The Montréal Victoire earned their first regulation playoff win in franchise history on Thursday night, defeating the Minnesota Frost 2-1 to take a 2-1 series lead. Montréal is now just one win away from advancing to the Walter Cup Finals for the very first time.
On Friday, the two teams will go head-to-head for Game 4 in the first back-to-back of the season for both groups. As Montréal looks earn their first-ever series win, here’s a few keys from Game 3 to keep an eye on.
Penalty Killers
The Victoire’s league-best penalty kill was on full display on Thursday. The Frost had seven power-play opportunities in Game 3, but the Victoire kept them from converting. The team’s penalty kill played tight, suffocating Minnesota’s powerful offence. Owing to that strong defensive play, the Frost are now 1 for 14 on the power play in this series and have failed to convert on their last 12 opportunities.
“I think it’s been a big part of our identity all season,” head coach Kori Cheverie told media postgame. “Certainly the players today showed no waver in that. It was just truly a mentality that, you know, you’re going up against the best power play in the league. We know you have to shut them down, we know what they’re trying to do, what their players can achieve. They’re skilled and they can make teams pay. So for us, would have liked to have, maybe, less penalties. But certainly happy with the job we did.”
Depth Scoring
Stop me if you’ve heard this, but Montréal’s depth scoring is really stepping up this year.
Maggie Flaherty opened the scoring for Montréal with her first playoff goal since 2024. The former Frost defender had a strong game, with a goal, a team-high four shots on net, and 19:46 TOI. 24 seconds later, Hayley Scamurra buried the game-winner for her second career playoff goal. Scamurra also had the assist on Flaherty’s goal, and was named second star of the match.
“All year long we’ve had different people step up, different players contribute,” said Cheverie. “We’ve had the opportunity to develop from within. I think that that’s been really important. Putting different people in different roles … I think that’s something we’ve really prided ourselves on, just the ability to use everybody and put them in situations where they’ll maybe find some success.”
Meanwhile, captain Marie-Philip Poulin was clearly not at full strength on Thursday night, as she continues to deal with a knee injury suffered during the Olympics. Poulin logged just 13:21 TOI, her fewest minutes in a full game this season.
Even without the heavy minutes they usually expect from their captain, or scoresheet contributions from players like Laura Stacey or Abby Roque, the Victoire pulled off the win. It’s a testament to that depth Cheverie and the Victoire have built this season.
Brick Wall
In between the pipes, Ann-Renée Desbiens had another stellar game, turning away 27 of the 28 shots she faced. After an uncharacteristically subpar performance in Game 1, the 2025 Goalie of the Year is back in MVP form, playing her best playoff hockey to date.
The challenge for Desbiens now comes as she’ll have to play her first back-to-back of the season. On the other end of the ice, the Minnesota Frost benefit from the ability to turn to Nicole Hensley for Game 4 on Friday if they’d like. Montréal will certainly stick with Desbiens, though this may put her at a slight disadvantage.
The puck drops for Game 4 at 7 p.m. ET from Grand Casino Arena.