LAVAL, QC– The Montréal Victoire skated to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Sceptres on Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 8,113 at Place Bell in the first of three games this month between the Canadian rivals. 
Kati Tabin scored Montréal’s first goal in an opening frame this season when the defender found the back of the net at 8:38. Hayley Scamurra added to the Victoire lead at almost the same point of the middle frame, scoring against her former team at 8:36.
The Sceptres cut the deficit in half when rookie Emma Gentry sniped her first career goal at 1:36 of the third period. Laura Stacey scored on the power play at 5:41 to cap the offense. Toronto had its opportunities in the final frame with a lengthy 5-on-3 power play when Montréal took three minor penalties in a span of 90 seconds.
Ann-Renée Desbiens stood tall between-the-pipes with 21 saves to earn her second straight win in three season starts. Raygan Kirk took the loss in her third start of the season, stopping 27 shots for the Sceptres.
The teams will meet again following the international break when they launch the PWHL Takeover Tour on Dec. 17 in Halifax. They’ll return to Montréal’s Bell Centre 10 days later for a holiday tilt on Dec. 27.
QUOTES
Montréal Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the team’s performance after a 12-day hiatus: “We expect this group to understand the game of hockey, know the game of hockey, and be able to apply it right away. So aside from a couple of five-minute lapses here and there, I thought that we had a great game. And our special teams were really good as well. The three-on-five was great, and then our power play gave us momentum. I didn’t think we gave them too much. So overall I’m happy.”
Victoire forward Laura Stacey on Toronto saying that Montréal plays a physical game: “That’s nice to hear. I think that’s a goal of ours. For teams to come in here and to feel that, and to feel that we’re a tough team to play, and Toronto’s obviously quite a good team on the other side, and pretty physical too. So for them to feel it tonight, and for them to have that and say that, I think that’s huge for us. I think that’s something we’re really working towards. And this league is obviously allowing a lot of physicality, and we want that, so I think it’s extremely important for our team.”
Toronto defender Renata Fast: “It’s hard to come to this building and play; it’s a great fan base, they have a great team, and today’s game, I don’t think we came out to match their physicality and their compete level. They put us on our heels to start the game, and I think we were chasing it from there. With a team like that, with some key players and depth, you’ve got to put them on their heels to start the game.”
Sceptres Head Coach Troy Ryan: “A better start would help. I think a lot of it is we tend to make a lot of compound-type errors. A lot of times, one mistake is not going to hurt you, it’s when it’s compounded with two or three back-to-back that we get ourselves in those situations. It’s such a short sample size right now that I don’t think it’s overly a big concern.”
NOTABLES
Ann-Renée Desbiens has won nine straight starts at Place Bell dating back to Dec. 30. Her career-high shutout streak, which covered parts of all three starts this season, came to an end at 119:45. Her previous streak stretched 79:38 from Apr. 24 to May 4, 2024.
Laura Stacey has three points in two games with her first goal of the season scored today on one of her season-high six shots on goal, combined with her two assists on Nov. 25. Last season, the Victoire alternate captain tied for second in the PWHL with four power play goals.
Hayley Scamurra scored her first career game-winning goal and first tally as a member of the Victoire against her former Sceptres squad. The forward scored her only goal of the 2024-25 season in a Toronto uniform, one of her three points in 19 games with the team.
Kati Tabin has points in consecutive games for the third time in her career after scoring her first goal of the season today and recording an assist on Nov. 25. During the 2024-25 campaign, the defender’s first two-game point streak began with her first assist and her first goal of the season in her 11th game.
Emma Gentry’s first career PWHL goal was scored in her fourth career game and on her second shot of the season. The second-round pick is the seventh rookie to find the back of the net this season and the second Sceptres rookie to score following fellow second-rounder Kiara Zanon in the season opener.
Skylar Irving recorded a primary assist on Scamurra’s goal for her first career PWHL point. The forward was selected by the Victoire in the third round of the 2025 PWHL Draft.
Marie-Philip Poulin recorded the primary assist on Stacey’s first goal of the season, one game after Stacey set up Poulin’s first goal of the campaign. Last season, the pair had 10 assist-to-goal connections, which tied for the second most in the PWHL. The Victoire captain has three points in her last two games and had six shots on goal for the second straight game.
Erin Ambrose has assists in back-to-back games with both coming on the power play. In 55 career games, the Victoire alternate captain leads all defenders with 29 assists all-time, with 14 of them recorded with the player advantage.
Natálie Mlýnková recorded her first PWHL assist and has the first point streak of her PWHL career after scoring the winning goal on Nov. 25. The Victoire second-round pick is the fifth rookie to reach multiple points so far this season.
Maggie Flaherty has points in consecutive games for the first time since February 2024 during the inaugural season with Minnesota. With an assist today and a goal on Nov. 25, the defender has already matched her offensive production across 22 games with the Frost last season.
Renata Fast recorded her first point of the season in her third game in the Sceptres lineup. The 2025 PWHL Defender of the Year led all rearguards with 16 assists and tied for first in scoring among defenders with 22 points in 30 games last season.
Daryl Watts led all Sceptres skaters with a season-high five shots on goal.
Raygan Kirk has allowed three or more goals in both of her career starts against Montréal. Against all other opponents, the Toronto goaltender has allowed three goals just once in nine starts.
The Victoire thought they had a 2-0 lead at 12:42 of the first period but the Poulin goal was disallowed following a review by the on-ice officials in consultation with the PWHL Central Situation Room. It was determined the puck was kicked into the net.
Montréal has led all three of their games in faceoffs, including today’s contest with a 65% winning percentage at the dot. Poulin led all players with 16 wins on 22 attempts (72.7%).
Toronto surrendered a power play goal for the first time this season after opening the campaign with eight straight penalty kills.
Montréal outshot Toronto 30-22 and marks the first time in three games this season the Victoire have led the game in shots. The three shots on goal by the Sceptres in the first period is their lowest single period total of the season.
THREE STARS
1. Laura Stacey (MTL) 1G
2. Raygan Kirk (TOR) 27/30 SV
3. Hayley Scamurra (MTL) 1G
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