PWHL Montreal entered Saturday’s matchup against PWHL Ottawa first in the league with PWHL Minnesota just a single point behind with a game in hand. It was a must-win game for Montreal to continue their impressive run to start the season, but it would be no easy task.
The entire PWHL has been fairly even so far, with four of the six teams entering the night with eight points. Ottawa falls in that category, but they had only played five games before last night’s matchup which meant they could catapult up the standings with a win. These two teams played each other in the second game in PWHL history, and Montreal walked away with the win in overtime, 3-2.
Montreal was without a key player as Tereza Vanisova, who was tied for second in the league in points entering the night, was inactive for medical reasons. Catherine Dubois signed a 10-day contract and took Vanisova’s place in the lineup.
Ottawa’s Tenacity Leads to Opportunities
Although the first two minutes of the game were mostly spent with Montreal in the offensive zone, Mikyla Grant-Mentis changed that when she created Ottawa’s first two opportunities of the night. She got a takeaway in the neutral zone which led to her crashing the net and nearly colliding with Ann-Renee Desbiens. Later in the first period, Emily Clark created an opportunity of her own disrupting a Montreal pass in the offensive zone. While she didn’t have a great chance to shoot the puck considering two defenders were back, it was the type of play that could find the back of the net with a fortunate bounce. Keeping Montreal on the penalty kill also helped prevent Marie-Philip Poulin from finding the back of the net, as she’d finish the game without a point.
Clark’s work ethic also ended a penalty kill early, as she skated with the puck fighting off the defence before eventually being tripped up by Dubois. Throughout the game, Ottawa continued to work hard and create scoring chances as a result. It’s no surprise that their power play got four opportunities, as they kept putting Montreal’s defence in difficult situations where they had to make a bad decision.
Montreal’s Early Lead Almost Enough to Win
Laura Stacey showed some tenacity of her own when she scored the first goal of the night on a wraparound following a nice feed from Erin Ambrose. Stacey’s goal came immediately off of a line change and the burst of speed made the difference. The first period has been low-scoring when these two teams have played so far this season, as the first meeting went scoreless until the second period when Hayley Scamurra and Claire Dalton scored the first goal in both of their respective franchises’ history.
Despite Montreal having the lead, Ottawa was driving most of the play it seemed. Unfortunately for them, they weren’t able to find the back of the net as Desbiens stood on her head all night. That all changed when Kati Tabin went to the box for tripping, and Ottawa’s dangerous power play finally broke through on their third opportunity. Scamurra opened the scoring against Montreal for the second time this season and gave us a brand-new hockey game in the third period.
Tempers Flare
When her boarding penalty ended, Amanda Boulier got a breakaway almost instantly after stepping out of the penalty box. Although the scoring chance was stopped, Montreal wasn’t happy with the way she crashed the net and as a result, tempers started to flare. The tension only continued to increase, after Clark threw a bit of a reverse hit to create space with the puck before being hit by Dubois at a dangerous angle. As expected, another scrum ensued and it certainly wouldn’t be the last one of the night. Luckily, Clark was okay and went straight to the bench, while Dubois picked up her second minor penalty of the first period.
As the season goes on, I’d expect this to happen more and more as the teams get more familiar with one another. Considering there are only six teams in the league, they’ll get to know each other very well and rivalries will continue to grow.
Goaltending Injury Scare Leads to Penalty Shot
Early in the second period, Emerance Maschmeyer was in position to make a save as Stacey cut across the middle of the ice while protecting the puck. Stacey was tripped up by Jincy Roese as she skated in and fell backward flying skates first into Maschmeyer. Ottawa’s goaltender was down for a considerable amount of time and appeared to be in discomfort, but she stayed in the game.
Ottawa had already lost Sandra Abstreiter to injury in their last game against PWHL Boston, and losing Maschmeyer would’ve put them in a very difficult position. Although they have an untested goaltender in Rachel McQuigge, it’s likely best not to throw her to the wolves out of necessity but rather give her an opportunity while one of the normal tandem is healthy just in case.
Murphy Wins it in Overtime
For the second time in two meetings, these teams couldn’t finish things in regulation and needed extra time. At one point early in overtime Dubois was all alone on a breakaway, but Maschmeyer made a big save to keep her team in it. On the other end, Clark tried to do the same when Kristin O’Neill stumbled and turned the puck over. After a puck battle near center ice with Stacey, she was unable to get a shot off.
Maureen Murphy won the game for Montreal about a minute later with his first career PWHL goal. There was some debate after the play, as it appeared that there may have been goaltender interference by Ann-Sophie Bettez on the goal. The goal was confirmed though, and Montreal walked away with the win.
Related: Minnesota Dominates, but Loses to Montréal in PWHL Action
Desbiens stole this game for PWHL Montreal, as they easily could’ve been on the other end of a disastrous loss. It took 43 saves on 44 shots for Montreal to stay in the game. With any other goaltender between the pipes, this may have been a much different game. Montreal was outplayed in many ways, and Ottawa was the team who likely deserved to win more but now, Montreal has increased their lead at the top of the standings.