LAVAL, Quebec — In an unforgettable playoff marathon, Montreal Victoire’s forward, Catherine Dubois, became the hero after what seemed like an endless game of almost seven periods and six hours of relentless hockey. Surprisingly, she admits she barely remembers scoring the decisive goal.
Dubois found the back of the net at 15:33 in the fourth overtime, receiving a pass from Kristin O’Neill at the left circle and sending a wrist shot past Ottawa’s goaltender, Gwyneth Philips. This goal secured a thrilling 3-2 victory for Montreal Victoire against Ottawa in Game 2 of their Professional Women’s Hockey League semifinal held on Sunday night.
This epic encounter set a new record for the longest professional women’s hockey game in North America, surpassing the Canadian Women’s Hockey League semifinal on March 18, 2018. The previous record for the PWHL’s longest was also set between Montreal and Boston exactly a year ago.
Dubois expressed her disbelief at the extraordinary moment, saying, “I blacked out. I don’t really remember what happened, I just remember the girls coming towards me. We dealt with the opposite last year and it hurt, so I’m really happy we came away with the win.”
This historic victory not only leveled the best-of-five PWHL series at 1-1 but also marked the first playoff win in the history of the Victoire team.
Montreal’s coach, Kori Cheverie, remarked on the psychological impact of the win, “With a win it does give us a little bit of momentum. I think Ottawa came into playoffs believing in their group, and belief is a powerful tool. I think that tonight, we took a little bit of that belief in our room.”
The extended game duration led to some unique strategies. Ottawa’s team relied on packets of mustard to combat cramping, while both teams utilized pickles and pickle juice for the same purpose during the six intermissions. With the game stretching beyond expectations, Montreal’s nutritionist ensured the team was fueled with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and smoothies. Players noted the long gap since their last meal at 10 a.m.
Kristin O’Neill contributed both a goal and an assist in the game, while Laura Stacey also added her name to the scoresheet for Montreal. Defender Anna Wilgren provided two assists, with Ann-Renee Desbiens stopping an impressive 63 shots.
Desbiens commented on the team’s perseverance, “If your team keeps doing the right things, like we did today, especially in overtime, eventually we’re going to get one. I had to make sure that I made the saves so that the girls could have what they worked so hard for all game long.”
Ottawa fought valiantly to erase a 2-0 deficit with two goals in the final moments of regulation. Brianne Jenner evened the score with just 41.8 seconds left, forcing the match into overtime after the Charge had removed their goaltender for an extra attacker.
Jenner’s performance included both a tying goal and an assist, with teammate Aneta Tejralova also scoring for the Charge. Gwyneth Philips, Ottawa’s goaltender, was solid with 53 saves.
The drama intensified in the first overtime period as both teams had five-on-three power plays but couldn’t convert those advantages into goals.
Montreal first scored just 2:25 into the game thanks to a goal from O’Neill, marking her first in the postseason. Ottawa responded only with 4:34 left in the third period to finally get on the board.
Reflecting on the team’s resilience, Ottawa defender Jocelyne Larocque said, “We have such belief in each other, and we could tell that Gwen felt a little bit down, and I think we really wanted to play for her and not have that be what the result was. She even thanked us after the game for getting us back to being tied. It’s so great to be a part of, and I love this team.”
Looking ahead, the series returns to Ottawa for Game 3 on Tuesday evening at TD Place. Ottawa’s coach Carla MacLeod is eager for the fans’ support in the upcoming game, “We know we have an opponent that is a great team, a great opponent. No stone will be left unturned from either side, but we’ll be really, really excited to get back to Ottawa and go play in front of our fans and see what that brings for us.”