Conneticut’s Alyssa Wohlfeiler (8) had her first goal of the season Sunday at the Whale beat Montreal for their first win, 3-2. (Alexandre Caputo photo courtesy Montreal Force)
League MVP Kennedy Marchment flipped a goal over the shoulder of Montreal goalie Tricia Deguire with 5:43 left in the third period to lift the Connecticut Whale to their first victory of the season with a 3-2 win over the Force in Sept-Iles, Quebec, in Premier Hockey Federation play on Sunday afternoon.
Montreal (3-3) had tied the game at 2-2 with 6:30 remaining with a shot from Kaity Howarth that was stopped by Whale goalie Abbie Ives but it just trickled through her pads and over the end line.
On Saturday, the Force tied the game with 2:28 left in regulation and eventually won the game in a shootout.
But on Sunday, Connecticut withstood a late surge from the Force to earn their first victory of the season. Ives made 35 saves in net to lead Connecticut (1-1-1).
The Whale will play their first game in their new home in Simsbury at the International Skating Center on Friday when they host the Minnesota Whitecaps at 7 p.m.
Connecticut took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Emma Keenan zipped past a pair of Montreal defenders and hit a shot that hit the post and bounced into the net off the back of Deguire.
Montreal tied the game with 15:41 gone in the second period on a goal from Sarah Lefort but the Whale moved ahead when Alyssa Wohlfeider got her first goal of the season a pretty 2-on-1 break with Taylor Girard with 10:15 left in the second period.
Connecticut’s lead line of Marchment, Girard and Wohlfeiler had a hand in four of the Whale’s six goals in the two-game series with the Force.
Connecticut 3, Montreal 2
At Sept-Illes, Quebec
Connecticut (1-1-1) 1 1 1 — 3
Montreal (3-3) 0 1 1 — 2
First period
Connecticut 1, Emma Keenan, 13:14; Penalties: Hannah Bates (CT), hooking, 7:28; Allie Munroe (CT), holding, 19:21
Second period
Montreal 1, Sarah Lefort (Jade-Downie-Landry, Ann-Sophie Bettez), 4:20; Connecticut 2, Alyssa Wohlfeiler (Taylor Girard, Tori Howran), 9:45; Penalties: Jade Downie-Landry (M) hooking, 0:27; Katerina Mrazova (CT), hooking, 16:50
Third period
Montreal 2, Kaity Howarth (Gabrielle DeSerres), Connecticut 3, Kennedy Marchment (Wohlfeiler, Mallory Souliotis), 14:19; Penalties: Taylor Baker (M), interference, 4:28
Shots: Montreal 37 (6-18-13), Connecticut 33 (12-14-7); Power play: Connecticut 0-2, Montreal 0-3
Goalies: Connecticut, Abbie Ives (W, 1-0-1) 37 saves, 35 saves; Montreal, Tricia Deguire (L, 3-1), 33 shots, 30 saves
Premier Hockey Federation standings, Dec. 4, 2022
| Team | W-L-OT | Pts | RW | OTW | SOW |
| Boston | 5-1 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Toronto | 4-1-1 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 2-2-2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Montreal | 3-2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Metropolitan | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Buffalo | 1-0-1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 1-1-1 | 4 | 1 | 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 3, Montreal 2 Minnesota 4, Metropolitan 1 |
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| 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. |
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