MONTREAL 鈥� As Canada鈥檚 national women鈥檚 team head coach, Troy Ryan has been on the right side of many heroic performances from Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin, but on Tuesday night the Toronto Sceptres bench boss was on the other side as Poulin led the Montreal Victoire to a 3-1 victory.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a tough opponent any time you have to coach against her or play against her,鈥� said Ryan. 鈥淪he was dangerous every time she was on the ice.鈥�
Poulin scored her league-leading fifth game-winning goal and 12th goal overall of the Professional Women's Hockey League season and added an assist in the win for the Victoire (10-3-1-4), who extended their lead in the standings to five points over second-place Toronto (8-2-4-7).
In a game between the PWHL鈥檚 top two teams, Montreal鈥檚 top players led the way. The line of Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Jennifer Gardiner was reunited for the game against Toronto by Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie.
鈥�(Stacey) brings that ability to turn the puck over and I felt like in the past couple of games we weren鈥檛 having as much success on the forecheck and we were rewarded tonight with those three each getting a goal,鈥� Cheverie said.
In addition to the top line scoring all three goals for the team, goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens made 24 saves, including stopping Toronto鈥檚 Natalie Spooner alone in front with just over a minute remaining.
鈥淭hat group did lead the way and Ann settled us down when we needed her to, especially that big save on Spooner,鈥� Cheverie said. 鈥淵our top players have to show up in those moments, and that鈥檚 why they are where they are in their careers.
"I was really proud of the way they bought in, they grinded it out tonight and they found a way for us.鈥�
After the save, Mikyla Grant-Mentis cleared the puck allowing Stacey to win a foot-race to negate the icing and seal the game with an empty-net goal.
Desbiens鈥� mindset was a simple one.
鈥淛ust stop it,鈥� Desbiens said. 鈥淵ou try to be as big as you can in that moment, physically cover the most net.鈥�
鈥淭he speed of Laura 鈥� (I鈥檓) really thankful for it,鈥� Desbiens said. 鈥淲hen I saw it was her, I was like 鈥榳e鈥檙e winning that race and that鈥檚 a goal for us.鈥欌��
It wasn鈥檛 the first game where Poulin and Desbiens led their team to victory. The two have been mainstays not only on this Montreal team over the last two seasons, but with the Canadian national team for even longer. The two both appreciate the chance they have, and share a bond that does not require words.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we need to say much. I don鈥檛 even tap the pads,鈥� Poulin said about Desbiens making big saves. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one look, and we both know. I鈥檝e been lucky enough to see so many games where Ann saves us.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e seen plenty of games where Pou saves us,鈥� Desbiens immediately replied. 鈥淵ou always want to give your team a chance to win. She always does that; I try to always do that.
"We can build momentum and make sure that the other players play as hard as she does. Yes, gets some big goals for us, but 鈥� she does it all.鈥�
WELL-DESERVED BREAK
After Tuesday鈥檚 game, the Toronto Sceptres enter their mandated week off. The loss ended both their six-game winning streak and their nine-game streak with at least one point in the standings (7-0-2). When Toronto last visited Montreal on Jan. 30, they were in last place in the six-team PWHL. They finish their month of February alone in second place.
The stretch ended with almost two weeks on the road as the team travelled to Edmonton, New Jersey and Minnesota before ending in Montreal. Jesse Compher scored Toronto鈥檚 lone goal, and has scored in all four games against Montreal this season.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all pretty proud of where we鈥檙e at right now based on how we were at the start of the year,鈥� said Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull.
鈥淚 think there was a stretch earlier where we had played some really, really good hockey, but we weren鈥檛 getting any points. Now we鈥檝e continued to build. We鈥檙e in a great spot as we head into a well-deserved week off.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2025.
Jared Book, The Canadian Press
