In their final home game of the regular season, Montreal beat New York to clinch a playoff spot and eliminate their opponents from playoff contention in the process.
Montreal can now breathe a sigh of relief after beating New York 5-2 in the final game of the season at the Verdun Auditorium in a team effort that was well deserved.
“That was really cool,” Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie said after receiving a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 3232 who packed the Verdun arena.
“I can’t really put it into words and it’s an awesome feeling and they care about our staff and our players and I have never experienced that before.”
Montreal got goals from Catherine Daoust, Kristen O’Neil, Catherine Dubois, Laura Stacey, and Melodie Daoust who before the game signed her second 10-day contract while Ann Renee Desbiens made 31 saves and put on quite a show in the way she battled and kept her team in the game.
“I didn’t realize how difficult it was to be a head coach in the beginning in a major city and I am really proud of our group and the perseverance and I think our group has come a long way and I couldn’t have imagined it any better.”
It was the visitors who came out to a flying start playing with that desperation outshooting Montreal 14-6 after one period of hockey but Catherine Daoust was able to open the scoring with six minutes left in the first period when off a faceoff she shot a puck off the boards and New York goaltender Corrine Schroeder misread the puck coming out and the puck went past her.
“It’s nice to enjoy it in the moment and after tonight we get back to work and still season left to be done and it was cool for us to happen tonight in our last home game.”
The second period which during the season had been kind of an Achilles heel for Montreal was one of the best second periods all season with Montreal doubling their lead on the power play when O’Neil was able to jam a puck into the back of the net.
“Our second period has usually been our nemesis but we felt really good about it and to protect the lead I feel like that’s what playoffs is going to be about and it was a good opportunity for our team to attempt that tonight and being able to get through those moments.”
Three minutes later Catherine Dubois made it 3-0 for the home team on the powerplay as she was able to pick up a loose rebound off a shot from the point from Amanda Boulier and put it past Schroeder into the back of the net.
“No matter where our place is and where New York was there’s no mental capacity that could match the desperation that New York was going to come with and we were two very different teams and different positions within the standings so I am glad we recovered and the resiliency was there and a pretty convincing win by the end of it.”
With 5:22 left in the second period Micah Zandee Hart got called for tripping and eight seconds later Laura Stacey scored the second powerplay goal of the game as she was able to one-time a pass from Erin Ambrose into the back of the net to make it 4-0.
“We focused on doing the best we could in the second period,” Desbiens told me when I asked her about the second period. “Our power play did a great job and it got us some big goals and it’s easier to play with a big lead.”
With 12 seconds remaining in the period, Ella Shelton got one back for New York and with her great speed found herself on a breakaway going end to end before tucking the puck past Desbiens to make it 4-1.
“Hockey is a tough sport,” Stacey said. ” It’s a work in progress and we continue to work on it every single day and it’s something we have keyed on and we put in a lot of hours and it’s finally starting to pay off.”
New York was able to make it 4-2 in the third period with 4:19 left in regulation as Quebec native Alexandra Labelle was able to get a puck past Desbiens scoring a jailbreak goal in the process with her teammate Savannah Norcross in the box.
“It’s been a thought in my mind, we want to be in the playoffs and we want to be in first place and our eyes are still on that and I can’t wait to see how much better it gets.”
With 1:23 left in regulation and with New York throwing everything at the net Melodie Daoust was able to seal the win for her team scoring into an empty net to the delight of the fans who erupted after the goal.
“The leadership group is truly amazing,” Desbiens said in French. “Every player shows up every single day and the work ethic is outstanding and we are a group that works hard and wants to learn and everyone is super professional and we starting to see the success.”
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Featured Image ©️ Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL)
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