Montreal Victoire newcomer Abby Roque was the star of the show in the Victoire's home opener as she dazzled with a spectacular goal and inspired play all game long.
Daniele Sauvageau saw something in Abby Roque that she felt the Montreal Victoire needed, and the newly inducted member of the Hall of Fame hit a home run when she traded for the uber-pest who could be described as the PWHL’s answer to Brad Marchand. It wasn’t so long ago that the captain and the newcomer were cross-checking each other in a match between Montreal and the New York Sirens, but now that they’re both on the same side, the PWHL has a new force to be reckoned with.
The arena wasn’t sold out for the Victoire’s home opener against the Sirens as 8,391 fans turned up to cheer on the locals, but it felt like it was. From the moment the player introductions started, the building was electric. The leadership group got the biggest cheers, with Laura Stacey, Erin Ambrose and Poulin introduced last. Still, the crowd also gave warm welcomes to the homegrown players and to Roque, who had already made some new fans by giving away a couple of warm-up pucks minutes earlier.
The Top Line
If Kori Cheverie struggled last year to find the right complement for the Poulin-Stacey duo, but two games into the season, it looks like she’s finally found the missing piece of that puzzle. Speaking after the game, the coach said:
We’re able to use Abby in a lot of different situations. The fact that her and Pou kind of switch off at the center position depending on who’s winning against certain centers is really helpful, but her goal was outstanding, you know to create something out of the tiny space that she had, that’s the type of player that she is, she’s very cerebral, she’s got a very high IQ, she’s constantly thinking about the game and strategizing and she’s the one pulling people in to talk about different ways to handle certain situations. I thought she did really well on the kill as well.
That was a very fair assessment from the bench boss. Not only is Roque a skilled hockey player, but she’s also instantly become a significant part of her team. A real Swiss-knife-like player who can do it all, bring a physical presence on the first line, build up fantastic plays on the power play and be a complete pain to play against.
Roque has a knack for drawing people into battles for the puck, and more often than not, she comes out of those battles with the puck even when she’s outnumbered. The fact that she draws defenders her way also creates a lot of space for her linemate, and when Poulin and Stacey are in space, the opponent is in trouble.
The fluidity of passing on the power play is impressive to see, and there’s a lot of mobility there as well. Stacey no longer takes her one-timers from one side; she moves around to take them, but she’s not the only scoring threat either.
Roque got an assist on the first goal of the game, a power play marker on which neither Stacey nor Poulin got a point, something that has rarely been seen in this franchise’s history. She also orchestrated the second goal of the game, sending Stacey and Poulin on a two-on-one with less than two minutes left in the second frame. The captain didn’t miss her opportunity and buried her significant other’s pass with a one-timer to give Montreal a 2-0 lead.
Roque wasn’t done, though. 13 minutes into the last frame, Stacey won a battle at the defensive blueline to send her new teammate on a breakaway. While she had a defender hot on her heels, she managed to not only separate herself, but also pull off one of the most spectacular moves seen at Place Bell, by any team. The behind-the-leg deke was spectacular and fooled goaltender Kayle Osbourne. That was reminiscent of Thomas Hertl’s fourth goal on Martin Biron back in 2013, the difference being he decided to pull that spectacular move with his team ahead 7-2 on the scoreboard, but Roque did it when the Victoire still had everything to play for. Asked if that was something she had practiced before, she replied:
No, I actually don’t think I’ve ever tried that in a game, or practiced it, I don’t know why I decided that was the moment. Honestly, I was doing it, and I was like, “This is stupid.” So, I got lucky.
With three points on the night, Roque was deservedly named first star of the game, and there’s no doubt that she’s on her way to becoming a household name in Montreal.
The Great Wall Of Charlevoix
Ann-Renee Desbiens fully deserved her “Muraille of Charlevoix” nickname in that game. She stopped all 33 shots she faced thanks to her elite puck-tracking. It felt like she was seeing absolutely everything and getting even better as the game went on.
There were several great scoring chances for the Sirens, but she was there to deny them all, using the split here, a spectacular glove save there and jumping on the rebounds as soon as she had made the first save.
The Sirens had a goal disallowed as the review showed it had gone in off Kayla Vespa’s skate, but before that even crossed the line, Desbiens had made three consecutive saves from in close. It was the kind of performance that’s soul-crushing for the opponent. You try as hard as you can, relentlessly and yet the netminder always has an answer. Even when the visitors intercepted a zone exit and found themselves alone in front of Desbiens, they couldn’t find a breach in the wall.
When New York attacked at six-on-five for roughly the last five minutes of the game, which felt like a whole 20 minutes, according to Cheverie, Desbiens was there to calm the play and freeze the puck when needed. A fully deserved 4-0 shutout for the goalie.
An Impactful Rookie
If Roque and Desbiens shone brightly, they weren’t alone. Rookie Natalie Mlynkova scored the first goal of her PWHL career, even though she wasn’t aware of it until much later in the game and was very impressive in a key role.
The Victoire’s second-round pick and 12th overall selection at the last draft is taking to the PWHL like a duck to water. The University of Vermont graduate and Czech international has been thrown right into action by the Victoire coach, landing on the team’s first power play unit as a net front presence who can both screen the goaltender and tip some shots, which is precisely what she did when Erin Ambrose took a shot from the blueline on the power play.
The youngster laughed in the post-game press conference, saying she didn’t even know she had tipped the puck. “Maybe I blacked out,” she chuckled, but in the end, it was her first-career goal and one she thoroughly deserved. Playing in that spot and risking getting hit by some of the league's hardest shooters is no easy task, but the rookie is doing it, and she’s grateful for the opportunity.
It's a tiny sample, but two games in, she looks like she could become an essential piece for this team in the future, especially given her attitude and willingness to learn, which Poulin praised in the post-game presser.
Quick Hits
Jade Downie-Landry, who was introduced to the crowd in the pre-game ceremony, wasn’t dressed as she’s currently on LTIR following an off-ice training injury. Seen on the concourse between periods, the forward had a finger of her left hand in a splint. Hopefully, the injury doesn’t keep her out of action for too long.
Even though the Victoire lost a lot of good players to the expansion process, it didn’t show last night. Despite having plenty of new players in the lineup, there’s already chemistry there and a will to play hard for each other.
Montreal now has 12 days without a game and will return to action on December 7, when they host the Toronto Sceptres in Laval for an afternoon game.
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