On Jan. 8, the second game of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) North American Takeover took place. The Montreal Victoire and the Toronto Sceptres faced off at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. 19,000 people were in attendance to watch the pair duke it out. It was the Victoire who were victorious, beating the Sceptres 4-2.
Game Recap
At just about the five-minute mark, the Victoire struck first. Anna Wilgren had possession of the puck up by Ann-Renee Desbiens. She passed it through the neutral zone, where Mikyla Grant-Mentis caught it. Skating up from the blue line on a breakaway, she was able to put the puck into the back of the net and score the first goal of the night. Montreal had two great chances to extend their lead when Toronto took two penalties, both for tripping. As the first ended, the score still read 1-0.
Two minutes and change into the second, the Victoire got their chance to extend the lead. Alexandra Labelle sent the puck around the boards where Grant-Mentis grabbed it from behind the net. She saw Claire Dalton in front with no one on the Sceptres defending her. She passed to Dalton, where she was able to get another one past Kristen Campbell. Shortly after, they were able to extend their lead with a third goal. Marie-Philip Poulin received a pass from Erin Ambrose near the faceoff circle. Poulin fell to her knees, but that didn’t stop her chances of scoring. She took the shot from down low and sent it up high into the net.
Immediately after, Mariah Keopple was sent to the box for tripping, giving the Sceptres their first power play and a chance at a comeback goal. Daryl Watts made that a reality. Renata Fast, from the blue line, passed to Watts. She skated up through the faceoff circle, changing the angle of how she was handling the puck. This expert move allowed her to get it past Desbiens and put Toronto on the board for the first time in the game. The Sceptres had to sit for another penalty, but the Victoire once again did not score on the power play. With the score reading 3-1, the pressure was on for both teams.
With 13:07 left in the game, the Sceptres brought themselves within one goal. Emma Maltais had control of the puck after Fast got the rebound off a pad save from Desbiens. Maltais passed to Jessie Compher, who drove up to the net with her. She slowed when getting to the goal, making sure her shot would hit its mark when she let it fly, and it sure did. At 1:27, the Sceptres needed to make something happen. They pulled Campbell to get an extra attacker on the ice to try and tie it up. However, Poulin had other plans. She sent the puck across the ice and into the empty net to put Montreal on top, 4-2.
Next Stop
The PWHL Takeover tour will continue on Jan. 12, when the Victoire face the Minnesota Frost at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
