Her spinning backhand shot marked the second time this month that the captain was the overtime hero, putting the Victoire just one point behind third-place Frost in the standings. After a scoreless first period with multiple chances for both teams, Victoire’s Maureen Murphy scored within the final two minutes of the middle frame as she navigated the traffic net and redirected a five-hole shot from Nicole Gosling.
Minnesota couldn’t take advantage until the 18:58 mark of the third period, when Kelly Pannek scored to send the game to overtime.
Ann-Renée Desbiens shined for the Victoire, stopping 23 of 24 shots in her 11th straight start with two or fewer goals allowed this season. Nicole Hensley managed to stop 24 of 26 shots for the second straight game, but suffered her second overtime loss in seven starts this season.
Montreal returns to action at home when they host the Ottawa Charge on Saturday for the first of their final two games heading into the Olympic break. Minnesota will be visited by the New York Sirens on Sunday for a rematch of last Friday’s game, when the Frost secured a 3-2 overtime victory at Prudential Center.
QUOTES
Goaltender win Ann-Renee Desbiens on playing with Marie-Philip Poulin: “I’ve been lucky enough to play with her for a long time, and I can’t actually remember the last time I played against her, and I’d like to keep it that way. To be honest, she’s just a very impressive player, and she gets the winning goals because of all the hard work she puts in day in and day out, when no one is looking. She shows up on the rink the way she carries herself, and that’s how she can make a success.” big impact at the very important moments.”
Montreal Head Coach Kori Chevrie on the way the team shut down Minnesota: “They have scorers – they lead the league in goals scored – so it was a big thing for us to recognize moments of possession and where our defensive positioning would be when those moments happened. And how we got on their heels as well. We had a game plan for that, and I thought we made some adjustments during the game and the players responded really well.”
Minnesota forward Britta Curl-Salemme on playing now with the Olympics approaching: “I don’t think we’re too focused on anything other than what’s in front of us here. We know we can’t cancel the next two games because the points are huge and it’s a tight race. I would say every international player focuses on his or her performance.” [PWHL] team and putting themselves in a good place.”
Frost deputy captain To Kelly Pan on the points of interest heading into the final two games before the break: “I think our team can just come out with a little more energy. I was looking forward to this game and in our last game in New York we just weren’t as sharp as [Coach Ken Klee] that was alluded to, and I don’t think we’ve made the leap that we wanted to. So again, we have a nice little bit of time here at home where we can hopefully get into a bit of a routine. I think the next two games – six points on the line – will be very important heading into the international break.”
NOTES
Montreal has now played eight straight one-goal games dating back to December 23, going 2-2-0-4 during that period. The only other team to play eight consecutive one-goal regular season games in a single season in PWHL history was Boston in their final eight games of the inaugural season.
The Victoire are 2-0 in overtime decisions (excluding one shootout loss) after leading the league with four overtime wins in 2024-25. The Frost led the league with five overtime decisions (2-3).
The Victoire have now won four straight games against the Frost in a streak dating back to March 4 of last season, the longest head-to-head winning streak of all time. New York is the only other team to win four straight games against the Frost, a streak that ended on January 16.
Montreal defeated Minnesota 26-24 tonight, marking the first time the Frost has been defeated by an opponent at home this season.
The Victoire have won all six games this season when leading after two periods, while the Frost took two points in a pair of extra-time after trailing after 40 minutes.
The Frost’s league-leading offense was limited to one goal for the third time in thirteen games this season and the first time since a 4-1 loss at Boston on December 7.
Marie-Philip Poulin‘s goal was her sixth of the season and 35th of her career, 10 of which have been game winners. The Victoire captain has two extra-time goals in his career, both of which came against the Frost this season after previously scoring the winner on January 4. She currently has 13 points in 13 games as one of seven players with a point-per-game average this season.
Maureen Murphy scored her first goal after 19 regular season games without a single goal. She scored her last goal on March 12, 2025, in the Victoire’s 3–2 overtime loss in New York, but led the team with two goals in four playoff games. The Montreal forward now has two points in her last three games.
To Kelly Pan has goals in consecutive games for the first time in her career and her second three-game winning streak of the season (2G, 1A). Tonight’s goal was the sixth point of the season for the alternate Frost captain and the 13th point in her 13th game, becoming just the third Minnesota skater to reach 40 career points.
Ann-Renee Desbiens has allowed one or fewer goals in six of her 11 starts this season and has taken over the league lead in save percentage with a .951 mark among goaltenders with multiple starts. Her seventh win of the season brings her career total to 29, the most ever.
Nicole Hensley posted a .923 save percentage for the second straight game and remains undefeated in regulation this season. The Frost veteran’s 1.55 goals-against average and .946 save percentage both rank third among netminders with multiple starts this season.
Kendall Coyne Schofield became the first PWHL player to reach 15 points this season (9G, 6A), a mark she has achieved in each of the league’s first three seasons. The Frost captain has tied a career-high with a four-game point and assist streak (2G, 4A) dating back to Minnesota’s last game against Montreal and has nine points (4G, 5A) in her last six games.
Taylor Heise reached 11 assists on the season with her secondary helper, extending her league lead in assists. She also extended her point streak to a season-high four games (1G, 6A), while recording assists in four straight games for the first time in her career. The Frost forward is just two points shy of 50 for her career (14G, 34A).
Abby Roque added her seventh assist of the season and fifth on one Poulin goal. With her last point on January 2 in New York, the forward has not played more than two games without finding the scoresheet as a member of the Victoire and has 11 points in 12 games.
Nicole Gosling‘s most important assist was her fourth point of the season, all achieved in her last six games. The fourth overall pick from Victoire went scoreless through the first seven games of her first professional campaign and ranks fourth among rookie defensemen in scoring (1G, 3A).
Skylar Irving celebrated her 24th birthday with a secondary assist in her 11th game, her second point of the season. The third-round pick Victoire previously recorded a primary helper for her first career point on December 7.
Tabin card led all skaters with five shots on goal on the season.
Lee Stecklein returned to the Frost blue line after missing the first two games of her career due to illness and logged more than 23 minutes of ice time for the eighth time in 11 games.
THREE STARS
1. Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) OTW
2. Ann-Renée Desbiens (MTL) 23/24 SV
3. Nicole Hensley (MIN) 24/26 SV
STANDINGS
Minnesota: 22 PTS (5-2-3-3) – 3rd place
Montreal: 21 PTS (5-3-0-5) – 4th place
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