LAVAL, QC (March 10, 2024) – Kateřina Mrázová extended her point streak to six games with three assists on Sunday afternoon, leading her team to a 4-2 win against Montréal at Place Bell.
After Ottawa started the third period with a 2-0 lead, Montréal came to within one goal on two separate occasions but couldn’t quite complete the comeback.
Mrázová’s first assist of the game came with 37 seconds remaining in the first period when captain Brianne Jenner made the game 1-0 with a powerplay goal.
Mrázová picked up the puck on the half-wall and drifted toward the middle of the ice, pulling coverage with her and allowing Jenner to sneak down from the point. Mrázová sent the puck cross-ice to her captain who was able to find a hole on Ann-Renée Desbiens’ glove side for her third marker of the year. Aneta Tejralová also picked up an assist on the play.
Ottawa extended their lead to 2-0 at the midpoint of the game when Daryl Watts picked up a drop pass from Mrázová at the top of the circle and fired a wrist shot that went off the far post and in. The goal was Watts’ fourth of the year. Jincy Roese started the play by sending the puck to Mrázová on the rush, tallying her fourth point of the season with the helper.
Mrázová’s third assist of the game came shortly after Montréal cut Ottawa’s lead in half midway through the third period.
Ottawa’s league-leading powerplay continued their dominance as Tejralová restored the two-goal lead with the advantage, picking up her second point of the game in the process.
Jenner and Tejralová passed the puck back and forth at the point before Tejralová sent a wrister to the net, eluding the screen and Desbiens’ outstretched glove. The goal was scored at 13:24 of the third period.
For their part, Montréal fought to stay in the game.
Laura Stacey finally broke through for Montréal at 11:10 of the final frame to make the game 2-1 when she found the back of the net for the seventh time this year. Defender Erin Ambrose took a pass from Kristin O’Neill before sliding the puck over to Stacey at the point, who let a one-timer go, finding its way through a screen and into the net behind Ottawa’s Emerance Maschmeyer.
Mélodie Daoust again brought the home team to within one, at 17:02 of the third, after sending Desbiens to the bench for the extra attacker late in the third. Defender Kati Tabin received the puck at the blue line and sent a quick shot to the Ottawa net. The puck hit a heavy screen in front where Daoust was able to get a backhand on it while falling to the ice, scoring her second goal in three games played. Forward Sarah Bujold started the play, picking up her second assist and fourth point of the season.
With Desbiens once again on the bench, Ottawa secured the victory when Hayley Scamurra chased down a puck deep in the attacking zone before sending it across the ice to a rushing Gabbie Hughes. Hughes deposited the puck into the empty net for her team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Maschmeyer made 34 saves to collect her fifth win of the season. Desbiens stopped 29 in the loss.
Up next, both teams take part in next weekend’s ‘PWHL Takeover Weekend’. First, Ottawa takes on Boston at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI, on Saturday, March 16 for a 6:00 p.m. ET game. The next day, Montréal takes on Toronto at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA, at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Postgame Quotes:
Ottawa goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer on playing in Montréal: “All of our games have been pretty close. Playing in front of a Montréal crowd is a lot of fun. I’m used to being on the other side of it. It’s a little bit different being on the opposing team, but I appreciate the energy coming from the crowd and the passion for hockey. It’s a lot of fun for me, even if it’s against me. With that crowd, you kind of have a sixth player on the ice. It’s a lot of fun.”
Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod on the win: “What’s more exciting is how we did it. We are seeing the pieces of our game come together. There were more blocked shots. There were more gritty back checks. We moved the puck a little harder. We’re still managing blue lines in the third periods but we were better at it today than we were last game. Then, there is the resiliency. We let in a few goals in the third, but we responded well on both occasions. That is all stuff that we have been working towards as a group throughout the season. It was nice to see it come into play today.”
Notes:
- Attendance: 10,172 — Place Bell, Laval, QC.
- Three Stars: 1) Kateřina Mrázová 2) Emerance Maschmeyer 3) Laura Stacey
- Shots ended 36-33 in favour of Montréal— They had the lead in shots in the second (14-10) and third (12-9), but Ottawa had the edge in the first (14-10).
- This was just the third time Ottawa has been outshot – They have won twice when outshot.
- Montréal’s Mélodie Daoust led all players with six shots — Teammate Laura Stacey, and Ottawa’s Daryl Watts, Gabbie Hughes, and Brianne Jenner had five apiece.
- Ottawa was 2/5 on the powerplay — Montréal was 1/5.
- Ottawa scored two powerplay goals for the second straight game.
- Ottawa now has 13 powerplay goals on the season and lead New York by two to lead the league in the category.
- Mrázová became the fifth player to record three assists in a single game.
- Mrázová’s six-game point streak (4G, 6A) ties Alex Carpenter’s streak (January 28 – February 28) as the longest in the PWHL this season — Mrázová now has 13 points on the season which ties her for fourth in the league with Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle.
- Stacey and Hughes now have seven goals apiece on the season which moves them into a tie for fourth in the PWHL.
- Jenner has recorded back-to-back multi-point performances for the first time this season.
- Aneta Tejralová recorded her first multi-point game.
- Hayley Scamurra extended her point streak to three games.
- Mélodie Daoust played in her third and final game of a 10-day contract.
- Erin Ambrose led all players in time on ice at 26:32 – Tejralová led Ottawa with 24:09.
- The game is the first Ottawa has won against Montréal this season in four games played.
- Montréal loses back-to-back games for the first time this season — This is their first loss at Place Bell (4GP) and the first time in eight home games where they have not produced a point.
- This is the first regulation loss for Montréal where they have not been shut out.
- All five of Ottawa’s wins have been by multiple goals.
- Montréal (7-3-3-4) remains tied for first place in the PWHL with Toronto — They each have 30 points on the season, three more than second-place Minnesota – Toronto has played 16 games to Montréal’s 17.
- Ottawa (5-0-5-6) moves into a tie with Boston in fourth place with 20 points on the season — Boston has one game in hand.
- The crowd of 10,172 ties a season-high for Montréal at Place Bell.
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