Victoire clinch playoff spot, set PWHL point streak record in win over Goldeneyes

Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens (35) deflects the puck as Victoire's Jessica DiGirolamo (22) defends against Vancouver Goldeneyes' Jenn Gardiner (12) during second period PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., Wednesday, April 1, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The Montreal Victoire are playoff-bound again in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

They’re also surging with the post-season on the horizon – and doing it without their most valuable player.

Hayley Scamurra scored twice and Ann-Renée Desbiens made 18 saves as the Victoire blanked the Vancouver Goldeneyes 3-0 on Wednesday night, extending their point streak to a league-record 12 games.

“I’m really proud of this group,” coach Kori Cheverie said. “We’ve done it through a lot of adversity, through a lot of injuries, and it just seems like whoever we put on the ice and put in the lineup, they’re able to get it done for us.

“That’s a gritty team. That’s a team that plays with character.”

The Victoire (13-4-2-5), second in the eight-team PWHL with six regular-season games remaining, are 4-0-1-0 since captain Marie-Philip Poulin exited a 4-3 overtime loss to Boston with a lower-body injury on March 15.

The 12-game run has also included eight straight contests without top defender Erin Ambrose, who returned in a limited role Wednesday.

“It really shows the depth that this team has,” said Desbiens, who recorded her sixth shutout of the season. “Important pieces can be out of our lineup, but we still manage to get points, to fight, to be difficult to play against. It helped us to break that record, and we take a lot of pride in that.”

Laura Stacey, who assisted on both of Scamurra’s goals to give her six points in five games without Poulin, highlighted contributions from across the lineup.

Catherine Dubois jumped from 13th forward to first-line winger in recent games, scoring four goals in a four-game stretch. On Wednesday, Scamurra slotted in as the top-line centre after beginning the season on the wing.

“We can’t do her job. None of us can. She’s the best player in the world for a reason,” Stacey said of Poulin. “But what we can do is find a way to show up and be the best version of us every night. If we do that, then that void or that irreplaceable spot gets a little bit smaller.”

Montreal didn’t clinch in style, grinding out a win in a physical, low-event game marked by disjointed play and missed power-play opportunities.

Scamurra finally broke the deadlock 8:28 into the third period. Stacey found her alone in the slot to give Montreal a lead it never surrendered after Desbiens held the pressing Goldeneyes off the board in a sluggish second period for the Victoire.

“They’re fighting for their lives in the playoffs and we were fighting, we knew what was on the line and we really wanted to clinch tonight, so it was a pretty physical battle,” Stacey said. “We talked about it in the room, at the end of the day good teams find a way to win and that’s exactly what we did.”

The Victoire will head to the post-season for a third straight year after back-to-back semifinal exits as the higher seed.

Stacey said “consistency” and “playing 60 minutes,” unlike Wednesday’s effort, is the key to being playoff-ready as Montreal looks to reverse its fortunes this year.

“We want to keep improving, keep taking steps forward, building that chemistry with different players so that when we get into the playoffs and we get in those tough battles, we’re ready,” she said. “Continuously getting better versus taking our foot off the gas.”

Cheverie, meanwhile, is focused on player recovery and getting her players to “100 per cent” once the calendar flips to May.

“There’s a lot of players on every team who play the season that are not at 100 per cent, and so we have to manage those,” she said. “We have to give people the time that they need. We still have to keep them sharp as well. We want to be sharp for playoffs.

“But we’ll do our best to continue to win every game that we’re in because I think that mentally sets us up for success too.”

Poulin remains on long-term injured reserve until at least Sunday.


This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.