Last year, the Montreal Victoire lost a triple overtime marathon in game two of their opening round PWHL playoff series against the Boston Fleet. Fast forward to game two of this year's PWHL playoffs, and Montreal found themselves on the winning end of a quadruple overtime thriller, a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Charge in the longest game in PWHL history.
Bench management the difference this year
Kori Cheverie learned her lesson the hard was last season in their game two and three losses. She ran five players - Marie-Philip Poulin, Erin Ambrose, Laura Stacey, Kati Tabin, and Kristin O'Neill - into the ice, while leaving her depth on the bench. Conversely, Boston's depth players were scoring goals for the Fleet, who swept the Victoire.
This time around, with a quadruple overtime game tempting Montreal to repeat their mistakes, the Victoire showed they learned from last year, and played their bench throughout the game. It included players like Mikyla Grant-Mentis, who was one of only three Montreal players to see less than 20 minutes of ice in the game, getting time on the top line in triple overtime. The proof was in the outcome. Montreal paraded 12 players onto the ice for more than 30 minutes in the game. Three others almost his the mark.
In the end, it was third line left winger Catherine Dubois who scored the quadruple overtime winner. Dubois played 35:23 in the game. Last year? In Montreal's triple OT loss, Dubois played only 9:34.
Last season, five Montreal players saw less than 10 minutes of ice in that game, sitting cold and unused. This year, only one player, Montreal's 13th forward, fell under the 10 minute mark, which was the identical situation on the other side of the ice with Ottawa.
What does it mean moving forward?
While the game two numbers last season saw players burning out, it was game three's usage of Montreal's bench that perplexed further. After two overtime losses, Montreal continued down the same path, parking more than a line of players on the bench for the bulk of the game. The end result was a third consecutive overtime loss with Boston's depth again scoring key goals.
After the quadruple overtime win over Ottawa this week, Montreal will certainly continue their new evolutionary path by using more of their bench in game three. Their stars still played huge minutes in the win with Cayla Barnes, Anna Wilgren, Kati Tabin, and Erin Ambrose all playing more than 50 minutes and Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey seeing more than 46 minutes each.
But the real difference was who else was on the ice. Montreal played Kaitlin Willoughby, a depth acquisition late in the season, more than 40 minutes. Her role on the ice was no less consequential and important in Montreal's win than their top group.
The lesson was learned the hard way, but for the Montreal Victoire, it's a lesson that could pay dividends this season as the team looks to continue their 2025 PWHL playoff run in hopes of winning their first Walter Cup.