Sarah Nurse scored twice and PWHL Toronto became the first team to clinch a PWHL playoff spot beating Montreal in front of a record 21,105 fans at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Sarah Nurse scored twice and PWHL Toronto became the first team to clinch a PWHL playoff spot beating Montreal in front of a record 21,105 fans at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Sarah Nurse scored twice in front of a sold out, record breaking crowd of 21,105 at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday afternoon. Nurse's second goal was an overtime winner lifting Toronto to the 3-2 win and making them the first team in PWHL history to clinch a playoff spot.
“Today, in a city where so many hockey milestones have been achieved, we celebrated the greatest gathering of PWHL fans in the brief history of our league,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. “Montréal's hockey community has consistently shown up for our league, and today was our opportunity to celebrate their enthusiasm and showcase our players’ elite skill in front of the largest crowd women’s hockey has ever seen."
“We had a belief that the timing was right for the PWHL when we launched this season, and today’s attendance confirms that,” said Danièle Sauvageau, PWHL Montréal General Manager. “Our fans asked for this game, we delivered it, and their response has been amazing.”
Blayre Turnbull opened the scoring for Toronto at the 9:43 mark of the opening period. In the dying seconds of the opening frame, Sarah Bujold answered for Montreal.
The second period saw a similar script as Sarah Nurse scored early to put Toronto in the lead followed by a late goal from Erin Ambrose to tie the game again.
With both goaltenders shutting the door in the third, the game went to overtime where Sarah Nurse scored her second of the game to lift Toronto to the win, securing their spot in the playoffs and keeping them in first overall in the PWHL standings.
Kristen Campbell was strong in net for Toronto stopped 37 shots.