MONTREAL 鈥� Kristin O'Neill had a goal and an assist in helping lead Montreal to a 5-2 win over New York and clinch a playoff berth in the Professional Women's Hockey League on Wednesday.
The victory moved Montreal (9-3-5-5) into a tie for first place with Toronto, with each team having 38 points and Toronto having a game in hand. On the other hand, the loss eliminated New York from playoff contention in the six-team league.
Catherine Daoust, Catherine Dubois, Laura Stacey and M茅lodie Daoust, with an empty-netter, also scored for Montreal, which netted three goals in the second period to hold a 4-0 lead until the dying seconds of the frame.
鈥淭he second period has been our nemesis all year but we came out with a lot of energy after a slow start,鈥� Montreal coach Kori Cheverie said. 聽鈥淎nd I was happy that we did a good job protecting the lead when they turned up the heat in the third.鈥�
Marie-Philip Poulin picked up one assist to move past Toronto's Natalie Spooner for top spot in the PWHL scoring race with 22 points.聽
Ann-Ren茅e Desbiens stopped 31 shots, including all 14 she faced in the first period. She received strong support from her teammates who blocked 21 shots.
鈥淗aving a first period like that gives a goaltender belief,鈥� Desbiens said. 鈥淲e all knew we didn鈥檛 have the best first period but we were still up 1-0.鈥�
鈥淪he鈥檚 the Ann-Ren茅e we drafted and we need her to play like that in the big games,鈥� said Cheverie, who was disappointed that Montreal was outshot 14-6 in the first period.
Ella Shelton and Alexandra Labelle, with a short-handed effort, scored for New York (3-4-3-11). Corinne Schroeder made 20 saves.
New York failed to capitalize on its power play, coming up empty on three opportunities in the first period and finishing the game 0-for-5. Montreal was 2-for-4 with the extra player.
O鈥橬eill, who scored one of the power-play goals -- Stacey had the other -- said she was determined to step up her offensive game after helping Canada win the gold medal at the world championship earlier this month.
鈥淎t the world championships, I was playing with two college girls and now I have (Poulin) on one side and Stacey on the right with her one-timer,鈥� said O鈥橬eill. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good fit.鈥�
UP NEXT聽
Montreal travels to Ottawa on Saturday.
New York hosts Toronto on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2024.
Pat Hickey, The Canadian Press
