Almost 15 years ago, Marie-Philip Poulin scored two goals in the gold medal game of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. On Wednesday night, in the same arena, she had the game-winning goal and the insurance marker into the empty net as the Montreal Victoire defeated the Toronto Sceptres 4-2.
In 2010, a league like the PWHL seemed so far off, it wasn’t even a dream. While a sold out Rogers Arena was not unexpected for a gold medal game of the Olympics, having 19,038 for a professional game between two teams from the other side of the country shows how far the game has gone. The crowd was the third largest in league and professional women’s hockey history.
“That’s what we came for, the win,” Poulin said. “For me, being back in Vancouver, there are special memories here and there was another one tonight. Honestly, being able to play in front of a sold-out crowd in this new league, representing Montreal there’s no better feeling.”
“In 2010, it was a sea of red and white,” Poulin said. “Now it’s a sea of different jerseys around the PWHL. To see these fans, it was once every four years in an Olympic year. Now it’s every week, every day of the week, there’s potential to have sold-out crowds, to have a full house behind us and it’s unbelievable.”
Poulin’s game-winning goal was an act of the legend that started way back as an 18-year-old at the Olympics. After an Erin Ambrose shot was blocked, Ambrose got the puck back to Poulin. The fact that she was on her knees didn’t even matter. She used her strength to launch herself off the ice and fire the puck over the glove of Kristen Campbell.
It was impressive at full speed, but the replays make it one of the most unbelievable goals you may ever see.
Marie-Philip Poulin doing Marie-Philip Poulin things. Scores a beauty of a goal from her knees. 3-0 Montreal. Victoire are taking over the game. #PWHL pic.twitter.com/hI53RotCoc
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 9, 2025
This angle of the MPP goal goes hard. 😍 (🎥: Montreal Victoire)
— TSN (@tsnofficial.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 7:59 AM
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The goal gave Montreal a 3-0 lead at the time, 7:48 into the second period. After the goal, Toronto pushed back, outshooting Montreal 6-1 in the final part of the second period, and scoring a power play goal by Daryl Watts to make it 3-1 entering the third period.
Toronto continued to push in the final frame, with the Sceptres getting 13 shots on Montreal goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens. They only were able to beat Desbiens once in the period when Jesse Compher had a two-on-one and fired a wrist shot past the glove of the Victoire goaltender.
Desbiens made 29 saves in the win, and although she probably wants the Watts goal back after it snuck between her arm and her body, she stood tall for the team when it mattered most making key saves and calming play down when Toronto was pressuring.
“Holding a lead in hockey is a difficult thing to do, especially we have six teams in our league and the parity is where it is,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “Teams are relentless. Toronto is fast, they’re physical, they put a lot of pucks to the net. I was really happy with the response from our group going into the third. We had to weather a couple of storms. When a team is playing from behind it’s a desperate hockey team and we had to match their desperation.”
Poulin’s second goal went into the empty net when the Sceptres pulled Campbell for the extra attacker with 51 seconds remaining. The regulation win moved Montreal into sole possession of first place in the PWHL, one point ahead of the Minnesota Frost with a game in hand.
The Victoire opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game when Mikyla Grant-Mentis took an Anna Wilgren pass and went on break. She fired a shot low blocker on Campbell for her third goal of the season.
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) January 9, 2025
Early in the second Desbiens was tested by a big chance in front, but made the save. It was the Victoire who extended their lead, however. It was another great shift from Grant-Mentis whose forecheck started the play. She got the puck behind the net, and found Claire Dalton alone in the slot. She made no mistake. It was her second goal of the season.
https://t.co/0pzD9xO5Yu pic.twitter.com/FIOMsKr0D9
— Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) January 9, 2025
Dalton’s goal and Grant-Mentis’s assist put them into a tie for the team lead in scoring at five points a piece, tied with Abby Boreen and Poulin.
To continue the parallels to 2010, it appeared Dalton yelled ‘Buckey’ for Grant-Mentis to make the pass, similar to Sidney Crosby’s game-winning goal on the same part of the ice at the same rink.
Compher’s goal came with just over seven minutes remaining in the third period and the Victoire came under heavy pressure. It was the lines of Dara Greig, Catherine Dubois, and Clair DeGeorge and the third line of Dalton, Grant-Mentis, and Alexandra Labelle that generated momentum to keep Toronto at bay.
The win continues Montreal’s point streak and extended it to six. They have points in seven of the eight games they have played so far this season.
“We’re still working on our team identity,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “It’s still a young season even though we’re quite a part of the way through. We’re trying to figure out what line combinations work, what D pairings work, and our goaltenders give ourselves an opportunity to win a game every single time. For us, we’re focused on how we can show up and how we can really build a game that will be sustainable and a game that is going to be sustainable and can take us to a playoff run and to win the Walter Cup. We have a long-term vision but with short-term goals in mind of the style we want to play.”
Montreal will wrap up their three-game Takeover Tour road trip on Sunday afternoon in Denver, Colorado when they will face the Minnesota Frost at Ball Arena. It will be a battle between the two top teams in the standings.
