PWHL in the Steel City as part of Takeover Weekend presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics
PITTSBURGH, PA (March 17, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) schedule continues on Sunday afternoon with PWHL Takeover Weekend presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics, featuring Montréal and Toronto, at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena at 12:30 p.m. ET.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in Canada can watch the game live on CBC and streamed on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. In the United States, watch on Sportsnet Pittsburgh Plus, and on Bally Sports North, the Bally Sports app on mobile and tablet devices (including iOS and Android), ballysports.com when authenticated using pay-TV credentials, and on Bally Sports+, the standalone streaming subscription service available from Bally Sports. The game will also be available on the league’s YouTube channel. Host Andi Petrillo will be joined in the CBC studio by analyst Saroya Tinker. Kenzie Lalonde will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Cheryl Pounder and with Julie Stewart-Binks reporting from rinkside. French coverage can be seen live on RDS2 with host André-Anne Barbeau, desk analyst Karell Émard, Claudine Douville on play-by-play, Isabelle Leclair providing colour commentary, and reporter Catherine Savoie.
TODAY AT PPG PAINTS ARENA
PPG Paints Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is the fifth NHL venue to host a PWHL game this season. During today’s game, the past, present, and future of women’s hockey will be celebrated. The league will recognize members of the Chatham Cougars – the state’s first collegiate women’s ice hockey team that received varsity athletic status and became an NCAA Division III team in 1996. On March 17, 1998, the team was honored with a proclamation in the Pittsburgh city council chambers, celebrating their trailblazing efforts in the sport. Also in attendance will be members of the Pittsburgh Pennies – Pittsburgh’s first women’s hockey team founded in 1972. The group broke down barriers and have been instrumental in advancing the sport with a legacy that has led to nearly 2,000 girls and women playing hockey in Western Pennsylvania. The Penguins Foundation 50/50 proceeds from this game will benefit need-based scholarships for girl’s hockey. Today’s game will also set an attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game played in Pittsburgh.
WELCOME BACK TO PITTSBURGH
On March 12, 2022, PPG Paints Arena hosted the “Rivalry Rematch” game, organized by the PWHPA in partnership with the Penguins, featuring members of the U.S. and Canadian National Women’s Teams following the Beijing Olympics. A total of 32 PWHL players were in the game, including Montréal’s Erin Ambrose, Mélodie Daoust, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Marie-Philip Poulin, and Laura Stacey, who all won 2022 Olympic gold with Canada. Toronto players who competed were Canadian Olympic gold medalists Kristen Campbell, Renata Fast, Jocelyne Larocque, Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, and Blayre Turnbull. A total of 5,410 fans were in attendance to take in the action, with Team Canada defeating Team USA 3-2 on an overtime goal by Poulin. Last season, the Penguins partnered with the PWHPA and PHF to host events at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. A pair of Montréal players starred in those events, including Poulin who scored four goals in a pair of wins for Team Harvey’s the weekend of November 26-27, 2022, and Ann-Sophie Bettez who scored a hat trick to lead the PHF’s Montréal Force to a 5-4 win over the Connecticut Whale on January 14, 2023.
Also returning to Pittsburgh, is Montréal head coach Kori Cheverie who served as a guest coach for Penguins development camp and training camp. Cheverie also proudly represents the province of Nova Scotia along with Toronto head coach Troy Ryan, Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull, defender Allie Munroe, goaltender Carly Jackson, and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. Ryan coached Crosby in his youth and has organized summer skates for him and other NHL players together with Team Canada players like Turnbull. Toronto has three players who spent their NCAA careers playing hockey in Pennsylvania, including Brittany Howard who was a star at nearby Robert Morris University between 2013-18. Down the road in Erie, PA, Jess Jones and Alexa Vasko were members of the Mercyhurst University Lakers. Today’s game will also be a special experience for Toronto’s Jesse Compher, whose older brother J.T. plays for the Detroit Red Wings who are in town to play the Penguins this evening.
SETTING THE STAGE
Another chapter of the Canadian hockey rivalry is about to unfold – this time in unique U.S. surroundings at PPG Paints Arena. Once again, Toronto (8-3-0-5) battles Montréal (7-3-3-4) with a share of first place on the line. Both teams enter the action tied with 30 points, three back of Minnesota. Toronto is going for a tenth straight victory in a streak that already includes two wins over Montréal – both by 3-0 shutouts – with the most recent matchup taking place last Friday at Mattamy Athletic Centre. Toronto has outscored its opponents 31-11 in their last nine games, with the last three results all by multiple goals. Montréal has lost back-to-back games for the first time all season after dropping a 4-2 decision to Ottawa last Sunday at Place Bell following their loss in Toronto. That outcome ended a difficult stretch of three games in five days for the team. While Montréal is considered the home team in Pittsburgh, they rank fourth in points percentage when playing outside of Québec where they’ve collected five wins and 14 points in nine games. Toronto is the league’s top road team by points percentage with five wins and 13 points in just seven games. The teams will meet once more in Montréal on Apr. 20 in a recently announced game at the Bell Centre known as the Duel at the Top.
THE SEASON SERIES SO FAR
Toronto has earned eight of a possible nine points against Montréal over the three previous meetings. The teams last met on International Women’s Day where Toronto skated to its second straight 3-0 shutout over Montréal. Kristen Campbell turned aside all 23 shots faced for her league-leading third shutout of the season. Offensively, Hannah Miller scored her fifth goal of the season, Rebecca Leslie got her first, and Emma Maltais scored her second shorthanded goal into the empty net. The rivalry intensified during the game with a sequence that led to three coincidental penalties for roughing midway through the second period. That game followed the historic Battle on Bay Street played Feb. 16 at Scotiabank Arena with a women’s hockey record crowd of 19,285 in attendance. Campbell’s shutout required 30 saves, and Miller scored a goal and an assist in that contest and is tied with Leslie for the points lead in the season series with three apiece. Marie-Philip Poulin is the only other player with two goals when the teams go head-to-head, recording both of her tallies in the Jan. 20 matchup at Verdun Auditorium. Toronto won that game 4-3 in the league’s first ever shootout, launching Campbell’s current 10-game win streak. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 36 saves in the first encounter and also played on Feb. 16 where she stopped 21 of 23 shots in defeat. Toronto remains the only team in the PWHL that Montréal has not defeated.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto’s Natalie Spooner is tied for third in league scoring with 16 points, including a league-high 12 goals in 16 games. She’s currently riding a three-game point streak with two goals and three assists in that span. Sarah Nurse (4G 8A) has climbed up to second in team scoring with 12 points, largely driven by her current four-game point streak that has generated two goals and four assists. Captain Blayre Turnbull has the team’s longest active streak at five games and is tied for sixth in team scoring with seven points. Emma Maltais (3G 8A) is third on the team with 11 points and has recorded eight of them in eight games since the beginning of February. Toronto’s top defensive pairing of Renata Fast and Jocelyne Larocque log big minutes but also contribute offensively with eight points each on the season. Montréal will be without its captain and top scorer Marie-Philip Poulin who will miss her second straight game due to injury. Laura Stacey (7G 4A) is second on the team in goals and tied for second in points with Maureen Murphy (3G 8A) with 11. Stacey had her second multi-point game of the season last Sunday against Ottawa, despite the loss. Tereza Vanišová (2G 8A) is fourth in team scoring with 10 points and will be looking to breakout after being held off the scoresheet in four straight games. Erin Ambrose (3G 6A) leads the defense with nine points. Montréal welcomes the return of Claire Dalton to the lineup. The star rookie has missed the last four games since her hat trick performance on Feb. 24.
GRANT-MENTIS MAKES MONTREAL DEBUT
Montréal forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis will debut with the team after signing a 10-day Standard Player Agreement. She was added to the team’s roster as a Reserve Player last week. The 25-year-old from Brampton, ON, started her PWHL career with Ottawa and played in six games prior to her release. She recorded three assists – all against Toronto – in two games opposite her hometown team. Her last three seasons were spent in the PHF, highlighted by MVP honors during the shortened 2021 campaign as a member of the Toronto Six.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I am very excited to be in PPG Paints Arena again, now with our own Montréal team. I think it’s just a special moment that has come full circle, that I now get to be behind the bench with my own team, sharing the experience that I have had now with our staff.” – Kori Cheverie, Montréal
“We are super excited to get to Pittsburgh to play Montréal. Looking forward to all the fans, and to be in the great hockey city of Pittsburgh!” – Jocelyne Larocque, Toronto
“We haven’t had these full weeks of practice, so this felt nice to clean up some little things that are going to benefit us. We’ve remained competitive (throughout the winning streak) and difficult to play against, where sometimes it can be easy to take your foot off the gas a little bit, or not be quite as physical, but I think we’ve maintained that we believe that’s our route to success and we stick with it. We’re not letting it get in our heads at all. They were right back to business all week, so that’s a good feeling when you’ve won a few in a row and your team still comes and goes to work every day.” – Troy Ryan, Toronto
QUICK HITS
Toronto (+9) is second in goal differential and Montréal (+1) ranks third…Toronto (2.69) is first in goals-per-game average and Montréal (2.41) ranks fourth…Toronto (2.13) have allowed the second fewest goals-per-game and Montréal (2.35) allows the third fewest on average…Both Toronto and Montréal have scored the game’s first goal 10 times with Toronto going on to win nine of their games compared to eight wins for Montréal…Both teams are strongest offensively in the third period with Toronto leading the league with 17 goals in the final frame, followed by 16 for Montréal…Montréal has the most one-goal wins with seven in nine games, Toronto has four wins in five one-goal decisions…Toronto (+48) is second in shot differential and Montréal (-41) ranks fifth…Toronto (29.19) is third in shots-per-game average and Montréal (27.82) ranks fifth…Toronto (26.13) allows the second fewest shots-per-game and Montréal (30.35) allows the second most on average…Toronto has outshot its opponents 11 times and Montréal nine times…Montréal (7.53) averages the second most penalty minutes per game and Toronto (6.75) averages the third most…Toronto (5/45) is third in powerplay efficiency at 11.1%…Montréal (5/58) ranks fifth on the PP at 8.6%…Toronto (45/47) is first in penalty kill efficiency at 95.7%…Montréal (48/59) ranks fourth on the PK at 81.4%…Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) is second in league scoring with 17 points…Natalie Spooner (TOR) leads the league with 12 goals…Spooner also leads the league with four powerplay goals…Emma Maltais (TOR) leads the league with two shorthanded goals…Claire Dalton (MTL) leads the league with a 29.4% shooting percentage…Tereza Vanišová (MTL) is tied for the league-lead with eight minor penalties…Laura Stacey leads Montréal with 67 shots on goal…Spooner leads Toronto with 63 shots…Poulin (212/370) leads Montréal in face-offs and with a win-rate of 57.3%…Sarah Nurse (102/207) leads Toronto with a face-off percentage of 49.3%…Blayre Turnbull (42.1%) leads the team with 235 draws…Ann-Renée Desbiens (MTL) has won five of her 11 starts with a goals-against-average of 2.32 and save percentage of .919…Kristen Campbell (TOR) has won 11 of her 15 starts including 10 straight, leads the league with three shutouts, and carries a 2.00 GAA and .924 SV%…Brittany Howard (TOR) is serving her one-game suspension…
PROJECTED LINEUPS
MONTREAL:
Dalton | O’Neill | Stacey
Vanišová | Bujold | Murphy
Lefort | David | Grant-Mentis
Dubois | Dempsey | Poznikoff
Keopple | Ambrose
Tabin | Bizal
Lum | Daoust
Laganière
Desbiens | Chuli
Scratches: Bettez, Boissonnault, Lásková, Marchment, Poulin
TORONTO:
Maltais | Turnbull | Connors
Miller | Nurse | Spooner
Cogan | Compher | Bach
Willoughby | Vasko | Leslie
Larocque | Fast
Munroe | Flanagan
Rougeau | Knowles
Poulin-Labelle
Campbell | Howe
Scratches: Howard, Jackson
OFFICIALS:
Referees: David Elford (Kitchener, ON) and Lacey Senuk (Toronto, ON).
Linespersons: Anthony Lapointe (Lachine, QC) and Shawn Oliver (Ottawa, ON).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_montreal and @pwhl_toronto.