MONTREAL — Montreal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin put it best when asked to describe her team’s dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Fleet on Saturday afternoon at Bell Centre.
“It was another roller-coaster game,” said Poulin. “It went well in the first, we loosened up in the second, and in the third, we put a lot of pressure. The overtime was exciting, too.”
Montreal took an immediate 1-0 lead when defender Kati Tabin’s point shot found its way through traffic and past Fleet starting goaltender Aerin Frankel just 36 seconds into the game. The goal set a franchise record for the quickest Montreal goal to start a game.
“I was just trying to get pucks on net,” said Tabin. “Our focus today was just to take away Frankel’s eyes and the forwards did a really good job with that.”
Boston equalized just over seven minutes later on an Amanda Pelkey goal, and later, take a 2-1 lead on a Sidney Morin tally in the second period.
In the third period, however, Montreal came out firing. The Victoire outshot Boston 12-0 in the period, ultimately finding the game-tying goal courtesy, once again, of a Tabin point shot.
“I thought our energy dipped as a team in the second period,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “We just needed to find that level of compete that Boston was bringing. They had a game plan that they executed quite well. 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.”
For Tabin, it marked her second and third goals on the season. In so doing, she doubled her career goal output of two she scored in 42 games spread across two seasons in Montreal.
To her teammates and head coach, Tabin’s scoring prowess on the day was a just reward for her hard work and all-around steady game she has brought to the Victoire lineup all season long.
“Since the beginning of the season, she’s been a really important presence for us in our lineup,” said Poulin. “Game after game, she brings consistency for us, offensively and defensively. She’s also physical. We’re super happy to have her here in Montreal.”
“She’s a hard player to play against,” added Cheverie. “She skates the game well. She’s hard on the puck, she’s hard on the opposition. When we drafted her, we knew we were getting a player who was going to be very meaningful for us and play important minutes.”
Laura Stacey’s game-winning goal with just 16.3 seconds remaining in the overtime period sent the 17,324 fans in attendance home happy.
Although the scoresheet may officially indicate that it was Poulin and Cayla Barnes with the assists on the overtime winner, Montreal’s bench boss credits the fans’ support in helping the Victoire leave the Bell Centre with two precious points.
“I feel like every time we touched the puck, they started to rev us up so that really helps,” said Cheverie. “It was so amazing to play in front of that many fans and how loud they were. My voice was already not great before the game, but it’s certainly worse now. The girls really rallied with that fan support. I think it really kind of pushed us over the edge, which was nice.”
“To feel that crowd, to feel the energy, it’s so special,” said Poulin. “Every time we get the chance to play in Montreal, especially at the Bell Centre, in the big rink with people coming and watching us, there’s no better feeling.”
The win was Montreal’s eighth in its last ten games and second consecutive victory after a brief two-game losing skid. The Victoire increased their lead atop the PWHL standings to seven points over second-place Toronto, with two games in hand on the Sceptres.
Poulin, though, already has her sights set on Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Minnesota Frost.
“We’re never satisfied,” said Poulin. “We want to get better after every game.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2025.
Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press
