Victory 4 – Charge 3 | Poulin scores decisive goal in shootout

(Laval) Marie-Philip Poulin found the back of the net in the fifth round of shootouts and the Montreal Victoire won by a score of 4-3 against the Ottawa Charge in front of a cheering crowd of 10,033 spectators during the opening match of the Victory, Saturday at Place Bell.

On his second attempt in the shootout, Poulin beat Emerance Maschmeyer with a shot from the stick side.

This was the only goal of this session, Ann-Renée Desbiens proving intractable, notably twice against Katerina Mrazova.

Abigail Boreen, Laura Stacey and Jennifer Gardiner got the Victory goals in regulation time at the expense of Maschmeyer who was bombarded with 45 shots.

Emily Clark, Danielle Serdachny and Tereza Vanisova, a former member of the Montreal team, deceived the vigilance of Desbiens, who stopped 29 pucks.

The Victory left out attacker Catherine Dubois, while the Charge had to do without the services of attacker Brianne Jenner, victim of an upper body injury described as minor.

Jenner was the top scorer on the Ottawa team in 2024 with 20 points, including nine goals, in 24 games.

La Victoire will play its next match on Wednesday evening, again at Place Bell, against the New York Sirens.

Memories of last May

The first period, and especially the second half of the engagement, perhaps reminded Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Erin Ambrose, in particular, of the Montreal team’s last outings in May. If so, we’re not talking about very happy memories.

Frustrated by Aerin Frankel during their three semi-final matches against Boston last spring, the Victory players hit, in Maschmeyer, an equally impenetrable wall during the first twenty.

Despite two numerical superiorities, during which she amassed eight of her 19 shots, Kori Cheverie’s troop was unable to find a breach in Maschmeyer’s wall during the first 20 minutes of play.

Stacey alone tested the Charge goaltender no less than five times, while Poulin and Ambrose got three shots each on Maschmeyer, who was able to protect the Charge’s 1-0 lead.

The visitors obtained this lead with the help of Boreen who, unintentionally, pushed the puck behind Desbiens after the latter had made a good save on a shot from the slot by Anna Meixner.

Since the puck had hit Clark just before, she was credited with the goal. The Charge doubled its priority in the third minute of the second period, again with the contribution of a Victory player.

After going around the Desbiens net, Serdachny, the first player claimed by the Charge during the last draft, directed the puck in front of the net, where Montreal defender Kati Tabin was. The puck hit Tabin, then went behind the Montreal goalie.

La Victoire finally found the back of the net at 5:35 of the second period.

Boreen made up for her bad luck in the first period by beating Maschmeyer with a wrist shot in the upper left area, after a combined effort from Ambrose and Alexandra Labelle to cause a turnover at the Charge blue line.

About six minutes later, during a power play, Stacey tied the score with an NHL-worthy one-timer from the blue line. A cannonball, they tell you!

But with a little more than two minutes remaining in the start, during a penalty in Labelle, Vanisova broke the tie on a breakaway.

Victory did not prevail with as much ease in the third period, which did not prevent it from tying the score thanks to two players claimed in last June’s draft.

Posted at the right point, Gardiner received a pass from Cayla Barnes and beat Maschmeyer with a shot that slipped between the torso and right arm of the Charge goalkeeper, at 11:20.

In overtime, the Charge appeared more threatening. Meixner presented herself alone in front of Desbiens, who made the save.

A few seconds later, it was Poulin’s turn to take advantage of a breakaway, but his shot ended up to the left of the net. Poulin would recover shortly after.