Ann-Renée-Desbiens and Emerance Maschmeyer faced a combined 77 shots in the PWHL opener for the Ottawa Charge and Montreal Victoire, the latter being crowned the winner with a 4-3 shootout win.
Ann-Renée-Desbiens and Emerance Maschmeyer faced a combined 77 shots in the PWHL opener for the Ottawa Charge and Montreal Victoire, the latter being crowned the winner with a 4-3 shootout win.
In a game that saw ten penalties and 77 combined shots, the Montreal Victoire beat the Ottawa Charge 4-3 in a shootout, claiming victory at Place Bell in front of 10,033 fans in the first PWHL regular season match for both teams.
Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored the shootout winner, but not before being foiled on a breakaway in overtime and in an initial shootout attempt. Head coach Kori Cheverie elected to utilize Poulin on her teams last shot.
“In the moment we did the math quickly, and [Poulin]’s not going to miss three in a row,” said Cheverie.
The game was hard-fought and high-scoring with an impressive goaltending display to boot. Starters Ann-Renée-Desbiens and Emerance Maschmeyer made 29 and 43 saves respectfully.
“Goalies love a lot of shots, so there’s no problem with that,” said Maschmeyer when asked about her 43 saves.
Solid physicality was noticeable throughout, but cost the Charge with the referees. Ottawa had it’s fair share of penalties, allowing two goals on seven penalty kills.
“I think it was a little lopsided on the power play, penalty kills,” said Charge head coach Carla MacLeod. “You’re never going to always agree, but trying to find that consistency, and I know the league’s working hard, and the officials are working hard, but we need it to go both ways if we’re going to embrace the physicality.”
The opening frame saw Montreal with a strong forecheck and applied pressure. Maschmeyer, however, was completely infallible, stopping all 18 shots faced.
On the other end of the ice, a strong shift from Charge forward, and second overall selection at the 2024 draft, Danielle Serdachny was carried out. Serdachny fired the puck on goal for Emily Clark to clean up. Ottawa led 1-0 heading into intermission.
The game became a scoring affair in the second period. After Serdachny scored her first PWHL regular season goal, Montreal looked to narrow the two-goal deficit. Perfectly placed shots from Abby Boreen and Laura Stacey beat Maschmeyer, who stopped 34 of 36 shots after 40 minutes of play.
Late in the second, Charge forward Tereza Vanišová was sprung on a breakaway beating Desbiens. Ottawa held the lead once again at intermission, this time, 3-2.
With under ten minutes left in the third period, Vanišová was assessed a boarding call, setting up an opportunity for Montreal to tie the game. On the power play, defender Cayla Barnes fed forward Jennifer Gardiner for her first PWHL goal.
After an exhilarating overtime, that saw two breakaway attempts stifled on both ends in the dying seconds, a shootout was needed to decide the winner.
That’s when Poulin skated to the center ice circle. The Montreal captain scored blocker-side of Maschmeyer, and Desbiens' following save sealed a 4-3 comeback win for the home team.