Nurse OT winner breaks Montreal hearts as Toronto wins PWHL 'Duel at the Top'
Toronto's Sarah Nurse broke Montreal hearts 13 seconds into overtime whe she scored her second of the night in front of a record-setting PWHL crowd at the Bell Centre.
Toronto's 3-2 win makes it five for five wins against rivals Montreal and puts Toronto at the top of the table with 38 points, three ahead of Montreal and Minnesota.
The 21,105 fans who attended the game broke the record for attendance at a female hockey game set in Toronto at the Scotiabank Arena (home of the Toronto Maple Leafs) when 19,285 fans showed up on Feb. 16.
Before the inaugural PWHL season, the record for women's hockey was 18,013 in the IIHF Women's World Championship for a Canada-Finland preliminary gameand 16,805 in the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.
Fans of all ages waved towels, screamed and held signs reading "Girls Hockey Rules" and "2033 PWHL Draft Eligible" at the home of the NHL's most decorated team: The Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin, one of hockey's all-time greats, received a deafening standings ovation followed by chants of "Pou! Pou! Pou!" when introduced in the starting lineup.
The "Duel at the Top" was a back-and-forth scorcher.
Toronto's Blayre Turnbull opened the scoring in the first, but Montreal's Sarah Bujold equalized with under 20 seconds to go in the period.
Nurse put Toronto up early in the second, but a second late goal from Montreal from Erin Ambrose tied the game with 30 seconds remaining in the period.
With no goals in the third, it was Nurse again who finished the game.
The win clinched a playoff birth for Toronto (10-4-0-7).
Toronto's Sarah Nurse (20) celebrates with teammate Emma Maltais (27) after scoring against Montreal during overtime period PWHL hockey action at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Graham Hughes, The Canadian Press)
With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Inflation is down, wages are up. Why are Canadians still frustrated with the economy?
The federal finance minister has been taking every opportunity to remind frustrated Canadians that after a bumpy pandemic recovery, the nation's economy is actually doing a lot better.
B.C. port employers launch lockout at terminals in labour dispute with workers
Employers at British Columbia ports say they are going ahead with locking out more than 700 foremen across the province after strike activities from union members began.
'Be ready for both': Canadians prepare for any outcome as Americans head to the polls
Millions of Americans are heading to the polls Tuesday as a chaotic presidential campaign reaches its peak in a deeply divided United States, where voters in only a handful of battleground states will choose the country’s path forward.
Boeing factory strike ends as workers vote to accept contract
Factory workers at Boeing voted to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash.
Months after VRBO booking, Taylor Swift fan told home 'not available' during Vancouver concert
A frustrated Taylor Swift fan is speaking out after being pushed from a short-term rental she booked for the upcoming Vancouver leg of the superstar’s Eras Tour.
Trudeau and Harris? Poilievre and Trump? Here's who Canadians think would work best with: survey
As Americans prepare to elect their next president on Tuesday, new data from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians hold differing views as to which federal party leaders would be best suited to deal with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
Felonies, assassination attempts and a last-minute change on the ticket leads voters to Tuesday's U.S. election
A campaign that has careened through a felony trial, incumbent being pushed off the ticket and assassination attempts comes down to Election Day on Tuesday.
UN refugee chief says reducing refugee targets is wise if it prevents backlash
The head of the United Nations refugee agency says it is wise of Canada to scale back the number of new refugees it plans to resettle if that helps stabilize the housing market and prevents backlash against newcomers.
Canada Post, union, still disagree over weekend delivery following weekend talks
Canada Post and the union representing its workers are commenting on how weekend talks for a new contract went, with the employer calling them less productive than they'd hoped and the union claiming their employer is focused on flexibility to deliver parcels at the lowest possible cost.