Laval, QC (March 4, 2025) – Ann-Renée Desbiens delivered a standout performance, stopping all five shootout attempts and making a season-high 40 saves to backstop the Montréal Victoire to a 2-1 shootout win over the Minnesota Frost at Place Bell on Tuesday night.
Following a deadlocked first period, Laura Stacey opened the scoring just 17 seconds into the second frame to give the Victoire the lead in front of a roaring home crowd. The Frost responded late in the period when Taylor Heise converted on the power play, tying the game with under four minutes remaining in the second. After a scoreless third period and overtime, Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin netted the only goal of the shootout – complemented by Desbiens’ five-save performance for her 12th win of the season – to seal the win for Montréal. In net for the Frost, Maddie Rooney turned aside 20 of 21 – as well as four of five shootout attempts – in her 14th start of the season.
With the win, Montréal now sits at 41 points through 20 games, matching their inaugural season point total in four fewer games, and extending their stronghold on first place to a dominating nine points above second-place Toronto with one game in hand. The Frost remain in fourth place with 30 points but now sit just one point below third-place Boston after picking up a point in the shootout loss.
QUOTES
Victoire forward Laura Stacey on being able to count on Ann-Renée Desbiens: “It was huge to have her. I think obviously we didn't have our game. We didn't get as many pucks to the net we would liked, and they had quite a few. So, to have her back there, I think we're fully confident that we have a chance to win every single night. And that's huge. It allows us to play confidently, move the puck up the ice. It's totally different when you have a goaltender behind you that you completely trust and you know can stand up behind you, and win games for us. And that's exactly what she did here.”
Montréal Head Coach Kori Cheverie on Montréal's offensive play: “We can't keep going at the pace that we're going in terms of only one line scoring. It won't put us in a good place for playoffs. And the players, they know that––they know that we have to find a way to get depth scoring, and it has to be now. It's no secret that having (Alexandra) Labelle out of the lineup hurts us. We need her consistency through the middle. We need somebody who can protect the puck and drive from our zone to the offensive zone, so that certainly does hurt us, but it's not an excuse.”
Minnesota Head Coach Ken Klee: “You get 40 shots and expect to get at least two goals, and she (Ann-Renée Desbiens) obviously played fantastic. It was a good hockey game both ways. Obviously, Maddie (Rooney) played well for us too and we just have to find a way to bury pucks. I thought all of our lines had good jump and we got pucks behind the D. Today we didn’t get our net front tip goals that we got last time and that, to me, was the difference in the game.”
Minnesota forward Grace Zumwinkle: “I think the physicality was definitely something that we saw, but we know we’re going have that every single night so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. But I think it was a fast-paced game and a game of inches.”
NOTABLES
Ann-Renée Desbiens has allowed two goals or less in 13 consecutive starts, extending her PWHL record, and leads the league with six games with one or fewer goals-against. The Victoire netminder earned her 12th win in 15 starts this season, improving her league-leading goals-against average to 1.70 and save percentage to .938.
Desbiens has now won eight consecutive home games with her sole home loss of the season dating back to Dec. 4, 2024, against New York in the team’s second home game of the campaign.
Montréal has now won five of six games this season that have gone to extra time, with three shootout wins and two overtime victories, and lead the PWHL with a .833 winning percentage in games beyond regulation.
The Victoire earned their first-ever extra time win game against the Frost in team history. This is only the second game between the two teams to be decided past regulation, with the first being a 3-2 shootout win for Minnesota on Mar. 24, 2024.
Minnesota fired a season-high 41 shots on net during the game, suffering their fifth loss in 11 games this season when outshooting their opponents – Toronto and New York are the only teams with more losses when outshooting their opponents (6).
Montréal won despite trailing by 19 shots on goal in the game – a season-high for the Victoire.
Laura Stacey has scored goals in four straight games, tying a PWHL record for most consecutive games with a goal. She becomes the first player this season and the third player in PWHL history to reach this mark, following Brianne Jenner (OTT) and Jessie Eldridge (NY) during the inaugural season.
Marie-Philip Poulin scored her league-leading third shootout-winning goal of the season–– no other PWHL player has more than one this campaign. The Victoire captain has a total of four shootout goals this season, two more than any other player in the league.
Taylor Heise set a new career-high with her fifth goal of the season – and second on the power play – and now sits tied for fifth in league scoring with 17 points (5G, 12A) in 20 games.
Maddie Rooney is tied for second in the league with five games allowing one or fewer goals, doing so twice in her last three starts.
Stacey's second period goal at 17 seconds is the fastest in team history to open a period in regulation.
Jenn Gardiner tallied her 11th assist of the season and is riding the first three-game point streak of her career (1G, 2A). The Victoire forward sits second in rookie scoring and in team scoring with 15 points (4G, 11A) in 20 games this campaign.
Erin Ambrose recorded her 11th assist of the campaign, pulling her into a tie for fifth among blue liners in scoring.
Michela Cava recorded her sixth assist for her 14th point of the season and now has points in back-to-back games while sitting tied for fourth in team scoring.
Britta Curl-Salemme tallied her fourth assist of the season and is tied for third in rookie scoring with 10 points (6G, 4A) through 20 games.
Dominika Lásková made her season debut for Montréal, logging 6:33. The game was Laskova’s first in 403 days after sustaining a season-ending injury in January 2024. Before the injury, she played seven games for Montréal during the PWHL’s inaugural season.
Prior to Heise’s power play marker in tonight’s game, the Victoire had successfully killed 18 straight penalties spanning across five games.
SCORESHEET RECAP
Minnesota 0 1 0 0 - 1
Montréal 0 1 0 0 - 2
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Ljungblom Mtl (playing w/broken st.), 16:34.
2nd Period-1, Montréal, Stacey 8 (Gardiner, Ambrose), 0:17. 2, Minnesota, Heise 5 (Cava, Curl-Salemme), 16:18 (PP). Penalties-Tabin Mtl (tripping), 10:07; Poulin Mtl (hooking), 11:27; O'Neill Mtl (cross checking), 15:38; Butorac Min (hooking), 18:19.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
1st OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Boreen Mtl (boarding), 2:02.
Shootout - Minnesota 0 (Curl-Salemme NG, McQuigge NG, Zumwinkle NG, Heise NG, Thompson NG), Montréal 1 (Poulin G, Stacey NG, Gardiner NG, Poulin NG, Grant-Mentis NG).
Shots on Goal-Minnesota 13-13-11-4-0-41. Montréal 4-10-6-1-1-22.
Power Play Opportunities-Minnesota 1 / 5; Montréal 0 / 1.
Goalies-Minnesota, Rooney 7-4-1-2 (21 shots-20 saves). Montréal, Desbiens 12-2-0-1 (41 shots-40 saves).
Attendance-8,923
THREE STARS
1. Ann-Renée Desbiens (MTL) 40/41 SV
2. Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) SOW
3. Maddie Rooney (MIN) 20/21 SV
STANDINGS
Montréal (10-5-1-4) - 41 PTS – 1st Place
Minnesota (6-4-4-7) - 30 PTS – 4th Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Montréal: Thursday, March 6 at Toronto at 7 p.m. ET
Minnesota: Friday, March 7 vs Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET (Lenovo Center, Raleigh)