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Game Recap: Daoust Scores Winner In Debut, Three Points For Poulin As Montréal Beats Boston

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by PWHL

MONTRÉAL, QC (March 2, 2024) - Mélodie Daoust scored the game-winning goal in her PWHL debut, and Marie-Philip Poulin had three points to lead Montréal to a 3-1 win over Boston before a sold-out crowd at Verdun Auditorium on Saturday.

Elaine Chuli picked up her fifth win in as many starts with a 30-save performance, backstopping Montréal to their second straight win to maintain first place in the league standings.

Daoust, who began the season as one of Montréal’s Reserve Players, was signed to a 10-Day Standard Player Agreement before the game and found instant chemistry playing on the team’s top line with Poulin and Laura Stacey.

With an offensive zone face-off early in the second period, Poulin pushed the puck forward on the draw and passed it over to Daoust, who put a backhand shot behind Aerin Frankel at 4:50 to give Montréal a 2-0 lead.

Poulin scored the game’s first goal at 3:51 of the opening frame. An extended stretch of offensive pressure resulted in a shot by Daoust from the slot that was stopped by Frankel, with the rebound corralled momentarily by a Boston defender. As the puck bounced off the defender’s stick, Poulin pounced with a quick release inside the circle for her team-leading seventh tally of the season.

The captain’s second consecutive three-point performance was completed at 2:29 of the third period. Leading 2-1, Poulin carried the puck into Boston’s zone and fed a pass to defender Mariah Keopple. Keopple sailed a shot high and wide, but the puck rung around the boards where it was picked up by Erin Ambrose at the blue line. Ambrose’s shot found its way through traffic and into the back of the net – her third goal of the season.

Hilary Knight got Boston on the board at 14:55 of the second period with her third goal of the season. The captain took a two-on-one feed from Alina Müller, stickhandled her way towards the hashmarks, and unleashed her lethal shot short side past Chuli.

Boston took three minor penalties in the third period which hindered their opportunity to mount a comeback.

Knight’s laser was the only shot to beat Chuli, who lowered her goals-against-average to 1.19 and raised her save percentage to .962 in this contest. Both are league-leading figures.

Frankel, who entered the game with back-to-back wins, made 32 saves in defeat.

Montréal gave Boston its first road loss of the season and picked up their league-leading fifth win on home ice. The three points raises Montréal’s first-place total to 27.

Up next, Montréal will begin a busy week of three games in five days when they travel to Bridgeport’s Total Mortgage Arena on Wednesday, March 6, to take on New York at 7:00 p.m. ET. Also on Wednesday, Boston makes its second trip to Toronto for a 7:00 p.m. ET game at Mattamy Athletic Centre.

 

Postgame Quotes:

Montréal’s Mélodie Daoust on her debut: “I was nervous on my first shift. I quickly got back into it. It helps that I practice with and against the best players, so it represents what we see in a game.”

Montréal head coach Kori Cheverie on the team’s goaltending tandem of Elaine Chuli and Ann-Renée Desbiens: “It’s pretty nice for our staff and team to feel comfortable no matter who we send. We have two great goaltenders, and we will keep deciding game by game.”

Boston head coach Courtney Kessel on the team’s performance: “I thought it was one of our better team games. We took a few untimely penalties in the third period that didn’t help us. But overall, some positive things coming out of that game.”

 

Notes:

  • Attendance: 3,232 – Verdun Auditorium, Montréal, QC.
  • Three Stars: 1) Mélodie Daoust 2) Marie-Philip Poulin 3) Elaine Chuli
  • Shots were 35-31 in favour of Montréal – Boston led 11-10 in the first period, then Montréal led 13-11 in the second period and 12-9 in the third period.
  • The 35 shots match a season-high for Montréal.
  • Laura Stacey led all players with six shots on goal – Montréal forward Kristin O’Neill had a season-high four shots and defender Erin Ambrose tied her season-high with four – Boston was led in shots by Sidney Morin and Jamie Lee Rattray with four each.
  • Montréal was 0/4 on the powerplay – Boston was 0/1.
  • Montréal ends its streak of three straight games with a powerplay goal.
  • Poulin now has six points in her last two games and 15 points on the season, just one behind scoring leader Alex Carpenter (NY).
  • Daoust is the second Montréal player to score in her debut when signing a 10-Day SPA – Catherine Dubois scored on Jan. 10 in her first game against New York.
  • Ambrose has a point in two straight games and is now tied for third in scoring among defenders with eight points.
  • Mariah Keopple’s assist is her first professional point.
  • Alina Müller took over sole possession of the league-lead with her ninth assist.
  • Hilary Knight scored for the second time in three games and has three points in her last four.
  • Ambrose led all skaters in time on ice with 25:34 – Megan Keller led Boston at 24:38.
  • Daoust played 17:48 in her debut – Teammate Alexandra Poznikoff played 4:26 in her first game.
  • Montréal has earned 16 of a possible 21 points on home ice this season.
  • Boston is still the league’s best road team having earned 11 of a possible 15 points.
  • Montréal (6-3-3-2) now has 27 points in first place in the PWHL standings, three ahead of second place Toronto and five ahead of third place Minnesota.
  • Boston (4-2-2-5) has 18 points in fourth place, two ahead of both New York and Ottawa.
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