Montréal, QC (March 1, 2025) – The Montréal Victoire secured a thrilling 3-2 overtime win against the Boston Fleet on Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre in the second annual Duel at the Top, presented by Air Canada. Laura Stacey ended a suspenseful overtime backed by a roaring home crowd of 17,324 fans. On the winning goal, Stacey dove across the front of the net to tap the puck in after a wild sequence that saw Marie-Philip Poulin fire a shot wide, then Cayla Barnes ring her shot off the post, leaving the puck sitting out of Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel’s sight.
The Victoire took an early lead with a goal from Kati Tabin just 36 seconds into the game, but Boston’s Amanda Pelkey knotted the score just seven minutes later. The Fleet took their first lead of the game in the second period with a marker from Sidney Morin, then Tabin netted her second of the day with under seven minutes in the final frame to force extra time. Ann-Renée Desbiens earned her league-leading 11th win of the season for the Victoire stopping 15 of 17 shots, while Frankel turned aside 27 of 30 shots for Boston.
With the win, Montréal extends their stronghold on first place with 39 total points, seven points ahead of second-place Toronto with two games in hand, while Boston remains in third place with 31 points after picking up a single point in the overtime loss.
QUOTES
Montréal's Laura Stacey on teammate Kati Tabin: "Game in, game out, Kati has chances. She also creates chances. She plays sound offensively. It's just a matter of time until those pucks go in the back of the net like they did tonight. I'm so happy for her, it's so well deserved. Good things happen to good people, and that's exactly what happened today."
Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the energy her team displayed: “I thought that our energy dipped as a team in the second period, and we just needed to find that level of compete that Boston was bringing. They had a game plan that I think they executed quite well, and we just needed to match that. The players took it upon themselves to challenge themselves to come out in the third and make a decision that we were going to take over the game."
Boston Head Coach Courtney Kessel: “I didn’t think it was one of our best games this year. I think we knew coming in that the crowd was going to be electric and sometimes the nerves get the best of you. For us to battle back after our first shift with a goal against, I think it’s a testament to our team’s resilience this year. We got a point and points are hard to get in this league right now, so we’ll take it.”
Fleet forward Amanda Pelkey on her history of scoring against Montréal: “I guess it’s close to home (hailing from Vermont)… I think it’s special anytime we do play Montréal. That’s a credit to their fanbase and using that to channel energy.”
NOTABLES
Montréal has now won nine of their 11 home games in three different venues in the province of Québec this season including the Bell Centre (1), Centre Videotron (1), and Place Bell (7).
The Victoire are the league’s best team in games beyond regulation with four wins (two overtime and two shootout) in five games (.800). Their only loss came in a shootout against Boston the last time the teams met in Seattle on Jan. 5.
The Fleet lead the league with eight results beyond regulation, including five overtime decisions (2-3).
Boston’s five-game point streak ties their longest of the season with the Fleet accumulating 11 of a possible 15 points during this current stretch.
Laura Stacey has scored in three straight games with her seventh goal of the season giving her a league-leading two overtime tallies. She also added her fifth assist for her second consecutive multi-point game and third of the campaign. Her season-high three-game point streak includes five points (3G, 2A).
Kati Tabin recorded her first career multi-goal game, scoring her second and third goals of the season to surpass her single goal total during the inaugural season. All three of the defender’s goals have come in front of Montréal’s biggest home crowds of the season, including 18,259 fans at Québec’s Centre Videotron on Jan. 19.
Tabin, who led the game with a season-high five shots on net, scored her first goal at 36 seconds of the first period. The goal is the Victoire’s fastest in team history and the second time the team has scored on their first shot of the game following Catherine Dubois at 2:33 on Jan. 12 against Minnesota.
Ann-Renée Desbiens recorded her first PWHL win against Aerin Frankel in seven career head-to-head starts, stretching between four regular-season and three playoff games. The Victoire netminder narrowly leads her Fleet counterpart in wins (11/10), goals-against-average (1.76/1.95), and save percentage (.934/.931) this season.
Amanda Pelkey scored her second goal of the season, and her second in as many games. The Fleet forward has surpassed her marker total from the inaugural season, where she scored once (also against Montréal) in 23 games.
Sidney Morin scored her third goal of the season and has points in two straight games. The Fleet have 10 goals from defenders this season, one behind New York for the league lead.
Marie-Philip Poulin recorded her fifth assist for her 17th point of the season to pull her into a tie for fifth in league scoring. The Victoire captain is on a three-game point streak (1G, 3A) and has tallied assists in three straight games for the first time this season.
Jennifer Gardiner has points in two straight games following her 10th assist of the season, which puts her into a tie for the Victoire lead in the category. Her 14 points through 19 games this campaign ranks second among rookies.
Cayla Barnes tallied her ninth assist of the season, and her second in as many games, and now sits third among rookies in scoring with 10 points (1G, 9A).
Susanna Tapani recorded her third assist of the season and has five points (3G, 2A) in seven games since the international break.
Lexie Adzija tallied her second assist of the season and first point since Dec. 27.
Dubois was in the Victoire lineup for the first time since Feb. 2 following a stint on LTIR and logged 8:34 in ice time along with one shot on goal and one hit.
Montréal has won all eight games when outshooting their opponent this season.
Boston became the first team in PWHL history to be held without a shot on goal in a full regulation period with zero shots recorded in the final frame. The Fleet have recorded three or fewer shots on goal in the third period in four different games this season, and their 17 total shots ties their lowest single-game total this campaign.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Boston 1 1 0 0 - 2
Montréal 1 0 1 1 – 3
1st Period-1, Montréal, Tabin 2 (Gardiner, Stacey), 0:36. 2, Boston, Pelkey 2 7:39. Penalties-O'Neill Mtl (high sticking), 9:31; Poulin Mtl (illegal body checking), 17:08; Murphy Mtl (delay of game), 18:42.
2nd Period-3, Boston, Morin 3 (Tapani, Adzija), 6:33. Penalties-Adzija Bos (holding), 3:57; Boreen Mtl (closing hand on puck), 15:08.
3rd Period-4, Montréal, Tabin 3 13:01. Penalties-Digirolamo Bos (hooking), 5:04; Bard Bos (illegal body checking), 9:53.
1st OT Period-5, Montréal, Stacey 7 (Barnes, Poulin), 4:43. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Boston 8-6-0-3-17. Montréal 8-9-12-1-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Boston 0 / 4; Montréal 0 / 3.
Goalies-Boston, Frankel 10-4-2-0 (30 shots-27 saves). Montréal, Desbiens 11-2-0-1 (17 shots-15 saves).
Attendance: 17,324
THREE STARS
1. Kati Tabin (MTL) 2G
2. Laura Stacey (MTL) 1G, 1A
3. Aerin Frankel (BOS) 27/30 SV
STANDINGS
Montréal (10-4-1-4) - 39 PTS – 1st Place
Boston (6-5-3-6) - 31 PTS – 3rd Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Montréal: Tuesday, March 4 vs. Minnesota at 7 p.m. ET
Boston: Wednesday, March 5 vs. New York at 7 p.m. ET