Ottawa hosts Montréal for the first time since historic season opener
OTTAWA, ON (April 27, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season continues with a pair of Saturday afternoon games, including Ottawa against Montréal, at 12:30 p.m. ET at The Arena at TD Place.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans across Canada can watch the game live on CBC Gem. The game will also be available in the United States on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, and streamed on the league’s YouTube channel. Daniella Ponticelli will have the play-by-play alongside analyst Becky Kellar. French coverage is available on RDS with studio host Andrée-Anne Barbeau and analyst Valérie Bois. Claudine Douville will have the play-by-play call with analyst Isabelle Leclaire.
TODAY’S PLAYOFF CLINCHING SCENARIOS
Montréal became the second team to clinch a berth in the PWHL Playoffs with their win on Wednesday, and Ottawa can become the third team to clinch with a regulation win today. Ottawa can also secure a playoff spot if Minnesota beats Boston in regulation, or with a win over Montréal in overtime/shootout as long as Boston does not beat Minnesota in regulation, or with an overtime/shootout loss to Montréal combined with a Boston loss to Minnesota of any kind. Minnesota can clinch a playoff spot by earning at least one point in their game against Boston.
FAN APPRECIATION AT TD PLACE
Today is Ottawa’s final home game of the regular season and they will celebrate their fans at The Arena at TD Place. Before the game, Lando, the team’s unofficial golden retriever, will be at Gate 1 for photo opportunities. The team will also unveil a special banner to commemorate the inaugural season, and fans will see the team’s logo freshly painted at centre ice. Fan Appreciation Day follows the team’s successful Fan Fest held on Monday that included an open practice and autographs.
SETTING THE STAGE
Two teams inside the top four of the league’s standings have their sights set on the PWHL Playoffs. Montréal (9-3-5-5) is tied for the league-lead with 38 points, and Ottawa (8-1-6-6) is in fourth place with 32 points and enter the game three points behind Minnesota and three ahead of Boston. While Montréal and Toronto have both secured playoff spots, placement of all four playoff teams will be determined over the final eight games of the season with both Montréal and Ottawa still capable of finishing anywhere from first to fourth. Ottawa’s first task is to clinch a playoff berth but have enhanced their odds with a season-high four game winning streak and 16 of a possible 21 points in their last seven games. They’ve won three straight games at home, including two since the International Break, beating Minnesota 4-0 last Saturday and Boston 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday. In 11 games at The Arena at TD Place, Ottawa has won five times and earned 17 points which ranks fourth in the league in home ice efficiency. Montréal has only played one road game in their last six, losing 3-2 to Minnesota in a shootout on Mar. 24 before the break. They won two of their three home games since returning to play, including a 5-2 victory against New York on Wednesday at Verdun Auditorium. They are tied with Ottawa for second in points percentage as the road team and have five wins and 15 points in 10 of those games. Ottawa leads the league with 57 goals scored and Montréal ranks second with 55. Both offenses have been especially dangerous in recent play with Ottawa averaging 3.75 goals-per-game during their winning streak, and Montréal scoring at a 3.67 average since the break.
THE SEASON SERIES THROUGH FOUR GAMES
Montréal has won three of four games against Ottawa but hold just a 7-5 advantage in head-to-head points. Montréal won the first three games of the season series beginning with a 3-2 overtime victory on Jan. 2 at The Arena at TD Place in Ottawa’s home opener. The next three games were hosted by Montréal, including Jan. 27 at Place Bell where the home team won 2-1 in overtime, and Feb. 24 at Verdun Auditorium where Montréal exploded for a 6-3 victory. Ottawa won the last meeting on Mar. 10 by a 4-2 score at Place Bell. That game featured three powerplay goals, including two by Ottawa’s Brianne Jenner and Aneta Tejralová, and one by Montréal’s Laura Stacey, with all three players finishing with two-point performances. Kateřina Mrázová recorded a season-high three assists and is tied with Stacey for the scoring lead in the season series with six points apiece. Emerance Maschmeyer has started every game of the season series for Ottawa and recorded the victory in the last meeting with 34 saves. Ann-Renée Desbiens has also started all four meetings for Montréal and has a .933 save percentage in those games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Both captains are leading by example when it comes to offensive production. Montréal’s Marie-Philip Poulin leads the league with 22 points, including nine goals and 13 assists in 19 games, and Ottawa’s Brianne Jenner ranks fourth with 19 points, including nine goals and 10 assists in 21 games. Poulin is riding a three-game streak with five points since returning from the Women’s World Championship, and Jenner has six goals and three assists during her current four-game streak. Another player who is red hot is Montréal defender Erin Ambrose (4G 13A) who leads her position with 17 points and has produced seven in three straight games since winning gold with Canada. The league’s longest active point streak is six games and belongs to another gold medallist in Ottawa’s Emily Clark (4G 10A) who is fourth in team scoring with 14 points. Kateřina Mrázová (6G 11A) is second on the team with 17 points and returned from injury on Wednesday to score two shootout goals which lifted Ottawa to victory over Boston. Daryl Watts (8G 7A) is third with 15 points and a four-game point streak. Laura Stacey (9G 7A) also has a three-game point streak for Montréal and ranks third in team scoring with 16 points, one ahead of rookie Maureen Murphy (4G 11A) who has 15 points. Fellow rookie Claire Dalton (5G 4A) is tied for fifth in Montréal scoring and recorded a hat trick in her last game against Ottawa.
FAMILIAR FACES
Today’s game will be the first head-to-head meeting since the Mar. 18 trade deadline when the teams swapped stars. Ottawa acquired forward Tereza Vanišová from Montréal in exchange for defender Amanda Boulier. Vanišová recorded 10 points in 17 games for Montréal after being chosen by the team in the seventh round of the draft and has two assists in four games with Ottawa. Boulier was a 13th round pick by Ottawa and produced six points in 17 games, with one assist in four games with Montréal. This will also be the first game back in the nation’s capital for Montréal forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis who played six games for Ottawa and contributed three assists prior to release. She has played five games since joining Montréal.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I feel like we kind of came out a little bit slow in the first period (against Boston). It wasn’t our best. When we continue to get better with each period, each shift, you can kind of feel that momentum shift. We could feel it in the third period. We all knew one was coming. We knew we weren’t going to lose that game. The whole bench felt that energy, knowing we were going to get the job done. I was the one who ended up putting it away but the whole group knew we were going to get one.” – Gabbie Hughes, Ottawa
“It’s such a fun time of the year. Obviously, we’re still pushing to get ourselves in (the playoffs). The race is tight. Boston is doing the same thing. It makes it fun. Every game has been a big game this year. These are no different. It’s fun to be chasing something. We know that we have an opportunity here.” – Carla MacLeod, Ottawa
“It’s an important game for us. We need to win in order to get closer to securing home ice in the first round. We are locked in and are all ready to play in meaningful games down the road.” – Catherine Daoust, Montréal
“Every game is important in this league, and that is even truer during the final stretch. Our team played well on Wednesday and as the playoffs get closer, we will need to start putting multiple good games together.” – Kori Cheverie, Montréal
QUICK HITS
Ottawa (+5) is third in goal differential and Montréal (+2) ranks fourth…Ottawa (2.71) is first in goals-per-game and Montréal (2.50) ranks third…Montréal (2.41) is tied for allowing the third fewest goals-per-game on average and Ottawa (2.48) allows the second most…Montréal is tied for the league-lead having scored first in 13 games and have won 10 of them, Ottawa has scored first 11 times and won seven of those games…Both teams lead the league with 20 goals in the first period, and Ottawa leads the league with 23 goals in the third…Montréal is tied for the league-lead with 14 one-goal games and have won eight, Ottawa has just one win in 10 one-goal results…Ottawa (+23) is fourth in shot differential and Montréal (-55) ranks fifth…Ottawa (29.14) is second in shots-per-game average and Montréal (27.95) ranks fifth…Ottawa (28.10) allows the third most shots-per-game on average and Montréal (30.55) allows the second most…Ottawa has outshot its opponents 13 times, Montréal has outshot its opponents in 11 of their games…Montréal (7.09) averages the second most penalty minutes per game and Ottawa (6.43) averages fourth most…Ottawa (16/60) is first in powerplay efficiency at 26.7%…Montréal (11/76) is third on the PP at 14.5%…Ottawa (49/57) is third in penalty kill efficiency at 86.0%…Montréal (61/73) is fourth on the PK at 83.6%…Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) leads the league in scoring with 22 points…Erin Ambrose (MTL) leads all defenders in scoring with 17 points…Poulin and Ambrose are tied for the league-lead with 13 assists…Kateřina Mrázová (OTT) is tied with Hayley Scamurra (OTT) and Kristin O’Neill (MTL) for second in the league with three powerplay goals…Gabbie Hughes (OTT) is tied for second in the league with three game winning goals…Mrázová is tied for the league-lead with three shootout goals…Tereza Vanišová (OTT) leads the league with 35 penalty minutes…Claire Dalton (MTL) leads the league with a 26.3% shooting percentage…Laura Stacey (MTL) leads the league with 89 shots on goal…Scamurra leads Ottawa with 74 shots…Brianne Jenner (114/210) leads Ottawa with a face-off percentage of 54.3%…Hughes (45.6%) leads the team with 362 draws…Poulin (237/416) is Montréal’s best on face-offs with a 57.0% win-rate…Emerance Maschmeyer (OTT) is second in the league with nine wins in 19 starts and tied for first with two shutouts and has a goals-against-average of 2.18 and save percentage of .919… Ann-Renée Desbiens (MTL) has six wins in 14 starts with a 2.31 GAA and .920 SV%…Ambrose will celebrate her 30th birthday on Tuesday…Ten years ago Alexandra Poznikoff (MTL) was named MVP of Canada’s Women’s U18 National Club Championship as a member of the Edmonton Thunder – The 2024 event ends today in Vernon, BC, with the North York Storm facing the Regina Rebels for the Esso Cup.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
OTTAWA:
Clark | Hughes | Scamurra
Watts | Mrázová | Jenner
Gilmore | Snodgrass | Vanišová
Demers | Darkangelo | Davis
Shiga
Tejralová | Harmon
Roese | Bell
Isbell | Buckles
Maschmeyer | Abstreiter
Scratches: Boyd, Della Rovere, Gasparics, McQuigge, Schneider
MONTREAL:
O’Neill | Poulin | Stacey
Grant-Mentis | Murphy | Dalton
Lefort | David | M. Daoust
Dubois | Dempsey | Lum
Tabin | Ambrose
Keopple | Boulier
Bizal | C. Daoust
Laganière
Desbiens | Chuli
Scratches: Bettez, Boissonnault, Bujold, Lásková, Marchment, Poznikoff
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Jake Kamrass (Atlanta, GA) and Liam Maaskant (London, ON).
Linespersons: Adam Burnett (Toronto, ON) and Anthony Lapointe (Lachine, QC).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_ottawa and @pwhl_montreal.