While the Canadiens were busy taking on the New Jersey Devils, PWHL Montreal hosted PWHL Ottawa at the Centre 21.02 in Verdun. This venue is smaller than Place Bell in Laval, but with the crowd in such proximity to the ice, the atmosphere can get electric.
Montreal came out strong out of the gate and was rewarded with a power play goal from Tereza Vanišová, assisted by Laura Stacey and Marie-Philip Poulin. The lead was short-lived as Akane Shiga, the only Japanese player in the league, brought everyone back to square one with her first career goal in the PWHL. Montreal seemed somewhat deflated after that goal, and the momentum seemed to shift over to Ottawa, but the score remained tied until the end of the first.
Ottawa was the better side in the second frame, enjoying most of the puck possession and taking over the lead in shots (18-15 by the end of the second period). However, it was Montreal who managed to break through. During an Ottawa power play, Claire Dalton flew up the ice, cut to the net, and managed to shoot before being tripped. The puck went in just as Dalton went flying à la Bobby Orr. The goal was scored less than two minutes before the end of the period and provoked yet another momentum shift.
Montreal was determined to come away with the win, and it doubled their lead on an Ann-Sophie Bettez breakaway goal, the first of six goals scored during the final frame. It took a little over two minutes before Ottawa cut the lead in half, but Claire Dalton scored her second of the game with assists from Erin Ambrose and Poulin. Montreal then got itself in trouble, giving Ottawa a five-on-three for nearly two minutes, which the visitors used wisely to come back within one goal of the locals, but Dalton wasn’t going to let anyone rain on her parade. She completed her hat trick by going five-hole on Emerance Maschmeyer. Maureen Murphy then put the final nail in Ottawa’s coffin with an empty net goal, final score Montreal 6, Ottawa 3.
CLAIRE X3
🧢🧢🧢 pic.twitter.com/sCQcRTlFWO
— PWHL Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) February 24, 2024
This was Montreal’s first win in Verdun arena, and a big one at that, since it allowed them to overtake Minnesota in the standings and claim first place. Head coach Kori Cheverie was very pleased with her team’s effort. Speaking about Dalton’s first goal, Cheverie said: “What great poise by Dalton to keep it and tuck it in at the end there. It kind of looked like a Bobby Orr/Geraldine Heaney goal, so that was pretty cool.” If there’s one thing the coach would like to improve in her team it’s the capacity to keep going, to seal the win once it takes the lead. “Yeah I mean I would like us to have kind of a killer instinct of where you know you get one, and then two and three and four,” said Cheverie. “I think we’ll get there eventually. We need to have that mentality of where we don’t stop. I think we did let off a little bit after we got a two-goal lead.”
Cheverie is also very pleased with her rookies’ performance. “I think it’s very crucial that we have our veteran players on the team and they can put the puck in the net, but you know they’re also the most well-covered players on the team,” explained Cheverie. “So, it’s really important that our support players and linemates are able to execute without needing the support of sometimes a Poulin, a Stacey or an Ambrose. They need to be able to handle it on their own at times. I think our younger players are certainly giving us that, whether they’re in the top-six or the bottom-six, they’re giving us what we need right now.”
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As for the hero of the night, Dalton admitted she couldn’t remember when the last time was she had scored a hat trick. It was all very surreal for her. “Oh yeah, it was crazy, and I really wasn’t expecting that,” said Dalton. “It’s great to play with Pou and Stace and they inspire a lot of confidence in me, and Kori too. It gives you the positive affirmation necessary to shoot on a three-on-one with Pou [laughs]”. Dalton also explained how she felt when she was informed she’d play with Poulin and Stacey. “It was in practice last week, it was pretty crazy. We got the line-up with my roommate and I was just like, this can’t be right, it’s a mistake [laughs] but then they never fixed it so”. As for Poulin, who gathered three assists in the win, she was visibly proud of Dalton. Poulin praised her young teammate for her poise and the way she had grabbed the opportunity that was given to her to play on the top line.
Although it wasn’t perfect, it was probably Montreal’s best game of the season. They do say practice makes perfect, and they’ll have the whole week to practice before Saturday’s game against Boston in Verdun.
Fans are staying in their seats for the dance in Verdun #PWHL @FullPressNHL pic.twitter.com/bhHsKBIf6h
— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) February 24, 2024