On Sunday, January 5^th, 2025, the PWHL Takeover Tour would commence with hockey’s best international rivalry would take to a new stage at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. For the second time in seven days. The standings have not changed much for the Boston Fleet and the Montréal Victoire except for the gap between them, as the Victoire now sit 6 points above the last place Fleet with a game in hand. Claire Dalton starred for the Victoire in the last meeting between these two teams as Montréal triumphed in that contest by a score of 3-1. The only new roster absence for this game would be Kelly Babstock sitting for Boston on the heels of a one-game suspension for a crosscheck in the team’s most recent game against the Minnesota Frost. In goal, both teams would look to their incumbent starters: Ann-Renée Desbiens for Montreal and Aerin Frankel for Boston.

               The opening five minutes offered the same trend of most PWHL games as both teams attempted to establish their systems. Early, Marie-Philip Poulin had a good set up for Lina Ljungblom, but Ljungblom couldn’t finish it. Jamie Lee Rattray had a pair of partial breakaway opportunities that she couldn’t finish, with the second look setting up a fantastic Sophie Shirley chance in tight, but Desbiens was excellent in denying her. Emily Brown would then trip Maureen Murphy to give the Victoire their first woman advantage of the game. 45 seconds into the power play, Jennifer Gardiner would rip a shot intentionally wide from the point, and Laura Stacey would waste no time capitalizing on the favorable bounce off the wall to get Montréal out to an early 1-0 lead. Both teams would have a bit of back-and-forth before the midway mark in the frame. Daniela Pejsova had a tough turnover to Ljungblom playing on her weak side in her defensive zone, but Montréal was unable to use it to extend their early lead. The Fleet had a sequence of decent chances in the thirteenth minute that they could not finish, but did lead to Kristin O’Neill taking a penalty for slashing to give the Fleet their first power play of the game. The Fleet had a quality look on a shot from Hilary Knight but were otherwise unable to generate any other chances or a goal. In the sixteenth minute, Susanna Tapani would lose possession of the puck in tight in front of Frankel, O’Neill would tap the freed puck over to Abby Boreen who, uncovered, would beat a laterally moving Frankel to extend the Victoire lead to 2-0. The period would run out after this with neither team having another high-quality chance.

               The opening four minutes of the second period saw a decent amount of energy from both sides, with Boreen having the Victoire’s best look and Bilka having Boston’s. Over the next three minutes, the Victoire would generate two quality scoring looks against Boston, but Frankel was able to keep the net clean. Subsequently, Megan Keller would draw an interference call on Maureen Murphy to bring the Fleet back to the power play. This was another underwhelming advantage for Boston, with the most notable play being a blocked shot by Montréal’s Mariah Keopple. Just past the midway point in the period, the Fleet would get two strokes of luck from the Victoire. In the eleventh minute, the Victoire would get caught for a too many players on the ice penalty, and Anna Wilgren would get caught for a hook twenty seconds into the Boston advantage to give them a 5-on-3. 40 seconds later, Hannah Bilka would score to draw the Fleet within one but would subsequently take a tripping penalty 14 seconds later. On the ensuing Montréal power play Poulin ripped an absurd shot through a double wall screen that beat Frankel clean, but luckily for the Fleet, struck the post and would be covered up by Emma Greco to prevent a rebound opportunity. The Fleet would take control of both possession and pace of play for the majority of the last five minutes of the period, but aside from an Alina Müller shot through a thick screen that Desbiens caught at the last second, the Fleet did not create anything substantial in the timeframe. With just over a minute remaining in the period, Stacey would have an incredible release against Frankel but would ring it hard off the post.  

               Boston would have the first decent look of the third period as Shay Maloney would successfully get an uncontested puck to the Montréal net front, but Desbiens would give her Müller nothing. In the third minute of the period Tapani would get called for an interference penalty that would bring Montréal back to the power play. Stacey would have a solid look early in the advantage, but Frankel stood tall and kept the score the same. Rattray would make a terrible drop pass in the Montréal zone at the end of the power play that allowed the Victoire a 4-on-1 opportunity on the forecheck; however, Frankel prevented any damage from being done. As the period approached the midpoint, both teams were exchanging possessions in both zones, but neither team generated anything high danger in the time frame. In the eleventh minute, Murphy would return to the penalty box for Montréal for a trip to put the Fleet back on the power play. 22 seconds into the advantage, Megan Keller would through a shot into traffic and Tapani would tip the puck by Desbiens to tie the game at 2. The next five minutes of the period would see both teams struggling to establish their systems to find the go-ahead goal. The final five minutes would see both teams playing conservatively along the wall to try to create chance without risking too much the other way. Rattray manufactured a break away look with less than one minute left in the period but was unable to beat Desbiens. Behind the play, Poulin would take a boarding penalty in the corner, which would give the Fleet a power play with 12 seconds remaining in regulation. Pelkey had a great look with 2 seconds left, but Desbiens would not allow the Fleet to pick up the regulation win.

Boston would carry their power play into the overtime period, so the 5-minute overtime started as a 4-on-3. Stacey would beat Keller 1-on-1 to give herself a breakaway in the overtime period, but was unable to get the puck over the goal line. Brandt and Rattray would have a 2-on-1 the other way, but Brandt was couldn’t get the initial shot or rebound past Desbiens. Barnes would have an excellent look alongside Stacey, but would once again be unable to beat Frankel to win the game. Müller would have an incredible look on a one-timer in the closing thirty-seconds, but could not be Desbiens to end the game. In the shootout, Boston would net 3 goals to the Victoire’s 1 to pick up the victory.

               Overall, this game was far more compelling and competitive than the last contest between these two teams. The Victoire continue to see Abby Boreen’s emergence as a star in this league alongside Poulin and Stacey. Additionally, with every game I watch from them, Cayla Barnes takes on more responsibilities in both the offensive and defensive zones, which will keep Erin Ambrose fresher later into the season, and greatly improve the team’s potential. For Boston, they continue to be over reliant on their three leading scorers, and as much as Bilka is developing into a high-end option in their forward group, they need more from the forwards who don’t play with Knight and Tapani. Despite the criticism, Keller is effectively inserting herself into the league MVP race, and has been the most impactful defender in the league by a wide margin so far this season, partially because of her talent, but also by necessity, as the Fleet are still disorganized in how to best use the other six defenders they dress every night.