The Victoire Win Their Sixth Straight Game in the 6ix

The Montreal Victoire extended their winning streak to six with a tight 4–3 shootout victory over the Toronto Sceptres at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

As Montreal headed to Toronto for the final time this regular season, the Victoire were looking to extend their winning streak to six against a Toronto team trying to flip the script on its season.

Head coach Kori Cheverie made a few adjustments to the lineup ahead of the game. She bumped Mlynkova up to the second line. The Czech forward has had a strong season but has often been listed as the 13th forward in the lineup despite her solid play. In net, Cheverie also decided to give Ann-Renée Desbiens the night off, turning to German goaltender Sandra Abstreiter.

Home Ice Advantage

The Toronto Sceptres returned to Coca-Cola Coliseum for the first time in 56 days, something captain Blayre Turnbull didn’t want to use as an excuse for the team’s struggles. “I think our schedule was really challenging. I think it was really hard, but I don't think anyone on our team will use that as an excuse.”

Toronto came out flying in the first period. Even though Montreal had the edge in shots, it was Toronto that opened the scoring when Connors surprised Abstreiter early. Later in the second period, Turnbull doubled the lead with another shot that caught the German goalie off guard. When I asked Abstreiter how she regrouped after the two tough goals, she answered with a laugh. “Nobody was, like, mad at me for anything… I hope. I'm just kidding.” Poulin and Cheverie both laughed at the response as Abstreiter added that her teammates did a great job keeping her positive and not letting the moment get to her.

The Rookie

The Victoire flipped the momentum midway through the game when Marie-Philip Poulin deflected a pass from Nicole Gosling to finally put Montreal on the board. Not long after, Scamurra tied the game with a gritty power-play goal against her former team, with Gosling picking up another assist.

Gosling, Montreal’s first pick in the 2025 draft, had a slower start to the season, mostly because she was adjusting to the speed of the league. “Gosling continues to grow,” Cheverie said. “She’s been proving time and time again that she’s going to be an elite defender in this league throughout her career.” The rookie defender has had to take on an even bigger role with Erin Ambrose placed on LTIR following the Olympics, and lately she’s really started to make a name for herself.

A Battle Till the Very End

Lina Ljungblom then scored her second goal of the season to give Montreal its first lead of the night. With just one minute left in the third period, Toronto’s Jesse Compher found the back of the net to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Sixty-five minutes still wasn’t enough to separate the two teams in what turned into a very physical matchup, so the game headed to a shootout. And when it comes to those moments, there may be no safer bet than Marie-Philip Poulin. Poulin scored the deciding goal in the shootout, giving Montreal its sixth straight win and keeping the Victoire firmly on top of the standings.

Montreal is on a hot streak right now, but the team now heads into a 12-day break before facing the Boston Fleet, another team that has been playing some very strong hockey lately.

“The team wanted nine out of nine points. We got eight out of nine. We're happy with that, but there was lots of learning tonight too. Then we come out facing Boston, March 15th, and that will be a new moment in time.”