PWHL: Montreal Victoire bounces back to dominate the Ottawa Charge 6-3

Archive photo. On Friday Nov. 22 at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal, Elaine Chuli started the second game of the Women's Professional Hockey League preparatory mini-tournament against the Ottawa Charge. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The Montreal Victoire ended its preparatory mini-tournament as host team on a positive note with a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Charge on Friday afternoon at the Espace Denis-Savard rink in the Verdun Auditorium.

The main architect of this victory was Mikyla Grant-Mentis, who opened the scoring in the first period and netted the eventual game-winner at 11:47 of the third period against Gwyneth Philips.

The use of the term "main" is intentional, as Grant-Mentis was not the only player to stand out. Forward Maureen Murphy (1-1) and Kati Tabin (1-1) also recorded two points each.

Murphy had scored the lone goal in the Victoire's win against the Boston Fleet on Wednesday.

Gabrielle David and Alexandra Labelle, two Quebec players looking to secure contracts with the Victoire, tallied the other goals for the Montreal-based team.

Elaine Chuli started in net for the Victoire and allowed goals to Danielle Serdachny and Rebecca Leslie in the second period.

At the start of the third period, Chuli was replaced by Marlène Boissonnault, who gave up a goal to Tereza Vanisova, a former player for the Montreal team, midway through the third period.

The Victoire finished the game with 34 shots, including 14 in the third period, during which they scored three consecutive goals after Vanisova's marker, two of them within a 52-second span.

Chuli and Boissonnault faced 26 shots from the Charge, who had defeated the Boston Fleet 6-1 on Thursday.

Among the Victoire players who participated in Wednesday's game against the Boston Fleet, forwards Laura Stacey and Abigail Boreen, defender Erin Ambrose, and goaltenders Ann-Renée Desbiens and Sandra Abstreiter were not in the lineup on Friday.

Meanwhile, defender Amanda Boulier, who was injured at the start of training camp, played her first game.

The Victoire concludes this mini pre-season tournament with a record of one win and one loss.

Next week will allow head coach Kori Cheverie to fine-tune her team's preparation for the season opener, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 30, at Place Bell in Laval, against the Charge.

Additionally, general manager Danièle Sauvageau has until 5 p.m. next Wednesday to submit her 23-player roster, along with three reserves, to the league.

Currently, the Victoire has 19 players signed to standard contracts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 22, 2024.