The Boston Fleet hosted the Montreal Victoire in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,850 at TD Garden, where Lina Ljungblom scored the lone goal and Ann-Renée Desbiens secured her seventh shutout in a 1-0 win.
As expected, offence was hard to come by with the league’s top two goaltenders — Desbiens and Aerin Frankel — standing tall between the pipes. The game remained scoreless until the third period, when Lina Ljungblom broke through with the game’s only goal, beating Frankel to give Montreal a 1–0 lead.
Physicality was a defining theme from the opening minutes. Rylind MacKinnon set the tone early with a heavy hit on Abby Roque. Tempers continued to flare throughout the game, including a post-whistle scrum that resulted in offsetting roughing penalties to Jade Downie-Landry and Riley Brengman.
“It certainly was a playoff game,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “It felt like that. And I think that the more moments we have like that are proof and evidence that in those big moments, everybody can contribute, everyone can play a role in those moments. I was really proud of our group. They held [the score] just under three minutes. Playing 5-on-6 for three minutes was quite substantial for our group. And the more we’re in those moments, the more beneficial it is.”
Laura Stacey had a few great chances including a shot that rang off the crossbar in the second period. Meanwhile, Frankel continued to hold the line for Boston with key saves.
The physical play intensified when Hayley Scamurra delivered a hit on Ella Huber in front of the benches, prompting a retaliatory hit that led to penalties for both players — with Huber receiving an extra two minutes. The Victoire failed to capitalize on the power play, which was also cut short by a too-many-players penalty.
Boston had its own opportunities, including a strong chance from Loren Gabel early in the third, but Desbiens was steady throughout.
The breakthrough finally came after Stacey exited the penalty box from a tripping call setting up Ljungblom perfectly for a one-timer that proved to be the difference.
Late in the third, the Fleet pushed hard — especially after pulling their goalie — but Montreal’s defence held firm. Desbiens sealed the performance with a remarkable save with just 1:27 remaining, allowing the Victoire to run down the clock and secure the shutout victory. Desbiens made 20 saves .
After the game, Stacey praised her goaltender’s composure and impact.
“Nothing fazes her, she’s playing the puck, she’s calm, she’s holding it when we need to, and it makes us as a team play so much stronger because we know we can maybe make a few mistakes here and there, and she’s got our backs”.
Next up, the Victoire face the Fleet one last time in the regular season, but this time, it’ll be at Place Bell on April 17.
Standings
TEAM
GP
GR
RW
OW
SW
OL
RL
PTS
GF
GA
MAX PTS
MAGIC
TRAGIC
#1
HOME
GOLD
PT %
GF/G
GA/G
MTL
27
3
16
2
2
2
5
58
70
34
67
X
–
9
4
–
0.716
2.59
1.26
BOS
26
4
14
2
3
2
5
54
64
38
66
X
–
13
8
–
0.692
2.46
1.46
MIN
26
4
13
3
0
4
6
49
82
59
61
X
–
18
13
–
0.628
3.15
2.27
OTT
27
3
7
5
2
1
12
36
61
71
45
8
10
31
26
–
0.444
2.26
2.63
TOR
26
4
9
1
0
5
11
34
47
65
46
10
11
33
28
–
0.436
1.81
2.50
NY
26
4
8
1
1
3
13
31
58
72
43
13
8
36
31
–
0.397
2.23
2.77
VAN
26
4
7
1
0
4
14
27
50
69
39
17
4
40
35
–
0.346
1.92
2.65
SEA
26
4
7
0
1
3
15
26
52
76
38
18
2
41
36
–
0.333
2.00
2.92
Full Highlights
Comments are closed.