The Montreal Victoire hosted the Toronto Sceptres On Sunday, March 23 for their final matchup of the 2024-25 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. The Victoire already won the season series, taking the victory in the last four matches. However, the Sceptres were not giving up. Although Montreal could have clinched a playoff spot with this victory, Toronto defeated the Victoire 2-1.
Game Recap
In the first period, both teams took penalties. Megan Carter sat for tripping at the eight-minute mark and Kristin O’Neill sat for hooking at the 15-minute mark. Neither team was able to score on their extra-player advantage, nor at full strength. The period came to a close with a 0-0 score despite the Sceptres taking eight shots on net and the Victoire taking seven shots.
Fifty-two seconds into the second period, Hayley Scamurra stole the puck from the Victoire. She skated it through the neutral zone, where she sent a pass to Blayre Turnbull. As Jesse Compher skated up the center of the ice, Turnbull passed to her. Compher took the shot and scored the first goal of the game.
Twelve minutes into the second period, Toronto increased their tally. Emma Maltais sent a pass to Sarah Nurse in front of the net. She passed to Natalie Spooner to her left. She took a shot that was stopped by Elaine Chuli. Spooner recovered the rebound and took the shot to score the second goal of the game. The second ended with the Sceptres up by two.
Fourteen minutes into the third period, Blayre Turnbull took a seat for cross-checking Mariah Keopple. Keopple fell to the ice hard and needed assistance getting to the bench. With just five minutes to go in the game, the Victoire finally cashed in on the power play. There was a scramble in front of the net, but Cayla Barnes passed the puck to Marie-Philip Poulin. She took a shot which bounced off the crossbar and into the back of the net. Although the Victoire were able to get one, it wasn’t enough to come back. The Sceptres took the victory here 2-1.
Next Up
Both the Victoire and the Sceptres will play again on Wednesday, March 26. The Sceptres will travel to Boston to take on the Fleet. The Victoire will head to Minnesota to take on the Frost.
