Playing in her hometown, Ann-Sophie Bettez scored in a shootout to lift the Montreal Force to a 4-3 win over the Connecticut Whale Saturday afternoon in a shootout in Sept-Iles, Quebec, in Premier Hockey Federation action.
Montreal tied the game with 2:28 left in regulation on Catherine Daoust’s first goal of the season to force overtime. The two teams played a scoreless five-minute OT session before going to a shootout.
Bettez was the only skater to score in the shootout with her shot dribbling past Connecticut goalie Meeri Räisänen, who stopped the initial shot. The Force won the shootout, 1-0. Montreal goalie Tricia Deguire stopped all three shots to secure the win for the home team and improve to 3-0 on the season.
Connecticut (0-2) was playing in their first game in a month. Their last game was on Nov. 4 against Boston and a two-game series against Buffalo in mid-November was snowed out.
The two teams will conclude the two-game series on Sunday at noon with a game in Sept-Illes. It will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Connecticut’s Kennedy Marchment had a goal and an assist but it wasn’t enough in a 4-3 loss to Montreal in a shootout Saturday.
Despite being outshot in the first period, Connecticut took a 2-0 lead. Janka Hlinka scored a short-handed goal off a pass from Tori Sullivan with 9:44 left in the first period before Taylor Girard scored with 2:57 off a beautiful pass from Kennedy Marchment.
The Force battled back in the second period with a pair of goals from Kristina Shanahan and Christine Deaudelin.
Connecticut took a 3-2 lead with 15:47 remaining in the game when Marchment tipped in a crossing pass from Girard for her first goal of the season. Marchment and Girard each had a goal and assist for the Whale.
But Connecticut made life difficult for themselves by taking numerous penalties throughout the game (eight). In the third period, the Whale were called for three penalties and although Connecticut was able to keep Montreal from scoring on the power play, it was draining for the Whale as Montreal kept the puck in the Connecticut zone for an extended period of time.
Daoust’s goal came after the Whale couldn’t clear the zone and she blasted a shot into the upper corner of the net to tie the game at 3-3 with 2:28 remaining.
HOMECOMING: It is the second of six home weekends for the Force to showcase professional women’s hockey across the province of Québec to celebrate their inaugural season takes us to Sept-Îles, which is French for Seven-Islands.
Located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, the town is over 500 driving miles from Montreal and one of the northernmost locales in the province’s eastern region with a population around 25,000. It’s the hometown of Force captain Ann-Sophie Bettez who expects to have close to 30 family and friends in attendance. Perhaps a fitting visit for Connecticut, since the bay of Sept-Îles can often be home to marine life such as minke whales, fin whales, blue whales, and humpback whales.
Montreal 4, Connecticut 3, shootout
At Sept-Iles, Quebec
Connecticut (0-2) 2 0 1 0 — 3
Montreal (3-2) 0 2 1 1 — 4
First period
Connecticut 1, Janka Hlinka (Tori Sullivan), 13:11 (sh); Connecticut 2, Taylor Girard (Kennedy Marchment), 17:03, Penalties: Emma Keenan (CT) tripping, 4:43; Tori Sullivan (CT) slashing, 16:03
Second period
Montreal 1, Kristina Shanahan (Taylor Baker), 3:13; Montreal 2, Christine Deaudelin (Baker), 18:55 (pp); Penalties: Allie Munroe (CT) tripping, 4:43; Jade Downie-Landry (M), body checking, 15:26; Justine Reyes (CT) delay of game, 17:11; Emma Keenan (CT), holding, 18:52
Third period
Connecticut 3, Kennedy Marchment (Girard), 4:10; Montreal 3, Catherine Daoust (Bridgitte Laganiere, Catherine Dubois); Penalties: Lenka Serdar (CT) tripping, 7:51; Melissa Samoskevich (CT) hooking, 12:08 (major); Tori Howran (CT) body checking, 14:05
Overtime
No scoring. Penalties: none
Shootout
Connecticut: Justine Reyes, Katerina Mrazova, Kennedy Marchment; Montreal: Jade Downie-Landry, Kim Deschenes, Ann-Sophie Bettez (goal)
Shots: Montreal 26 (7-9-7-3), Connecticut 19 (3-8-4-4)
Power play: Montreal 1-8, Connecticut 0-1
Goalies: Connecticut, Meeri Räisänen (L, 0-1) 26 shots, 23 saves; Montreal, Tricia Deguire (W, 3-0) 19 shots, 16 saves
Premier Hockey Federation standings, Dec. 3, 2022
| Team | W-L-OT | Pts | RW | OTW | SOW |
| Boston | 5-1 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Toronto | 4-1-1 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Montreal | 3-2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Metropolitan | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 1-2-2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Buffalo | 1-0-1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 0-1-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Points: Three points for a win in regulation, two points for an OT or shootout win; one point for loss in OT or shootout | |||||
| Saturday, Dec. 3 Montreal 4, Connecticut 3, shootout Minnesota 4, Metropolitan 3 Sunday, Dec. 4 Connecticut at Montreal, noon Metropolitan at Minnesota, 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 Minnesota at Connecticut (Simsbury), 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 Minnesota at Connecticut (Simsbury), 2 p.m. Metropolitan at Toronto, 2 p.m. Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 Boston at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Metropolitan at Toronto, 2 p.m. |
|||||
