In their fifth and final meeting of the regular season, the Montréal Victoire edged out the Toronto Sceptres 4-3 in a shootout thanks to captain Marie-Philip Poulin’s game-winning shootout goal in front of an all-time-high sold-out crowd of 8,671 at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Tuesday. The Victoire have now won six straight contests and sit in first place in the PWHL, three points ahead of Boston who have three games in hand. Montréal netminder Sandra Abstreiter turned away 23 of 26 shots in regulation and overtime, and 3 of 6 in the shootout for her second win in her third appearance this season. Meanwhile, Toronto’s Raygan Kirk stopped 31 of 34 through 65 minutes and 2 of 6 in the shootout in the loss. Maggie Connors provided the lone goal of the first period with a shot from behind the goal that deflected off Abstreiter’s skate and into the net to give the home team a 1-0 lead. Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull doubled Toronto’s lead to 2-0 with her one-timer from the right circle off a spinning pass from Daryl Watts. Poulin got the Victoire on the board and back into the game at 8:04 of the second period when she tipped Nicole Gosling’s point shot to make the score 2-1. Forward Hayley Scamurra then knotted the game at two just over five minutes later with a power-play tally at 13:20. Lina Ljungblom claimed Montréal’s first lead of the game at 7:30 in the final frame, before Toronto’s Jesse Compher found the back of the net with just over a minute remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime.
Toronto and Montréal are the first teams to close out their head-to-head season series, which Montréal won with a record of 2-2-0-1. The Sceptres will look to bounce back as they host the Minnesota Frost on Sunday, Mar. 8 for the second game of their three-game homestand. The Victoire aim to keep their momentum after a break when they host the Boston Fleet at Place Bell on Sunday, Mar. 15.
QUOTES
Victoire goaltender Sandra Abstreiter on giving up two goals early and being able to come back strong to make important saves: “Nobody was mad at me or anything like that. I wouldn't expect it any differently, honestly, from these guys. They're great, they've been so supportive. They were super hype when everyone found out that I was getting the start. So, it was honestly just them keeping me positive, and then I was able to clear my head from that as well and see positive.”
Montréal Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the team's current win streak: “It's hard to keep the momentum at times. I think every time I go do interviews, I get told that there's some sort of new streak that I would prefer us not to talk about. And for us, we looked at these three games as just kind of like a small micro-cycle that we wanted to focus on. I love that the team wanted nine out of nine points. We got eight out of nine. We're happy with that, but there was lots of learning tonight too, and it's very valuable to be able to learn in some of these moments as we continue to push down the stretch.”
Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull on returning to play against Olympic teammates and the schedule coming back: “It’s interesting because you go through something as big as the Olympics and I think whether you win or lose, you’re still thinking about your time there days after getting home. It’s interesting, but I think the good thing about our group here in Toronto is that we’re very focused on what we need to accomplish, and I know the group in Montréal is as well. When we’re on the ice, it’s Toronto versus Montréal. After the game, shaking hands I can say, ‘Thank god we have a break coming up.’ A couple days off will be much needed.”
Toronto Head Coach Troy Ryan on the power play: “The power play was not overly effective tonight. We’ve juggled it around a little bit as of late. Obviously during the Olympic break, it’s not something that you work on because a lot of your players that are on the power play are at the Olympics. It hasn’t been overly effective all year. There was a little spell there before the break that it was kind of clicking pretty good, but you need a bit more of the basics. One of the things I’ve always said is to get pucks inside, get people heading downhill, numbers at the net, good shot mentality, good puck retrieval and repeat. If you’re constantly looking for high-level skill plays, you’re not going to be effective. You’ve got to create the advantage with a mentality and not just the skill.”
NOTABLES
Montréal officially wins the head-to-head season series over Toronto 10-5 in points, but Toronto holds the all-time lead through three regular seasons 26-22 in points.
The Victoire tied a team record with their sixth straight win, previously winning six straight last season from Jan. 17 to Feb. 15, 2025. They also extended their road win streak to three games. Both streaks tie Ottawa for the longest such streaks in the PWHL this season.
Tonight’s shootout set a PWHL record for most total goals with seven, beating the previous record of five. Montréal became the first team in PWHL history to score four times in a single shootout, while Toronto set a team record with three shootout goals, their first three shootout goals of the season on 15 total attempts.
The Victoire are the only PWHL team without a loss beyond regulation (4-0), including a 2-0 record in shootouts, with both shootout wins earned against the Sceptres.
Montréal allowed only three shots on goal during tonight’s first period, the fifth time they have limited opponents to three shots in a regulation period this season.
Both teams have now played in a league-high 10 one-goal games, with Montréal winning six of their one-goal decisions and Toronto winning five.
Despite each team scoring a third period goal, Toronto (11) and Montréal (12) have scored the fewest goals in the third period of any PWHL teams.
Tonight’s sold-out crowd of 8,671 fans is the largest attendance for a PWHL game played at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Marie‑Philip Poulin scored two shootout goals for the first time in her career and is the league’s all-time leader with nine, including five shootout winners. The Victoire captain, who led the game with seven shots, also added her first goal post-Olympics, bringing her career total to 65 points in 68 games as the PWHL’s all-time points leader. She now has points in three straight games and is tied for the league’s scoring lead with 16 points (8G, 8A) in 17 games.
Hayley Scamurra has seven points in her last eight games with tonight’s goal, and nine points (2G, 7A) in 18 games overall, which is one point shy of tying her career high of 10 (5G, 5A) as a member of the Charge during the inaugural season. The Olympic gold medalist ended a 14-game goalless streak with her second-period tally.
Lina Ljungblom has now recorded two goals and one assist in the Victoire’s three games since returning from the Olympic break, where she reached the same points total (2G, 1A) for Team Sweden. Prior to playing in the Olympics, Ljungblom went without a point in her previous 12 regular-season appearances with Montréal, dating back to the 2024-25 season.
Maggie Connors notched her second goal and third point of the season in her 19th game, matching her goal total and surpassing her point total from the 2024-25 season in 30 games. The Toronto forward ended a streak of 11 games without a point, which tied a single-season career high from Jan. 22 to Feb. 25 of last season, and puts her halfway to her career high point total in 24 games during the inaugural season (3G, 3A).
Blayre Turnbull scored on her bobblehead giveaway night to bring her season total to five goals in 19 games, matching her career high in 30 games last season. The Sceptres captain is one point away from becoming the eighth player in team history to reach 30 career points in a Toronto uniform.
Jesse Compher notched her sixth goal of the season to tie Daryl Watts for the team lead. The tally was her first at Coca-Cola Coliseum since Feb. 14, 2025, in Toronto’s 3-1 win against visiting Boston.
Sandra Abstreiter earned her second career victory — both with Montréal this season — and first shootout win of her career. The appearance marked her third start of the season for the Victoire, and first since Jan. 2. Abstreiter won three of her five starts for Germany at the Olympics, posting a .907 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average.
Natálie Mlýnková notched her fourth assist and eighth point in 18 games with Montréal this season. The Victoire forward now has points in three of her last four games, moving into a tie for fourth place in rookie scoring.
Alexandra Labelle snapped a 13-game point drought, assisting on Ljungblom’s third-period tally. The forward now has two points, both assists, through 16 games this season — her career-high is four points (1G, 3A), set last season with the Victoire in 19 games.
Nicole Gosling notched her sixth assist for her seventh point of the season in 18 games. The Victoire defender holds the fourth most points scored among rookie defenders and moves into a tie for ninth in scoring among all rookies.
Maggie Flaherty’s assist brought her to seven points (3G, 4A) in 18 games this season, moving her into a tie for seventh in league scoring among defenders. The Minnesota native has now set a new career-high in points, surpassing her inaugural‑season total of six points (1G, 5A) in 24 games. She also ranks second on the team in power‑play assists (3), trailing only Erin Ambrose (4).
Maureen Murphy recorded a power-play assist — her first of the season and third of her career — and now has three points (1G, 2A) in Montréal’s last two games. The Victoire forward sits one point away from 30 for her career, a milestone that 31 PWHL players have reached in the league’s history.
Amanda Boulier has her first point streak of the season and her first since scoring points in three consecutive games during the inaugural season between Feb. 4 to Feb. 17 (1G, 2A). She is now a third of the way to her career high points total of nine (1G, 8A) in 23 games across Ottawa and Montréal during the inaugural season.
Watts tallied a primary helper for the 29th assist of her career, putting her one away from becoming the fifth player in PWHL history to reach 30 career assists. The forward now has thirteen points on the season (6G, 7A), moving into a tie for eighth place in PWHL scoring while continuing to lead Toronto in points.
Renata Fast recorded the primary helper on Toronto’s late game-tying goal, marking her third point in the Sceptres’ three games since the Olympic break (1G, 2A) — doubling her season point total to six (1G, 5A) in 15 games.
Ella Shelton’s assist put her two away from becoming the first defender in PWHL history to reach 45 career points — a milestone which only 11 players have reached. She now has six points (2G, 4A) on the season and is tied for the team scoring lead among blue liners with Fast.
Raygan Kirk suffered her first loss since Toronto’s last matchup with Montréal on Jan. 28. Tonight’s start marked the fifth time that the Sceptres netminder has made at least 30 saves across 14 games this season, a feat which she reached three times in 10 games during the 2024-25 regular season. Kirk remains winless in four career shootout games.
Ann-Renée Desbiens served as Montréal’s backup today for a day of rest after nine consecutive games between the pipes, including two wins since returning from the Olympics.
Emma Gentry missed the third game of her rookie campaign with the Sceptres due to a lower-body injury.
THREE STARS
1. Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) 1G, SOWG
2. Nicole Gosling (MTL) 1A
3. Maggie Connors (TOR) 1G
STANDINGS
Montréal: 35 PTS (9-4-0-5) – 1st Place
Toronto: 24 PTS (6-1-4-8) – 4th Place (Tied)
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Toronto: Sunday, Mar. 8 vs. Minnesota at 12 p.m. ET
Montréal: Sunday, Mar. 15 vs. Boston at 1 p.m. ET