Highlights and Press Conferences available on Montréal and Seattle YouTube channels
LAVAL, QC (April 7, 2026) – The Montréal Victoire’s second-period offense propelled them to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Torrent on Tuesday night before a crowd of 9,247 at Place Bell. After a scoreless first period, Victoire rookie Natálie Mlýnková struck 2:28 into the second period, finishing a net-front backdoor tap-in for the 1-0 lead. Alternate captain Laura Stacey, on her bobblehead night, found the back of the net just under 90 seconds later, firing a quick shot off a centering pass to extend the Victoire advantage. Theresa Schafzahl gave Seattle life at 9:53 of the middle frame, sweeping home the rebound off Hilary Knight’s shot on goal to bring the Torrent within one. Skylar Irving responded with the Victoire’s second goal from a rookie at 11:55, rushing in and sending the puck top shelf on a behind-the-back pass from Maggie Flaherty to restore Montréal’s two-goal lead. Shiann Darkangelo added an empty-net goal with 12 seconds left in the third period to cap the scoring and ice the game for the Victoire. Ann-Renée Desbiens saved 24 of 25 shots on goal and became the seventh goaltender in PWHL history to record an assist with the secondary helper on Irving’s goal. Hannah Murphy turned away 21 of 24 shots in the loss.
Montréal added three points to remain atop the league standings with 55 points, while Seattle sits in last place with 23 points. Seattle will continue its road trip tomorrow night in Ottawa for back-to-back games, needing a regulation win to stay in playoff contention. Montréal is slated to play Boston in the first-ever PWHL game at TD Garden on Saturday.
QUOTES
Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the contribution of the younger players: “With the league that we have, you certainly have to develop your players from within. We played our young players in different situations all year long for these moments, and they're still going to make mistakes. They're still young players, but I love the tenacity that they play with and their ability.”
Montréal alternate captain Laura Stacey on the team's depth production as of late: “I think something that we’ve talked a lot about is being yourself and being the best version of yourself when you're out there, and I think that's what everybody's been doing. Of course, you want to score. Of course you want to get points and assists and beyond for those positive moments. But I think that doesn't happen unless you play the way you can play, and you do the things that you can do. And obviously tonight, both of them [Lina Ljungblom and Natálie Mlýnková] stepped up in big moments, and that's a good hockey team over there, and same with everybody we compete against. So, we need every single person. We've lost some to injuries too, we had a little sickness going around for a little while, and the more every single person can show up, that's what makes a team win games, and that's what makes teams win championships.”
Torrent forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis on returning to Montréal for the first time: “It felt good. I love Montréal, the city and the fans here – they’re awesome and one of a kind. It’s nice to listen to the music that really buzzes through you the entire game.”
Seattle Head Coach Steve O’Rourke’s overall thoughts on the game and team’s performance: “I thought the first period was really good and we did a lot of good things. Had some opportunities in the second period but made two mistakes, took a penalty, and got down. It was a tough slog after that. This is a very good team and a tough team to come back on in this building, for sure.”
NOTABLES
Montréal extended their record point streak to 14 games (10-2-2-0) since Jan. 21 and set a new PWHL record for points in a season with 55 in 26 games, surpassing the 53 they amassed in 30 games during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Victoire became the first team in PWHL history to win 10 games at their primary home venue in a single season and have points in all 11 games at Place Bell (9-1-1-0).
Montréal has won five straight games by multiple goals, a new team record, and lead the league with 13 multi-goal victories.
Seattle extended its winless streak to three-straight games and 12 consecutive road games in opposing PWHL markets. Their 18th loss of the season matches a regular season record set by New York in 2024-25.
Montréal had consecutive shutouts coming into tonight’s matchup, with a 3-0 win over Vancouver on Apr. 1 and 3-0 win at Ottawa on Apr. 3. Seattle’s second period goal marked the first goal given up by the Victoire in 200:44.
The Torrent have the fewest goals for in the league at 47, tied with Toronto, and the most goals allowed at 73. They have one or fewer goals scored in seven of their last eight games.
The Victoire killed all three of their penalties tonight and have allowed just one goal in 43 times shorthanded when playing as the home team this season. Their 97.5% penalty kill as the home team leads the league. Their power play goal tonight was the first scored by either team in the season series.
Laura Stacey extended her season-high point streak to four consecutive games (2G, 3A) and has points in six straight games at Place Bell (4G, 5A). The Montréal alternate captain became the sixth player in PWHL history to record 60 career points and now has 20 points in consecutive seasons for the first time (7G, 13A). Her nine power-play goals in 76 career games matches Toronto’s Natalie Spooner for the all-time lead.
Natálie Mlýnková reached the double-digit points mark with her fifth goal of the season, ending a 10-game goalless streak. The Czech forward is the ninth rookie to reach 10 points in 2025-26, and three of her markers this season have been game-opening goals at Place Bell. Her four shots on goal co-led all skaters tonight alongside Torrent captain Hilary Knight.
Skylar Irving’s third goal of the season, and second against Seattle, gives her three points in her last two games at Place Bell (1G, 2A). More than half of her nine points have come when playing in Montréal, including two goals and three assists. The Victoire rookie is one away from reaching double digit points this season, which would make the Victoire and New York the only teams with three rookies with 10 or more points this season.
Shiann Darkangelo netted her fourth goal in 26 games with her first empty netter of the season, ending a streak of 10 consecutive games without a goal. She has three points in her last four games (1G, 2A), and the Victoire are undefeated (7-0-0-0) when she records a point.
Theresa Schafzahl scored her second goal and fifth point in six games with the Torrent, one shy of the six points she recorded in 19 games this season with the Fleet. Two of her five points have come in Seattle’s two games against the Victoire, with the other three in a career-high performance in Chicago on Mar. 25, where she notched one goal and a pair of assists.
Ann-Renée Desbiens has four consecutive wins, one off her season-high streak of five between Jan. 21 to Mar. 1 and is just the third goaltender in PWHL history to win 16 games in a season. She has allowed one or fewer goals in 15 of her 22 starts and recorded her first career assist tonight, making it consecutive games for a Victoire goaltender to find the scoresheet following Sandra Abstreiter’s assist on Friday.
Knight recorded a primary assist for her first point in her third game since returning from long-term injured reserve post-Olympics. She has now matched her 11 points in 24 games from the inaugural season (6G, 5A) in seven fewer games and has not gone more than two games without a point in a Torrent uniform.
Lyndie Lobdell ended a career-high 11-game pointless drought with her third assist and point of the season. She previously tallied one helper in the Torrent’s 4-3 loss versus New York on Dec. 28 in Dallas and another in their 6-4 win over Toronto on Jan. 20. The defender is the team’s only rookie skater with a point this season.
Lina Ljungblom notched the first multi-assist performance of her career with her second and third helpers of the season, and first points in nine games at Place Bell. The Swedish forward has exactly matched her points output from her rookie campaign with three goals and three assists in 12 fewer games this season.
Abby Roque became the 12th player in PWHL history to reach the half-century mark for career points (19G, 31A). She reached 20 points in a single season for the first time in her career, eclipsing her 17 points in 30 games with New York in 2024-25. The veteran has four points in the season series (1G, 3A) and points in back-to-back games after going three games without.
Kati Tabin recorded her 10th assist of the season, doubling her previous career high from 24 games during the inaugural season. The Victoire defender has tallied half of her 12 points this season in the past month, including six points (1G, 5A) in her last eight games.
Nicole Gosling picked up her 11th assist, and sixth on the player advantage which is tied for the league lead. The Victoire rookie defender’s 13 points in 26 games are tied for the fifth-most among league blue liners.
Maggie Flaherty’s primary helper means she has points in consecutive home games (1G, 1A). Her nine points in 26 games are already a career-high, putting the veteran defender one away from reaching the double-digit points milestone for the first time in her career.
Alexandra Labelle ended a seven-game pointless streak with her third assist and point of the season. She went a season-high 13 games without points between Dec. 7 to Mar. 1. The third-year forward is one away from matching her career-high of four points (1G, 3A) recorded in 19 games with Montréal in 2024-25.
Hannah Murphy’s last two games have been at Place Bell and three of her 11 starts have been against the Victoire where she has posted a .917 save percentage. The rookie netminder has suffered eight straight regulation losses since her 37-save performance that beat Montréal at Climate Pledge Arena on Dec. 23.
Alex Carpenter led all skaters with 11 wins in the faceoff circle, bringing her to 357 wins this season. Marie-Philip Poulin, who is currently on Montréal’s long-term injured reserve list, recorded the PWHL single-season record with 403 faceoff wins during her 2024-25 campaign.
Gabrielle David, a native of Drummondville, QC, returned to her home province as a member of the Torrent and played her first game at Place Bell since Feb. 25, 2025, one of 26 games the forward played in two seasons with Montréal.
THREE STARS
- Lina Ljungblom (MTL) 2A
- Laura Stacey (MTL) 1G
- Natálie Mlýnková (MTL) 1G
STANDINGS
Montréal: 55 PTS (15-4-2-5) – 1st Place
Seattle: 23 PTS (6-1-3-15) – 8th Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Seattle: Wednesday, Apr. 8 at Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET
Montréal: Saturday, Apr. 11 at Boston at 7 p.m. ET