LAVAL, QC (April 28, 2025) – Laura Stacey buried a one-timer on a pass from Marie-Philip Poulin with 43 seconds left in overtime to give Montréal a 3-2 victory over Boston on Monday night at Place Bell. The win snaps the Victoire’s two-game losing streak and extends their first-place lead to five points ahead of Toronto in the PWHL standings and assures them one of the top two seeds, giving them home ice advantage in the semi-finals. The third-place Fleet picked up a valuable point in the standings but missed an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth of their own and sit one point behind Toronto and two points ahead of Ottawa. After a scoreless first period, Jennifer Gardiner opened the scoring late in the second with a power play goal. The Victoire power play struck again at 4:48 in the third period when Catherine Dubois extended the lead to two. It was the fourth time this season Montréal has scored twice on the advantage in a game. The two-goal lead was short-lived when Boston snagged a pair of goals just 39 seconds apart – their fastest two goals of the season. First, it was Hannah Brandt with a shorthanded ‘jailbreak’ tally at 17:14, then rookie Hannah Bilka sniped at 17:53 to tie the game. The teams needed extra time for the fifth straight meeting with the Victoire prevailing for the third time against the Fleet in overtime. Ann-Renée Desbiens returned between the pipes for the first time since March 18, making her sixth straight start against the Fleet and earning her league-leading 14th win by stopping 27 of 29 shots. Klára Peslarová made 33 saves on 36 shots, making her second career PWHL start following her first career shutout. Montréal can clinch first place if Toronto loses to New York on Tuesday, and Boston can clinch a playoff berth if Minnesota does not beat Ottawa in regulation on Wednesday. Both teams will play their final regular season games on Saturday.
QUOTES
Montréal forward Laura Stacey on her game winning goal: “It was a beautiful pass, she could find me pretty well tonight. I had missed a bunch before, and that wasn't sitting so well. So as soon as I saw it, I was like, I need to make good contact with this puck. So honestly, it was just a perfect pass through the center…and it went in the back of the net fortunately for us. It was a great play.”
Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the fan support after addressing the crowd on Fan Appreciation Night: “I'm grateful for their support, and it's really unwavering. And the girls, they deserve it, given the amount of effort they've been putting in. They deserve all the lights and the cameras on them.”
Boston Head Coach Courtney Kessel: “We seem to never have an easy game here. Obviously, another overtime. We found a way to come back. The game’s never over until the last buzzer goes. We’re a team that’s going to continue to battle till the end.”
NOTABLES
Montréal wins the season against Boston, 11-7 in points, with the final five games being decided beyond regulation (three Victoire overtime wins, two Fleet shootout wins). The teams tied 6-6 in points during the inaugural season.
Laura Stacey scored her league-leading third overtime goal of the season and second against Boston to finish the season series with six points (3G, 3A). With points in consecutive games, Stacey climbs into a tie for sixth in league scoring with 22 points (11G, 11A) in 26 games.
Marie-Philip Poulin recorded her seventh assist of the season, ending just her fourth two-game pointless streak of the season. The Victoire captain moves into a tie for fourth in league scoring with 24 points in 29 games. She also led the game with a season-high seven shots on goal.
Poulin and Stacey have combined on 11 goals this season, tied for most by any PWHL duo.
Jennifer Gardiner snapped a 10-game goal drought with her fifth tally of the season and third on the power play. She has points in consecutive games to bring her season total to 18 – second among rookies.
Catherine Dubois scored in consecutive games for the first time in her career and also recorded her first career multi-point performance with her fifth goal and third assist of the season.
Hannah Brandt scored in consecutive games for the first time in her career after being held without a goal in 23 straight games. The tally was the second shorthanded ‘jailbreak’ goal of her career and Boston’s third of the season which ranks second behind Ottawa’s four.
Hannah Bilka extended her point streak to four games (2G, 2A) with her fifth goal of the season and moves into sixth in rookie scoring with 11 points in 15 games.
Hilary Knight recorded her 14th assist of the season to extend her lead atop the PWHL scoring race with 29 points in 29 games – two points ahead of New York’s Sarah Fillier.
Abby Boreen collected her eighth assist and Maureen Murphy picked up her second assist, both primary helpers, as both players ended five-game pointless droughts.
Anna Wilgren tallied a point for a second consecutive game (1G, 1A) with her sixth helper of the season, placing her in a tie for eighth in rookie scoring with nine points in 29 games.
Jamie Lee Rattray contributed her third primary assist in two games with her sixth helper of the season.
Jessica DiGirolamo set a new career-high with her fourth assist and point of the season in her 29th game, surpassing her three assists and points in 24 games last season.
Sidney Morin recorded her fifth assist and eighth point of the season to double her inaugural season point total (1G, 3A).
Klára Peslarová set a league record making 63 consecutive saves to open her PWHL career while preserving a shutout streak of 136:47.
Aerin Frankel was scratched from the Fleet lineup a second straight game while in concussion protocol following Women’s Worlds.
Defenders Erin Ambrose (personal) and Kati Tabin (suspension) were both scratched from the Victoire lineup.
The Victoire have the best record in the PWHL when scoring first this season (8-4-1-1).
The Fleet battled back from a two-goal deficit for the fifth time this season and third time against the Victoire. Boston leads the league with 30 third period goals.
Montréal finished their home schedule with a 5-4-0-4 record at Place Bell. They also had a regulation win at Centre Videotron and an overtime win at the Bell Centre for 28 total points on home ice.
Boston finished their road schedule with a 3-3-4-5 record for 19 points.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Boston 0 0 2 0 – 2
Montréal 0 1 1 1 - 3
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Greco Bos (illegal body checking), 7:26; Ljungblom Mtl (interference), 8:10.
2nd Period-1, Montréal, Gardiner 5 (Boreen, Dubois), 16:47 (PP). Penalties-Pejsova Bos (tripping), 1:40; Grant-Mentis Mtl (tripping), 4:39; Lásková Mtl (tripping), 8:35; Keller Bos (illegal body checking), 15:09.
3rd Period-2, Montréal, Dubois 5 (Murphy, Wilgren), 4:48 (PP). 3, Boston, Brandt 3 (Rattray, Digirolamo), 17:14 (SH). 4, Boston, Bilka 5 (Morin, Knight), 17:53. Penalties-Maloney Bos (hooking), 3:21; Dubois Mtl (tripping), 9:49; Rattray Bos (high sticking), 12:35; Morin Bos (illegal body checking), 15:27
1st OT Period-5, Montréal, Stacey 11 (Poulin), 4:17. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Boston 8-8-11-2-29. Montréal 7-16-10-3-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Boston 0 / 4; Montréal 2 / 6.
Goalies-Boston, Peslarová 2-0-1-0 (36 shots-33 saves). Montréal, Desbiens 14-2-1-1 (29 shots-27 saves).
A-8,812
THREE STARS
1. Laura Stacey (MTL) 1G
2. Catherine Dubois (MTL) 1G, 1A
3. Hannah Bilka (BOS) 1G
STANDINGS
Montréal (11-7-3-8) – 50 PTS – 1st Place
Boston (9-6-5-9) - 44 PTS – 3rd Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Boston: Saturday, May 3 vs. Minnesota at 1 p.m. ET
Montréal: Saturday, May 3 at New York at 2 p.m. ET