you saw our locker room, it was a completely different picture than what you’re seeing up here, but I think we have just a ton of confidence in our group and in our response. We know we’re going to have really good practices on Thursday and Friday, and come ready to play on Saturday. So, we were mad when we got back in the locker room. It was not a pretty picture, but we are a resilient group, and we cooled down and regrouped. And I think we know that fun is a big part of our success. So that’s going to be what it is.”
The Frost opened the scoring on two deflected goals past Elaine Chuli. The first goal was scored by Liz Schepers who tipped a Claire Thompson shot from the top of the zone past Chuli for her first goal of the season and her first career regular season goal in 35 PWHL games. She also had the Walter Cup-winning goal to open the scoring in Minnesota’s 3-0 win in Game 5 of the final.
Minnesota doubled their lead 10:43 into the second period when Kendall Coyne Schofield deflected a Sophie Jaques shot past Chuli for her eighth goal of the season. Chuli made 24 saves in the loss.
“In these moments you can tell when your team is just not having the level of execution and the detail so in those moments it’s not about being harder on them, it’s about trying to help them try and find solutions, be positive because they know,” Cheverie said. “They don’t like that feeling of things are not going well. It’s a good learning lesson for our group because we have to have these hard games if we’re going to win the Walter Cup.”
Montreal had a third and final power play chance to try and get back into the game, but did not generate many chances. Just over two minutes after the penalty expired, Křìzová finished a Dominique Petrie pass on a two-on-one to make it 3-0 and pretty much seal the game. Křìzová added her empty net goal with 24.7 seconds remaining.
Both Montreal and Minnesota went 0/3 on the power play in the game.
The Victoire will now play Saturday afternoon in Ottawa against the Charge at TD Arena as they look to bounce back.
Notes
- Gabrielle David made her season debut after signing a 10-day contract earlier in the day. David played all 24 regular season and three playoff games for Montreal last season, but has been on the reserve roster up to this point this season. Anna Kjellbin, who missed the last game with an illness, returned as the seventh defender. Lina Ljungblom and Kelly-Ann Nadeau were the ones to sit. Ljungblom is day-to-day.
- Minnesota was wrapping up a four-game road trip that saw them go to Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, and end in Montreal.
- Attendance was 6,696 at Place Bell.
Standings
| TEAM | GP | RW | OW | SW | OL | RL | PTS | GF | GA | MAX PTS | MAGIC | TRAGIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTL | 16 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 34 | 47 | 37 | 76 | 27 | 51 |
| MIN | 19 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 29 | 52 | 55 | 62 | 32 | 37 |
| TOR | 18 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 26 | 48 | 50 | 62 | 35 | 37 |
| BOS | 17 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 43 | 39 | 65 | 35 | 40 |
| OTT | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 37 | 45 | 60 | 40 | 35 |
| NY | 17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 20 | 40 | 45 | 59 | 41 | 34 |
Full Highlights
