The P-Dub on Causeway

It was a special night here in the Hub of Hockey. Spring breezes were blowing across the harbor, people were out and about enjoying all that the city has to offer, heck even drivers were being courteous to one another. That pep in your step everyone is feeling? That’s the little tickle that everyone gets when they know playoff hockey is right around the corner.

With that in mind, a new milestone was set by the PWHL last night. The Montreal Victoire rolled into a matchup with the Boston Fleet with heavy playoff implications and to blaze new ground and (if you’ll pardon the pun) to break some glass. That’s right boys and girls, the PWHL has taken over the House that Bergy Built. For the first time ever, the P-Dub took the ice on Causeway Street at the TD Garden.

With these 2 teams and these 2 net minders, the smart money was on a low-scoring affair, and if you bet the under you’d be able to cash that ticket. In net for Montreal was Ann-Renée Desbiens (16-4-2-0) with a league leading 1.13GAA and a .954%SV. At the other end of the sheet stood the Green Monstah: Aerin Frankel. The Boston netminder (17-3-0-2) came into this one with a 1.16GAA and a league-leading .955%SV. Put it this way, these 2 ‘tendies are either first or second in each relevant statistical category. Oh yeah, they’re both Patty Kaz winners and both have Olympic Gold Medals in their trophy rooms. So what I’m saying is goals were going to be hard to come by in this one.

So we have the top 2 goaltenders in the world, the top 2 teams in the league battling for playoff position and oh yeah, it’s Montreal and Boston. This is what the 17,850 on hand paid to see!

The game opened up fast and physical with Boston feeding off the crowd’s energy to really bring it to Montreal. I’m sure the Victoire coaching staff told their players that they had to withstand the initial push as the Fleet were flying from the opening draw. The emotion was real and the Garden felt like a music festival mixed with a hockey game on top of family reunion. The vibes were immaculate.

But Montreal weathered the opening 5mins and soon enough after every whistle there was a meeting of the clans as neither side wanted to give an inch. Yes this was a historic night and a really feel good event for the city, the league, and women’s sports in general, but there were still 3 points in the standings up for grabs.

The play was fairly even for the majority of the game. I’d give the edge to Boston in terms of zone time and puck possession in the early going, but that evened out as the game progressed.

As I said off the jump, goals were going to be hard to come by in this one and they certainly were. Just past midway of the third, the visitors cashed in. The Fleet were coming off a power play, and in the “vulnerable minute” as Homeboy Jack liked to say, the Victoire took advantage of some tired Boston legs on the ice.

Montreal broke into the Boston zone 3:2 in a textbook triangle to get the only goal of the night. A great heads up outlet from Nicole Gosling found Laura Stacey coming out of the penalty box and Stacey carried down the LW into the Boston zone. With Shiann Darkangelo driving the net, Stacey waited for the BOS defender to drop and then laid the puck to Lina Ljungblom trailing at the top of the triangle. Ljungblom buried her drop-knee one-timer over Frankel’s glove and that was all the Victoire needed.

Boston put on the full-court press late, but Desbiens was having none of it and kept the Fleet off the scoreboard. I mean the goaltending performance from Desbiens and Frankel last night was literally the best in the world.

So this morning, Montreal has a 4 point lead over Boston in the standings (Boston with a game in hand though). And the teams meet one more time before the end of the regular season. Last night the Fleet lost, but the organization, the fans, the league and the sport all won.

Boston showed that people will come out to support this team and women’s sports. Just like at Madison Square Garden earlier this month. Just like the Takeover Tour stops that have happened this year.

Say it with me, and say it loudly for the naysayers in the back:

Everyone watches women’s sports.

Some notables from around the rink:

• The US Women’s 1998 Olympic team was well represented as they looked as if they were having a ball in their suite.
• Good to see old friend Skylar Irving out there. It was the first time I’ve seen Skirvs play as a pro (in person) and she looked great and involved in all phases. Not a big deal, but she’s still undefeated on TD Garden ice.
• Haley Winn was flying last night. Up and down the ice she was involved and she showed off some pretty sick dangles coming into the Montreal zone a number of times.
• Hayley Scamurra was the tone-setter for the Victoire last night. She was physically engaged and hunting the puck in all 3 zones. Just a great game from #16
• Best sign of the night “The Fleet Deserve to Play Here” which was shown on the Jumbotron a number of times.

If you’ve read this far you’re clearly a fan of the women’s game. Please like, share, subscribe and follow us on all socials @BTGHockeyPod and give the podcast a try. Thanks!

^{You can read more about Brownie below or follow him on:
Twitter: @abrow28
Insta: @a_brow28
Bluesky: @abrow28.bsky.social}