Montreal Victoire's Laura Stacey, right, celebrates with teammates Marie-Philip Poulin and Cayla Barnes after scoring the winning during overtime period PWHL hockey action against the Boston Fleet in Montreal, on March 1.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Montreal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin accurately described her team’s dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Fleet on Saturday afternoon at Bell Centre as a “roller-coaster” affair.
“It went well in the first, we loosened up in the second and in the third, we put a lot of pressure. The overtime was exciting, too,” Poulin said.
Laura Stacey’s game-winning goal with just 16.3 seconds remaining in the overtime period sent the 17,324 fans in attendance home happy.
“It was so amazing to play in front of that many fans and how loud they were,” Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie said of the crowd. “My voice was already not great before the game, but it’s certainly worse now.”
“To feel that crowd, to feel the energy, it’s so special,” said Poulin. “Every time we get the chance to play in Montreal, especially at the Bell Centre, in the big rink with people coming and watching us, there’s no better feeling.”
Montreal defender Kati Tabin had a pair of goals in the win, including the game’s opener at the 36-second mark, setting a franchise record for the team’s quickest goal to start a game.
Boston equalized just over seven minutes later on an Amanda Pelkey goal and later took a 2-1 lead on a Sidney Morin tally in the second period.
In the third period, however, Montreal came out firing, out-shooting Boston 12-0 in the period, with the game-tying goal courtesy of a Tabin point shot.
For Tabin, it marked her second and third goals on the season, doubling her career output of two goals she scored in 42 games spread across two seasons in Montreal.
“She’s a hard player to play against,” Cheverie said. “When we drafted her, we knew we were getting a player who was going to be very meaningful for us and play important minutes.”
The win was Montreal’s eighth in its last 10 games. Montreal increased its lead atop the PWHL standings to seven points over second-place Toronto, with two games in hand on the Sceptres.
Poulin, though, already had her sights set on Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Minnesota Frost.
“We’re never satisfied,” said Poulin. “We want to get better after every game.”