Laura Stacey made an emphatic return to the lineup, scoring a goal, getting two assists and adding a goal in the shootout as the Montreal Victoire defeated the Toronto Sceptres 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday night at Place Bell.
It was Stacey’s first game since leaving the game against Minnesota on January 12 with a lower body injury that kept her out of the team’s last three games. She didn’t even know she would be returning to the team’s lineup until the morning of the game.
Stacey made herself noticeable from her first shift. The first time she took the puck, she got a nice ovation from the crowd and generated some chances. In fact, Stacey was involved almost every time she was on the ice, and spent time on all four lines throughout the game. She was listed as the team’s 13th forward but played over 20 minutes, the third highest total on the team.
“A lot of it is a feeling, where we think she can most have an impact, where she could provide a spark to the team,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “Probably her time got a little higher than I would have liked but she had a major impact for us on the ice and the whole group will have a couple of days off.”
“It’s always tough sitting in the stands, watching your teammates play and wanting to be a part of it,” Stacey said. “I got to play with a ton of different people tonight and it was so much fun to be back in the locker room, back with the girls.”
It was the second half of the team’s back-to-back games, and Stacey and goaltender Elaine Chuli were the only players who hadn’t played the day before. Chuli, like Stacey, was a huge factor in the game, making 37 saves in regulation and overtime, and adding four more in the shootout. Many of those saves were on dangerous Toronto chances.
It was Chuli’s first start at home this season, and also her first start since the game Stacey was injured in, against Minnesota in Denver. Chuli’s name was being chanted throughout the night, and even right before a shootout attempt which she joked was the one that went in.
“It means so much, we have the best fans in the league,” Chuli said. “To be able to play in front of them for the first time this season and get the win in the shootout it’s super special.”
Toronto’s first chance of the night came shortly after when there was a wrap-around attempt to the open side, and the shot hit off of Chuli, but stayed out.
Montreal continued to generate some chances early with the top line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Abby Boreen, and Jennifer Gardiner, but they were unable to beat Kristen Campbell.
The Sceptres finally opened the scoring on the power play. Hannah Miller’s shot hit off the end boards right in front, and Jesse Compher was first to the puck and her shot beat Chuli. It was Compher’s fourth goal of the season.
Montreal equalized before the buzzer sounded. Lina Ljungblom drove to the net, and her backhand shot was saved by Campbell. She picked up the rebound and passed the puck to Stacey, who fired a puck on net. Mariah Keopple was at the doorstep and able to get the loose puck into the empty side of the net to tie the game 1-1.
Fashionista et elle marque des buts💁♀️
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) January 31, 2025
Fashionista and goal scorer pic.twitter.com/muA1VkNTNQ
It was Keopple’s second goal of the season after she had no goals in 24 games last season.
Montreal took the lead just under seven minutes into the second period. After a dump in, Stacey won the puck from the Toronto defender, and spun to find Maureen Murphy alone in the slot. Murphy made no mistake for her second goal of the season.
Murphy 🤝Stacey pic.twitter.com/i7mE7GTv0R
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) January 31, 2025
The pair of Murphy and Stacey had another chance to extend the lead a few minutes later on a two-on-one but the pass didn’t connect.
On another abbreviated power play, Toronto capitalized again. A pretty passing play from Daryl Watts to Emma Maltais went to Hannah Miller who fired her seventh goal of the season past Chuli. It was Toronto’s fifth straight goal scored on the power play dating back to their 4-3 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday.
It looked like the Sceptres scored another power play goal late in the second period when the puck once again found Compher at the side of the net. This time, she was unable to get the puck into the open side of the net. The goal light turned on, but the puck did not cross the line.
In the third period, Montreal took the lead when Stacey broke in on the left wing and fired a shot over the shoulder of Campbell. It was her fourth of the season.
Welcome back, Laura Stacey. 🙌 She scores her fourth goal of the season in her return for the @victoire-lphf.bsky.social!
— PWHL (@thepwhl.com) January 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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The Victoire did a good job at keeping the Sceptres at bay early in the period, but Toronto turned it on late to push for the equalizer.
With 3:33 remaining, Sarah Nurse forced a turnover behind the Montreal net and found Daryl Watts at the side of the net who beat Chuli to tie the game at 3-3.
Montreal had one last chance to win the game in regulation when Poulin got the puck behind the Toronto defence and created a partial breakaway for herself. She was hooked by Toronto’s Julia Gosling on the play, preventing her from taking her best shot on Campbell. It gave Montreal 1:08 of power play in regulation.
The Victoire power play struggled all night, and was unable to put the game away, even in the 52 seconds they had the advantage in during overtime. Montreal outshot Toronto 4-3 in extra time, the only period they outshot their opponent as shots ended 40-29.
In the shootout, Stacey scored in the first round, giving Montreal a 1-0 shootout lead until the third round when Gosling beat Chuli to tie things up. That led to Poulin’s second attempt in the final round after getting stopped on her first attempt. She made no mistake on the second, and Chuli stopped Izzy Daniel to secure the win.
Montréal does it… 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 🫡 Marie-Philip Poulin scores the game-winning shootout goal and Elaine Chuli makes 37 stops for the @victoire-lphf.bsky.social's fourth win in a row!
— PWHL (@thepwhl.com) January 30, 2025 at 10:45 PM
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Montreal added two points to their league-leading points total, and now sit three points ahead of Minnesota and they still hold two games in hand. They now travel to New York where they will face the Sirens for the second time this season on Sunday afternoon.
Notes:
- Despite being the second weeknight game in a row, and directly opposite a Montreal Canadiens home game, attendance was 7,242 for Thursday’s game.
- With Stacey returning to the lineup, the team sat defender Anna Kjellbin and went with 13 forwards and six defenders. After playing on Wednesday, Ann-Renée Desbiens did not dress on Thursday with Sandra Abstreiter backing up Chuli.
- It was Montreal’s third straight win against Toronto this season after dropping all five games against them last season.
