The Montreal Victoire exacted revenge against the Boston Fleet on Dec. 30 at Place Bell, securing a 3-1 victory in a heated rematch. With goals from Kristin O’Neill, Claire Dalton, and Anna Wilgren, Montreal climbed to first in the PWHL standings while showcasing their physical edge in a penalty-filled battle.
The Montreal Victoire exacted revenge against the Boston Fleet on Dec. 30 at Place Bell, securing a 3-1 victory in a heated rematch. With goals from Kristin O’Neill, Claire Dalton, and Anna Wilgren, Montreal climbed to first in the PWHL standings while showcasing their physical edge in a penalty-filled battle.
The Montreal Victoire returned home to Place Bell on Dec. 30, seeking revenge against the team that sent them packing in the opening round of the playoffs last campaign: the Boston Fleet.
In a game that had hits thrown out like cars in a demolition derby, the contempt the two teams had for one another was palpable. Nonetheless, Montreal was able to execute the revenge plan, beating their opponents by a score of 3-1. Montreal goals were scored by forwards Kristin O’Neill, Claire Dalton, and defender Anna Wilgren. Boston’s sole goal was scored by captain Hilary Knight.
Knight was booed on a few instances by the 10,172 reported Montreal faithful, but none as loud as after her game tying goal in the second period.
“You’re buying a seat to watch us play. We’re here to entertain,” said Knight when asked about the atmosphere and jeers. “So, that’s how I deal with it, put on a show. Obviously, we wanted a closer show for all the people buying tickets to this game.”
With the win, Montreal moves into first place in the PWHL standings with a 3-2-0-1 record. The team also set a franchise record with four straight wins.
Tempers flared throughout the game, and it added an extra edge to the game’s physicality, for better and for worse. Before the second period ended, Victoire forward Catherine Dubois landed a fierce hit on Fleet forward Megan Keller, resulting in a check to the head penalty, and after a lengthy review, a game misconduct for Dubois.
“Number one, Dubois doesn’t want to hurt anybody,” said Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie. “And number two, you know she doesn’t want to be out of the game and she wants to contribute, and I thought she was having a great game.”
By game's end, a total nine penalties were called, four for Boston and five for Montreal. However, the total time was slanted toward Montreal, with a total 23 penalty minutes to Boston’s eight. Montreal’s penalty kill prevailed, and in the third period, lent to dwindling Boston’s offensive might to just two total shots in the final frame.
“I think our PK was probably hungrier than their power play,” said Cheverie. “I didn’t think we gave up a lot of quality opportunities to them… PK is something that we talk about every single game, and in practice as well, so I hope that when we work on something a lot, it tends to click.”
Montreal was able to stave off Boston on all penalty kills, but also continued on a downward trend with the power play. The Victoire fell to 2/25 on the season after Monday night’s game.
The Victoire did not have to worry about Aerin “The Green Monster” Frankel in the match, whose 52-save performance was key in Boston’s sweep last playoffs. Instead, Fleet head coach Courtney Kessel turned to Emma Söderberg. The netminder stopped 28 of the 31 shots faced.
“We have three tremendous goaltenders and we’re on the road here for another nine days,” said Kessel when asked about giving Söderberg the nod. “It’s a total of 17 days kind of living out of our bags, so it’s going to be hard.”
Montreal won’t return home until Jan. 17, wherein they will take on the Minnestoa Frost. The team’s next game is against Boston, but this time at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Jan. 5 as a part of the PWHL Takeover Tour. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m. PST.