Wednesday, December 17, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. AT | Scotiabank Centre - Halifax
WATCH LIVE: TSN 5, TSN.ca, TSN App, RDS, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International), More
EN: Kenzie Lalonde (Play-by-Play), Cheryl Pounder (Analyst), Rob Pizzo (Reporter);
FR: Claudine Douville (Play-by-Play), Isabelle Leclaire (Analyst), Catherine Savoie (Reporter), Andrée-Anne Barbeau (Studio Host), Karell Émard (Studio Analyst)
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE
2-0-0-1 | 6 PTS | 3RD PLACE (TIED)
Top Scorers: Poulin, Roque, Stacey – 3 GP, 1-2-3 PTS
Last Game: 3-1 W vs. TOR on Dec. 7
TORONTO SCEPTRES
2-0-0-2 | 6 PTS | 3RD PLACE (TIED)
Top Scorer: Natalie Spooner – 4 GP, 1-2-3 PTS
Last Game: 3-1 L at MTL on Dec. 7
2025-26 SEASON SERIES: MONTRÉAL LEADS 3-0 IN POINTS (TORONTO LEADS 21-15 IN POINTS ALL-TIME)
Dec. 7 at MTL: 3-1 MTL | Dec. 17 at TOR (HALIFAX) | Dec. 27 at MTL | Jan. 28 at MTL | Mar. 3 at TOR
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
These teams met in a Takeover Tour game last season in Vancouver, with the Victoire earning a 4-2 win on Jan. 8 with two goals from captain Marie-Philip Poulin. Montréal went 2-0-1-1 in its four Takeover Tour games last season, while Toronto went 0-1-0-1 in their two games.
The Scotiabank Centre played host to Game 4 of the 2024-25 Rivalry Series on Feb. 6, a game that saw the U.S. win 2-1 in a shootout. A total of 13 players from these teams competed, with Canada’s goal scored by Toronto captain and Nova Scotia native Blayre Turnbull and assisted by Sceptres alternate captain Renata Fast. Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens was in net for Canada with fellow Victoire Erin Ambrose, Poulin and Laura Stacey in the lineup alongside Sceptres Emma Maltais, Ella Shelton and Daryl Watts. On Team USA, Montréal’s Maureen Murphy played alongside Toronto’s Jesse Compher, Clair DeGeorge and Savannah Harmon.
Montréal has won each of its last two games by multiple goals. It’s the third time the Victoire have done so in back-to-back games, with the other two instances coming in their inaugural season. They have never done so in three consecutive games.
Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie, a New Glasgow, NS, native and former St. Mary’s captain is expecting up to 70 family members and friends to be in attendance for the game.
Catherine Dubois and Alexandra Labelle return to the Maritimes for the first time since the 2019 U SPORTS National Championship in Charlottetown, PEI, where the Victoire forwards won bronze with the Université de Montréal Carabins. Sceptres assistant coach Rachel Flanagan was behind the bench leading the Guelph Gryphons to their first title.
Labelle, Kelly-Ann Nadeau and Maya Labad represented the Victoire on Wednesday morning at l'école Mer et Monde, a French school in Halifax. The players answered questions in French from the students, were taught about typical Acadian French expressions and listened to a special version of Roch Voisine's song Pour la Victoire sung by the students.
In Toronto’s last Takeover Tour game, Watts scored two goals, including the overtime winner to beat Ottawa in Edmonton on Feb. 16. It was the only overtime goal scored in last season’s nine Takeover Tour games.
The Sceptres have won both games this season in which they’ve scored multiple goals. Dating back to Feb. 1, they’re 10-3-0-1 when scoring two or more goals, the best such record by any team in that span. Meanwhile, Toronto is 0-0-3-11 all-time when scoring one or zero goals.
Turnbull (Stellarton), alternate captain Allie Munroe (Yarmouth) and Head Coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield) represent Toronto’s Nova Scotia contingent, with fellow East Coaster Maggie Connors (St. John’s) from Newfoundland.
Ryan's first time working in women’s hockey came as Head Coach for Team Nova Scotia at the 2015 Canada Winter Games, a team that featured Munroe as the captain. Prior to the PWHL, he coached the women’s team at Dalhousie and spent over a decade with various men’s teams across the province. In 2011, he received the Hockey Nova Scotia Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sceptres assistant coach Jim Midgley is a former captain of the St. Mary’s Huskies and member of the Halifax Mooseheads coaching staff. He served as Head Coach in 2017-18 and 2023-24, prior to joining the PWHL. His tenure as an assistant from 2011-17 was highlighted by the 2013 Memorial Cup title.
Halifax hosted the 2004 IIHF Women’s World Championship where Canada won an eighth straight gold medal with a 2-0 win over the U.S. in front of 10,506 fans. The event set an attendance record drawing over 94,000 fans to 20 games. Toronto General Manager Gina Kingsbury, coaching consultant Vicky Sunohara, Montréal assistant coach Caroline Ouellette and Director of Business Operations Kim St-Pierre represented Canada alongside PWHL EVP Jayna Hefford, Special Advisor Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and broadcast analysts Becky Kellar and Cheryl Pounder.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I think it's something special when you get to be here with any team, but to be here with La Victoire, it's extremely special. To be able to show this to friends and family and just allow the community to experience it. It's been great so far, and it's only been half a day.” – Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie
“We’re really excited to be Halifax and to play Montréal -- a nice rematch as we were not too happy with our last game against them before the International Break. To play in the first Takeover Tour stop of the season and look to get some revenge in Nova Scotia in front of lots of fans who are experiencing the PWHL for the first time, and in front of so many friends and family for many of us, it will be an amazing atmosphere.” – Sceptres Alternate Captain Allie Munroe
WEDNESDAY’S GAME: The PWHL makes its Atlantic Canada debut in Halifax tonight as Canadian rivals Montréal and Toronto battle in the DoorDash PWHL Takeover Tour presented by the Province of Nova Scotia. Scotiabank Centre becomes the 27th venue to host a PWHL game all-time and Halifax will become the first city to host two Takeover Tour games in one season when the Tour returns on Jan. 11 for a Boston-Ottawa matchup. Performing tonight’s ceremonial puck drop will be Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance, a sister sailing team from Chester, NS. They represented Canada at the Paris 2024 Olympics and turned momentum into a huge 2025 season — winning the European Championship, earning two World Cup podiums, and taking bronze at this year's World Championships. Currently ranked number one in the world, the sisters are now chasing history on the road to LA 2028. The Canadian national anthem will be performed by DeeDee Austin, a 19-year-old Indigenous singer/songwriter from Nova Scotia and Abegweit First Nation in Prince Edward Island. DJs for tonight’s game are Jules Bangsworth, an award-winning DJ and electronic music producer from Halifax, known for dynamic, genre-bending sets, and Chad Bannister, the official DJ of the NLL’s Halifax Thunderbirds. It’s a homecoming for members of tonight’s officiating team with referee Shauna Neary and linesperson Sophie Thomson, both from Halifax, while referee Andrew Bell has Nova Scotia roots. Tonight, the PWHL is welcoming a group of 50 from the Nova Scotia Indigenous Girl’s Hockey program who will have a special post-game autograph session with Victoire forward Abby Roque.