Post-Game Press Conference video will be uploaded to PWHL YouTube
KANATA, ON (Dec. 6, 2024) - A record crowd of 11,065 for an Ottawa Charge home game held its breath until the last second of play at the Canadian Tire Centre on Friday night, but for the second time in a week, it was the Montréal Victoire that prevailed in another tight duel between the two rival clubs.
A shot from defender Savannah Harmon hit the bar high in the dying seconds of the game, meaning that Mikyla Grant-Mertis' second period goal stood as the winner against her former team who left the NHL building with a 2-1 victory. Marie-Philip Poulin, scorer of the Victoire's shootout winner against Ottawa in the opening game of the 2024-25 PWHL last Saturday, opened the scoring when she broke free to Emerance Maschmeyer during a shorthanded situation. Brianne Jenner, in her first game of the season, drew the primary assist on defender Ashton Bell's goal, the only one that fans at the Canadian Tire Centre were able to celebrate in style.
QUOTES
Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin on playing in an NHL building. “We don't get tired of it. Getting on the ice for warm-up and seeing the little girls with their signs and sparks in their eyes, that's why we play. Whether it's our first game or our 30th in a building like this, it never gets old.”
Ottawa Head Coach Carla MacLeod on the turnout to the Canadian Tire Centre game: “I think it was great. Think of this– [Ottawa] is flooded with hockey right now. You’ve got the Senators in a homestand. You’ve got the 67’s going. You’ve got us. You’ve got the World Junior Hockey Championships coming in. It’s Christmas season. All these folks took time and money out of their day to come cheer us on at CTC. Unbelievable! We just couldn’t be prouder of what we had. They kept us in there through [three] periods. We needed them and they delivered.”
Captain Brianne Jenner on connecting with rookie Stephanie Markowski to set up Ashton Bell’s goal: “She’s a great addition to our roster. She’s a great kid in the dressing room. She works so hard in practice, and you can see the impact she’s already having on the ice. She plays with a lot of confidence and a lot of grit too. We’re really excited to have her and I think she’s going to do great things.”
NOTABLES
Canadian Tire Centre became the eighth NHL venue to host a PWHL game.
With 11,065 fans in the building, tonight's game set a new Ottawa home attendance record. The team’s previous high was 8,452, set on April 27 at TD Place, also against Montréal.
The game marked the first rematch of the PWHL season following Montréal’s season-opening 4-3 shootout win over Ottawa on Nov. 30. The teams will meet again on Jan. 19 at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.
Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin recorded her first point of the season––an unassisted Jailbreak goal in the second period–– and the first shorthanded goal of her PWHL career. Poulin also scored the shootout winner on Nov. 30 against the Charge.
Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner played in her first game of the season and collected a point after charging the net to spark the Charge’s first goal, scored by defender Ashton Bell. The tally was Bell’s first point of the season and third goal of her PWHL career.
Jenner, who played in all 24 regular-season games in 2024 and led Ottawa in scoring with 20 points––finishing sixth overall in league scoring–– logged 18:36 in her season debut, the most ice time among all forwards. Her five shots on goal tied for the game-lead with teammate Ronja Savolainen.
Rookie defender Stephanie Markowski, Ottawa’s fourth round pick in 2024, recorded the first point of her PWHL career, an assist on Bell’s goal.
Montreal’s Mikyla Grant-Mentis gets her first goal of the season–– and first point against her former team. The goal was Grant-Mentis' third goal of her PWHL career and first game-winner. Claire Dalton assisted on the tally, her first point of the year.
Elaine Chuli made her first start of the season for Montréal, making 25 saves to backstop her team to its first regulation win of the campaign. The goaltender went 5-1-1-1 last season with a 1.61 GAA and .949 save percentage.
Emerance Maschmeyer made 27 saves in her third start of the campaign the for the Charge. The goaltender –– who led the PWHL in minutes (1332:07), shots against (599) and saves (548) in the Inaugural Season –– became the first goalie in the league to make her third start of the season.
Markowski led all players in ice-time, playing a career-high 23:54. Defender Erin Ambrose logged 20:33 of time-on-ice, the most amongst all Montréal skaters.
The Victoire have scored six goals through their first three games played this season, each by a different player.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Montréal 0 2 0 - 2
Ottawa 0 1 0 - 1
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Savolainen Ott (slashing), 5:37.
2nd Period-1, Montréal, Poulin 1 8:02 (SH). 2, Ottawa, Bell 1 (Jenner, Markowski), 15:11. 3, Montréal, Grant-Mentis 1 (Dalton), 17:57. Penalties-Mrázová Ott (too many players), 1:10; Boulier Mtl (roughing), 4:04; Greig Mtl (high sticking), 6:12; Hughes Ott (cross checking), 9:19.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-McMahon Ott (cross checking), 10:35.
Shots on Goal-Montréal 7-17-5-29. Ottawa 8-11-8-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Montréal 0 / 4; Ottawa 0 / 2.
Goalies-Montréal, Chuli 1-0-0-0 (27 shots-26 saves). Ottawa, Maschmeyer 1-1-0-1 (29 shots-27 saves).
A-11,065
THREE STARS
Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) – 1G (Shorthanded)
Brianne Jenner (OTT) – 1A
Elaine Chuli (MTL) - W, 27 Saves
STANDINGS
Montréal (1-1-0-1) – 5 PTS – 2nd Place
Ottawa (1-0-1-1) – 4 PTS – 4th Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Ottawa: Tuesday, December 17 at Boston
Montréal: Saturday, December 21 at Toronto