Exactly a year ago Sunday, the Montreal Victoire battled over three overtime periods, only to come out on the wrong side of the game.
The loss to the Boston Fleet put Montreal down 2-0 in the 2024 Walter Cup semifinal playoff series, a deficit the team couldn’t come back from.
This time around, the result was different. After an exhausting four overtime periods against the Ottawa Charge, Kristin O’Neill set up Quebec’s own Catherine Dubois for the game winner in front of more than 7,100 fans inside Place Bell. The series is now tied 1-1.
The 3-2 win was Montreal’s first franchise playoff victory, after losing four playoff games over two seasons by just one goal each time.
This Victoire team feels different than the one that was swept in the first round in 2024. For one, it’s deeper.
Montreal’s fourth line played sparingly, if at all, during last year’s series against the Fleet. This time, head coach Kori Cheverie is using her whole bench. Even in Game 1, which ended in regulation, the fourth-line players all logged more than 10 minutes each.
The defence is deeper too. Defender Erin Ambrose played a stunning 61 minutes in triple overtime last year. In this year’s marathon game, she still played nearly an hour. But first-round draft pick Cayla Barnes was there to put in more than 50 minutes of work on the blue line, which surely eased the load on Ambrose.
WATCH | Victoire edge Charge with Dubois’ winner in 4OT to even series:
Montreal captures their first-ever playoff victory as they defeat Ottawa 3-2 with a goal from Catherine Dubois in the fourth overtime. The Victoire win the longest game in PWHL history to even the best-of-five semifinal series at 1-1.
Beyond the added depth, Cheverie pointed to another year of experience for many players and the Victoire’s staff, who have worked hard on the mental preparation of what this year’s playoffs could look like. They’ve been here before and they know what to expect.
“[It was] being able to find a way to do the little things in a moment where one team is going to make a mistake and one team is going to capitalize on it,” Cheverie said. “Keeping things as simple as possible within our own game plan, within our own individual abilities as well, was going to be crucial.”
But the team that gives up a last-minute goal like that doesn’t usually end up on the winning side. Not so for the Victoire. The players didn’t seem rattled, nor was goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, who stood tall despite facing 65 shots.
“You know when your team keeps doing the right things like we did today, especially in overtime, that eventually we’re going to get one,” Desbiens said after Sunday’s game. “So just make sure I make the saves so that the girls can have the opportunity they worked so hard for all game long and all overtime long.”
‘We never gave up’
The Charge, meanwhile, left Montreal with a split against the top-seeded team, which is not a bad result.
The players who spoke to reporters after the game didn’t seem deflated after losing in quadruple overtime. In fact, defender Jocelyne Larocque said she felt the Charge had the momentum.
“There’s so much to be proud of,” Larocque said after the game. “We never gave up.”
The Victoire may disagree that the Charge have the momentum, but Ottawa has proven that it can’t be counted out.
That starts with the captain, Jenner, who comes up big when this team needs her most, and extends to rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who doesn’t look like she’s playing in her first PWHL playoff series.
“I thought we made some nice adjustments from Game 1 to Game 2. I thought we actually played a heck of a hockey game. So I think it’s less about the emotion of the momentum and more just the detail of our game that can lend itself nicely to the next game.”
The series moves to Ottawa for Game 3 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.
Decision on Game 4 starter looming for Toronto
While the Victoire and Charge made history for the longest PWHL game, the Minnesota Frost’s 7-5 victory over the Toronto Sceptres was the highest scoring game the league has seen yet.
Minnesota took a 2-1 series lead with the win, and have the chance to advance to the final on Wednesday at home. The game is set for 7 p.m. ET.
The Frost’s offence is heating up at the right time. The team has now scored 25 goals in the last five games, dating back to the regular season.
Many know Frost defender Lee Stecklein as one of the best defensive defenders in the world. She excels at using her long stick to break up plays, and did a lot of that on Sunday.
“She’s that stability on the blue line, but also is the top of our power play [and] out there playing major minutes,” Minnesota forward Taylor Heise said on Monday.
Stecklein has found an offensive touch over the last five games. In that time, she’s put up nine points including six goals. Her goal on Sunday gave Minnesota a commanding 3-0 lead. She also added an assist on Michela Cava’s goal in the third period, which put the game away for the Frost.
With offence coming from up front and the blue line — defender Sophie Jaques has seven points in the last five games — Minnesota has become a difficult team for Toronto to stop.
There was discussion about pulling Campbell for backup Carly “CJ” Jackson on Sunday, but the coaching staff decided to keep Jackson removed from the game.
“If we so choose to use her in Game 4, at least she can come in fresh with her own start, feeling good about where she is,” Ryan said on Monday.
Regular backup Raygan Kirk is on long-term injured reserve and not expected to return during this series.
That means the team has to decide whether to turn back to Campbell or switch to Jackson for a must-win playoff game on the road. Ryan also said the team has confidence in Campbell, who has had an up-and-down season.
With no room for another loss, it could be a series-deciding question.
“She knows she has to be better and we know she needs to be better,” Ryan said about Campbell.
“But we’re also not going to make any quick decisions. We’ll go through some video. We’ll have some discussion with some athletes and some staff members, and ultimately we’ll come up with the decision that best fits our team at this moment.”