(Denver) The Minnesota Frost scored two unanswered goals in the third period and won 4-2 against the Victoire de Montréal in front of a crowd of 14,018 spectators at the Ball Arena in Denver, a record for an LPHF game in the United States.
Posted at 6:13 p.m.
Maggie Flaherty scored the eventual game-winner against Elaine Chuli at 7:27 of the third period. Michela Cava added an insurance goal with 1:39 to play.
Britta Curl-Salemme, in the first period, and Sophie Jaques, in the second period, also thwarted Chuli, who faced 29 pucks.
Catherine Dubois (1is), early in the match, and Jennifer Gardiner (2e), in the second period, offered the answer to the Victory against Maddie Rooney, who received 23 shots, but only four in the third period.
La Victoire finished the game without the services of forward Laura Stacey, who was seen heading to the locker room early in the second period after suffering what appeared to be a leg injury.
A team spokesperson said Stacey was kept out as a precaution.
With this defeat, the Victory (4-2-1-2 -17 points) slips to second place in the LPHF ranking, two points behind the Frost (4-3-1-2 -19 points).
The same two teams will meet again Friday evening at Place Bell.
The Victory players therefore complete this journey, which took them from Seattle to Denver via Vancouver, with a record of one victory, one defeat in regulation time and one setback in a shootout.
The fourth line strikes
Since returning from the Christmas break, the Victoire players have most of the time adopted a very good habit: that of scoring the first goal.
Against the Frost, they accomplished the feat in a fourth match in a row, and thanks to a player who was not necessarily expected.
Barely two minutes had passed in the first period when Dubois scored his first goal of the season.
Revealing good offensive flair, Dubois found herself alone near Rooney’s net and hit the target with a lively shot, after receiving a pass from Dara Greig.
The Frost tied the game midway through the first period when Curl-Salemme beat Chuli with a stick-side wrist shot, immediately after Taylor Heise won a faceoff against Kristin O’Neill at right from the Montreal net.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Goalie Elaine Chuli
The Frost had several opportunities to break the tie during a minor penalty to Stacey at 16:19. However, Chuli turned aside all five shots she faced during the two-minute stretch.
Upon leaving the cell, Stacey took advantage of a long and precise pass from Cayla Barnes to threaten the fortress of Rooney, who did not flinch.
Rooney also made a good save in front of Lina Ljungblom with a second on the clock, after a face-off won cleanly by Marie-Philip Poulin at the very beginning of a numerical superiority
Returning after a five-game absence, Jaques broke the tie during a minor penalty to Mikyla Grant-Mentis at 9:30 of the middle period.
It was the first time since the first period of the clash on December 28, against the Frost, that Kori Cheverie’s players suffered a deficit during the course of a match.
But about five minutes later, during a Claire Butorac penalty, Victory tied the game when Gardiner’s pass attempt, from behind the Frost net, hit one of defender Mae Batherson’s skates to slide behind Rooney.
Flaherty broke the tie when she grabbed a stray puck in the slot.
Related News :