Boston visits Montréal for third game of an evenly matched season series
MONTREAL, QC (March 2, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) schedule continues this weekend with a pair of Saturday afternoon games, including Montréal and Boston, at 4:00 p.m. ET at Verdun Auditorium.
WHERE TO WATCH
Today’s game is available in the United States on NESN and Sportsnet Pittsburgh, and will be streamed on the league’s YouTube channel. In Canada, fans can watch live on CBC Gem. Kenzie Lalonde will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Cheryl Pounder. French coverage can be seen live on RDS with host André-Anne Barbeau, desk analyst Karell Émard, Claudine Douville on play-by-play, and Stéphanie Poirier providing colour commentary.
SETTING THE STAGE
Today’s game features the best team on home ice against the number one team in road competition. Montréal (5-3-3-2) enters the weekend first overall in the PWHL standings with 24 points, two ahead of second place Minnesota. Boston (4-2-2-4) has 18 points in fourth place at the midway mark of their season, three points behind Toronto and two ahead of both New York and Ottawa. Montréal has earned 13 of a possible 18 points in six home games this season for a points-percentage of .722 that leads the entire league. Boston is undefeated on the road in four games, earning 11 of a possible 12 points for a league-high points-percentage of .917. Montréal begins the month of March having earned eight points in their last three games. They beat Minnesota 2-1 at Place Bell on Feb. 18, lost to New York 3-2 in a shootout on Feb. 21 at UBS Arena, and defeated Ottawa 6-3 last Saturday for their first win at Verdun Auditorium. Boston is currently riding a two-game winning streak with both victories in regulation. They ended a six-game homestand with a 3-1 win over Ottawa on Feb. 21, then shutout Minnesota 2-0 on the road last Sunday at Xcel Energy Center. The first two games of the season series were won by the road team in overtime. The teams will meet one more time on May 4 in Boston.
THE SEASON SERIES SO FAR
Boston spoiled Montréal’s home opener back on Jan. 13 at Verdun Auditorium with a 3-2 overtime win. Amanda Pelkey scored the winning goal from Gigi Marvin and Jamie Lee Rattray who both had two assists in the contest. The game featured a wild second period where Montréal built a 2-0 lead with Erin Ambrose and Laura Stacey goals scored 29 seconds apart, followed by two from Boston’s Taylor Girard and Hannah Brandt in a span of 1:31. Montréal got its revenge against Boston at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell with a 2-1 overtime win on Feb. 4. Ambrose opened the scoring once again and finished with two points when she set-up Stacey’s winning goal. Marie-Philip Poulin assisted on both Montréal markers. Sophie Shirley scored for Boston, assisted by Brandt. Aerin Frankel started both games for Boston and has a .937 save percentage head-to-head. Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 18 of 21 shots in the first game, and Elaine Chuli was victorious in the rematch with 26 saves.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Montréal captain Marie-Philip Poulin (6G 6A) ranks second in PWHL scoring with 12 points in 13 games after a three-assist performance in last week’s win over Ottawa. Maureen Murphy (3G 7A) and Tereza Vanišová (2G 8A) are tied for second on the team with 10 points each. Murphy has goals in two straight games, and Vanišová has three points in her last two games. Her eight assists share a four-way tie for the league-lead. Laura Stacey (6G 2A) has eight points, including three in her last two games, and Claire Dalton (5G 1A), fresh off her first PWHL hat trick and First Star of the Week honors, will miss today’s game for preventative measures. Aerin Frankel earned Third Star of the Week recognition after back-to-back regulation wins, including a 41-save performance for her first shutout of the season last Sunday in Minnesota. Offensively, Megan Keller (3G 7A) is tied for first in scoring among defenders with 10 points and has six points in her last five games. She’s tied with Alina Müller (2G 8A) for the team lead in points. Boston has three players with seven points including Loren Gabel (4G 3A), Jamie Lee Rattray (2G 5A), and newcomer Susanna Tapani (3G 4A) who has two points in her last two games.
DEBUT FOR DAOUST
Three-time Olympian Mélodie Daoust will make her PWHL debut today for Montréal. The 32-year-old forward from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC, has been on the team’s Reserve Player List until signing a 10-Day Standard Player Agreement before today’s contest. Her decorated international resumé with Canada’s National Women’s Team includes gold medals at the 2014 and 2022 Olympics, silver in 2018, a bronze medal at the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship, and a gold at the 2021 Worlds where she was top scorer and named Tournament MVP. She most recently competed professionally as a member of the PWHPA.
POZNIKOFF OFFICIALLY SIGNS
Montréal will introduce another forward to action today with Alexandra Poznikoff officially signing a Standard Player Agreement before puck drop. The 26-year-old from Edmonton, AB, began the season as one of the team’s three Reserve Players. She’s a graduate of the University of Alberta where she won a national championship in 2017 and U SPORTS Player of the Year honours in 2019. Her last three seasons have been spent competing as a member of the PWHPA. In a corresponding roster move, Montréal announced that forward Kennedy Marchment has been placed on LTIR.
KEEPING AN EYE ON COLLEGE HOCKEY
Playoff tournaments are now fully underway in all five NCAA Division I women’s hockey conferences, with lots of PWHL players keeping an eye on their alma mater. This afternoon is the CHA Championship between Penn State and Mercyhurst – where Boston’s Samantha Isbell attended. Best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinals are underway this weekend where No. 2 ranked Clarkson, with alumnae Erin Ambrose (MTL), Loren Gabel (BOS), and Jamie Lee Rattray (BOS) take on No. 7 Princeton where Mariah Keopple (MTL) attended. No. 3 St. Lawrence features alumna Kennedy Marchment (MTL), taking on No. 6 ranked Yale, where Claire Dalton (MTL) graduated in 2023. No. 4 Cornell, with alumnae Marlène Boissonnault (MTL) and Kristin O’Neill (MTL), takes on No. 5 Quinnipiac, with alumnae Shiann Darkangelo (BOS), Taylor Girard (BOS), Nicole Kosta (BOS), and Kati Tabin (MTL). No. 1 ranked Colgate is also facing No. 8 Brown. Boston College, where Megan Keller (BOS) attended, won their Hockey East quarterfinal 2-1 over Providence, where Maureen Murphy (MTL) spent part of her NCAA tenure. In other Hockey East action, Connecticut, where Elaine Chuli (MTL) and Leah Lum (MTL) played, takes on Holy Cross. Vermont, where Amanda Pelkey (BOS) and Theresa Schafzahl (BOS) attended, battles New Hampshire, where Taylor Wenczkowski (BOS) played. Merrimack, where Dominika Lásková (MTL) attended, takes on Northeastern, a program that also featured Murphy (MTL), Aerin Frankel (BOS), and Alina Müller (BOS). Best-of-three WCHA quarterfinals are also underway. No. 2 Wisconsin, with alumnae Ann-Renée Desbiens (MTL), Hilary Knight (BOS), Cami Kronish (BOS), and Sophie Shirley (BOS), host No. 7 St. Thomas. No. 3 Minnesota, with alumnae Emily Brown (BOS), Hannah Brandt (BOS), and Gigi Marvin (BOS), faces No. 6 Minnesota State. No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth, with alumnae Catherine Daoust (MTL), Jess Healey (BOS), Sidney Morin (BOS), and Emma Söderberg (BOS) are hosting No. 5 St. Cloud State. No. 1 Ohio State is also facing No. 8 Bemidji State.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I am still in peak shape. In the gym my numbers are the same as when I played with Team Canada, so I think I am ready physically. The biggest change will be on the ice. From what I have seen, the game is more physical. It’s part of the game now.” – Mélodie Daoust, Montréal
“Mélodie’s experience, her sense of competition are things we appreciate a lot. In a one-on-one battle or a small play at the end, she will always push you to become better. From the beginning, when we talk about our reserve players, they are here to make us better. That is the intention.” – Marie-Philip Poulin, Montréal
“I think for us our biggest focus is playing a full 60 minutes. We’ve seen if we put together three solid periods, we are a tough team to beat. I would also say making sure we are connected all over the ice, especially coming out of our own end. If our defense and forwards are connected, we make the game so much easier for ourselves.” – Jamie Lee Rattray, Boston
“I think we have to find a way to come out in the first period, especially when we’re on the road. The travel is hard but figuring out how we’re going to come out in those first 20 minutes is a big thing. Montréal is obviously doing really well, and we have to find a way to shut down that top line.” – Courtney Kessel, Boston
QUICK HITS
Montréal (+3) is first in goal differential and Boston (-2) is tied for fifth…Montréal (2.46) is in a three-way tie for first in goals-per-game average and Boston (2.33) ranks fourth…Montréal (2.23) allows the second fewest goals-per-game on average and Boston (2.50) allows the second most…Boston has a perfect record in the four games they’ve scored the first goal and Montréal has six wins in the eight games they’ve scored first…Both teams score their most goals in the third period including 12 for Montréal and 11 for Boston…Boston has never lost when tied or leading after the first or second periods…Montréal has won six of seven games where they’ve led after 40 minutes…Boston (-4) is fourth in shot differential and Montréal (-41) ranks fifth…Boston (27.67) is fourth in shots-per-game average and Montréal (26.77) ranks sixth…Boston (28.00) allows the third most shots-per-game and Montréal (30.08) allows the second most on average…Montréal (7.38) averages the second most penalty minutes per game and Boston (5.83) incurs the third fewest…Montréal (4/41) is fourth in powerplay efficiency at 9.8%…Boston (2/29) ranks fifth on the PP at 6.9%…Boston (28/31) is second in penalty kill efficiency at 90.3%…Montréal (40/46) is fourth on the PK at 87.0%…Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) is second in league scoring with 12 points…Alina Müller (BOS) and Tereza Vanišová (MTL) are tied for the league-lead with eight assists…Megan Keller (BOS) is tied for the scoring lead among defenders with 10 points…Taylor Girard (BOS) leads the league with two shorthanded points…Girard leads the league with a 33.3% shooting percentage…Susanna Tapani (BOS) leads the league with a plus-9 rating…Laura Stacey (MTL) leads her team with 44 shots on goal…Hilary Knight (BOS) leads her team with 40 shots…Sarah Bujold (60/101) leads Montréal with a 59.4% face-off percentage…Poulin (54.9%) leads the team with 293 draws…Hannah Brandt (93/174) leads Boston with a 53.4% face-off percentage…Müller leads the team with 187 draws…Elaine Chuli (MTL) has won all four of her starts and leads the league with a 1.24 goals-against-average and a .961 save percentage…Aerin Frankel (BOS) has won four times with one shutout and ranks third with a 1.72 GAA and .940 SV%…Tapani is celebrating her 31st birthday today…Boston welcomes Sophie Shirley back to the lineup after a four-game injury absence.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
MONTREAL:
Stacey | Poulin | M. Daoust
Vanišová | O’Neill | Dubois
Bettez | Bujold | Murphy
Lefort | Dempsey | David
| | Poznikoff
Keopple | Ambrose
Tabin | C. Daoust
Lum | Bizal
Chuli | Desbiens
Scratches: Boissonnault, Dalton, Laganière, Lásková, Marchment
BOSTON:
Schafzahl | Tapani | Rattray
Gabel | Müller | Knight
Darkangelo | Brandt | Shirley
Girard | Marvin | Pelkey
Keller | Fratkin
Brown | Morin
DiGirolamo | Cook
Frankel | Söderberg
Scratches: Healey, Kronish, Wenczkowski
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Grace Barlow (Vancouver, BC) and Amy Martin (Winnipeg, MB).
Linespersons: Joanie Duchesneau (Montreal, QC) and Stéphanie Gagnon (Princeville, QC).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_boston and @pwhl_montreal.
