The Montreal Victoire extended their win-streak to six games with a 6-2 victory over New York in a heated contest on home ice.
The Montreal Victoire extended their win-streak to six games with a 6-2 victory over New York in a heated contest on home ice.
What started as a 4-0 Montreal Victoire steamrolling quickly turned into a full-on bar brawl at Place Bell on Feb. 15. The Victoire walked away with a 6-2 beat down of the New York Sirens, extending their winning streak to six games, and clinching an eight point lead atop the PWHL standings.
It started with a hit from Sirens forward Emmy Fecteau, which Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin took exception to, and promptly retaliated by throwing Fecteau into the boards following the whistle. From there, hits became much dirtier, and the game became much scrappier.
When all was said and done, seven total penalties were handed out by the officiating team in the last 40 minutes of action. The game ended with the Sirens out-hitting the Victoire 23-4, with Fecteau getting four of them.
Following a hard to swallow second period, the Victoire knew an adjustment had to be made.
“We kind of took our foot off the gas there,” said Victoire defender Amanda Boulier. “In the second cool down, someone said that we had more goals in the first than shot in the second period.”
The Victoire secured the win after not playing together for 13 days. Yet, the break proved to be a positive. The initial scoring barrage was the decisive factor.
“It was a good start for two weeks off,” said Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie. “I didn’t like our start in the second, but the group responded well in the third. New York woke up a bit and decided they were going to push back, and we expected that.”
Among the scorers for Montreal were Poulin, Mariah Keopple, Abby Boreen, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, and Lina Ljungblom. The latter registered two goals, marking her first multi-goal game in the PWHL. Ljungblom, however, did not want to credit herself for the second goal, stating that she didn’t believe the shot from Amanda Boulier deflected off of her stick.
“We’ll have to watch the video. I’m pretty sure Lina tipped it,” joked Boulier.
The Sirens continue to endure a dreadful losing skid that stretches to four games, yet they now have a fast turnaround, and are set to face the Boston Fleet on Monday.
“The recipe is come ready to play, play the way that we played in the second period and do it over the course of three periods for 60 minutes,” said Sirens head coach Greg Fargo when asked about aiming to get back in the win column.
The Victoire will play their next game on Tuesday, Feb. 18 against the Minnesotta Frost at home. Puck-drop is set for 7 p.m. EST.