Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. ET | Agganis Arena
WATCH LIVE: NESN+, CBC TV, CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, ICI TÉLÉ & ICI TOU.TV, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com (U.S. / International)
EN: David Korzeniowski (Play-by-Play), Gigi Marvin (Analyst), Natalie Noury (Reporter), Andi Petrillo (CBC Studio Host), Hailey Salvian (CBC Studio Analyst), Saroya Tinker (CBC Studio Analyst);
FR: Michael Roy (Commentator), Stéphanie Poirier (Analyst), Christine Roger (Reporter), Roseline Filion (Host), Isabelle Leclaire (Analyst)
MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE
10-5-1-5 | 41 PTS | 1ST PLACE
Top Scorer: Marie-Philip Poulin – 21 GP, 13-5-18 PTS
Last Game: 4-1 L at TOR on Mar. 6
BOSTON FLEET
7-5-3-6 | 34 PTS | 3RD PLACE
Top Scorer: Hilary Knight – 21 GP, 11-10-21 PTS
Last Game: 5-2 W vs. NY on Mar. 5
2024-25 SEASON SERIES: MONTRÉAL LEADS 6-3 IN POINTS (TIED 6-6 IN 2024)
Dec. 30 at MTL: 3-1 MTL | Jan. 5 at BOS (SEATTLE): 3-2 BOS (SO) | Mar. 1 at MTL: 3-2 MTL (OT) | Mar. 18 at BOS | Apr. 28 at MTL
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Victoire came away with a 3-2 overtime win when these teams met at the Bell Centre in Montréal on Mar. 1. In their three games this season, the teams have been tied for 83:49, Montréal has had the lead for 85:28, and Boston has led for 20:26 (all of which came in the loss on Mar. 1).
Montréal saw its three-game winning streak (1-2-0-0) come to an end with a 4-1 loss in Toronto on Thursday. It was the third time in the last six games that the Victoire failed to score multiple goals after doing so just once in their first 15 games. Montréal is 10-5-1-1 when scoring multiple goals this season – every other team has at least four combined losses in such games.
Marie-Philip Poulin scored her league-leading 13th goal of the season on Thursday. The Victoire had won each of the first eight games in which their captain had scored a goal, all of which were regulation wins. The last time Montréal had lost a game in which Poulin scored a goal was in Game 3 of its playoff series against Boston last season.
Laura Stacey has the longest active point streak in the PWHL at five games (4G, 3A) and leads the Victoire in scoring against Boston with three points (2G, 1A) in three games this season. No player in Montréal team history has ever recorded a six-game point streak.
Canada defeated the United States 5-1 at Agganis Arena in a pre-Olympic exhibition back on Oct. 25, 2017, with Poulin scoring a goal and an assist and Boston’s Jill Saulnier contributing one assist. Stacey also played for Canada, while the U.S. lineup featured the Fleet’s Hannah Brandt, Megan Keller, Hilary Knight, Amanda Pelkey, PWHL Hockey Ops Consultant Meghan Duggan, and broadcast analysts Megan Bozek and Gigi Marvin.
Poulin, a Boston University graduate, also produced in all three games her Terriers played at Agganis Arena during the 2010-13 NCAA seasons totaling a goal and three assists. Saulnier also suited up for visiting Cornell in a game here on Oct. 20, 2012, and Victoire forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis played for Merrimack on Nov. 19, 2016.
Knight won the 2009 NCAA National Championship with Wisconsin at Agganis Arena and was named a Tournament All-Star (3G, 3A). She led the Badgers to victory alongside Duggan, defeating Mercyhurst 5-0 in the final, a team that featured Victoire Director of Performance Vicki Bendus. The Frozen Four field also included Minnesota-Duluth with Fleet assistant coach Pernilla Winberg, and Minnesota led by Marvin who scored 2G, 2A in a 5-4 semifinal loss to the Lakers.
Boston beat New York, 5-2, at home on Wednesday. The Fleet now have a +14 goal differential against the Sirens this season (excluding goals awarded for a shootout win) – no other team has a differential better than +6 against any other. Boston has a combined -6 differential against their four other opponents this season (-2 against Montréal).
The Fleet have points in six straight games (3-2-1-0) for the first time in team regular-season history and are also riding a franchise record seven-game home winning streak, including their win over the Victoire in Seattle.
Knight’s empty-net goal with eight seconds left on Wednesday clinched her first career PWHL hat trick and was her second multi-goal game in her last five games. She didn’t have any multi-goal games in her first 48 PWHL games (regular and postseason). The captain also has more than 23:00 of ice time in each of her last three games, something she did in just four of her first 18 games this season.
Shay Maloney picked up three assists on Wednesday, becoming the second Boston player to record three assists in a PWHL game. Alina Müller had a trio of assists on Jan. 17, 2024, in a 3-2 win over Toronto. The rookie had five total points (and only two assists) this season prior to Wednesday’s game, and the Fleet have won all six games in regulation when Maloney records a point.
The Terriers are playing in the Hockey East Women’s Championship today in Connecticut against Northeastern. Poulin is the only BU alumna between today’s teams, while former Huskies include Boston’s Aerin Frankel, Müller and Montréal’s Maureen Murphy.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We're excited to have the opportunity to bounce back after our showing in Toronto and to keep building towards what's coming next. The games against Boston are always physical and hard-fought. It should be interesting for the fans, especially for this first game at Agganis Arena.” - Victoire goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens.
“We’re super excited to be here. It’s an amazing rink and it's going to be sold out, so the atmosphere is going to be fantastic. We're looking forward to being in a different venue and being able to pull from different parts of Boston…We know we have to be better than we were at the Bell Centre. Committing to being a five-woman unit for 60 minutes is going to be really important.” - Fleet Head Coach Courtney Kessel.
SATURDAY’S GAME: Agganis Arena is the 24th venue to host a PWHL game all-time and has been the home of the Boston University Terriers Men’s Hockey team since 2005. The Terriers Women’s Hockey team played their first game here on Jan. 26, 2008, a 1-1 tie against Maine. In addition to hosting the team’s first of two home games at Agganis Arena, the Fleet are spotlighting Rookie Night with highlights on the jumbotron throughout the game. New merch items from Peace Collective will be available for fans to purchase along the concourse. Cape Ann Youth Hockey will hit the ice during the first intermission.