SAINT PAUL (Interstat) — Ann-Renée Desbiens made 27 saves, and Hayley Scamurra scored once and assisted on another goal as the Montreal Victoire defeated the Minnesota Frost 2-1 on May 7 at Grand Casino Arena in a Professional Women’s Hockey League playoff game. The victory gave Montreal a 2-1 lead in the series after Game 3. Montreal, the visiting team, improved to 24-9. Minnesota, the home team, fell to 17-16.

Minnesota opened the scoring at 3:22 of the first period when Sidney Morin scored, with assists from Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein. Morin recorded three shots. Minnesota led 1-0 after the first period. The teams split the first two games of the series, with Minnesota winning the opener in overtime and Montreal taking Game 2 in triple overtime. Montreal had several first-period penalties, including Dara Greig for boarding at 11:27, Lina Ljungblom for tripping at 12:55, and Amanda Boulier for roughing at 14:26. Taylor Fox of Minnesota received a roughing penalty on the same play as Boulier. Lee Stecklein was called for holding at 12:19. Montreal’s penalty kill kept Minnesota from adding to its lead during those first-period power plays, and the Frost carried a one-goal advantage into the first intermission.

Montreal responded in the second period. Maggie Flaherty tied the game at 4:36, with Scamurra assisting. Flaherty finished with one goal, four shots, two penalty minutes, and one hit. Scamurra then scored at 5:00 to put Montreal ahead 2-1, and that goal held up as the winner. Scamurra finished with one goal, one assist, and two shots. The swing came less than a minute after Flaherty’s goal, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. Montreal killed off an Alexandra Labelle roughing penalty at 8:01 and a Catherine Dubois boarding penalty at 17:25 in the second period. Minnesota could not answer before the second intermission.

Desbiens kept Minnesota off the scoreboard the rest of the way. She stopped 27 of 28 shots. Minnesota’s best chances came from Morin, who had three shots, and Kendall Coyne Schofield, who had one assist and two shots. Lee Stecklein added one assist, one shot, two penalty minutes, and one hit. Britta Curl-Salemme recorded two hits. For Montreal, Shiann Darkangelo had one shot and one hit, and Kaitlin Willoughby had one hit. Dara Greig also had one shot and two penalty minutes. The Frost pushed for a tying goal in the third period but could not beat Desbiens again.

The third period featured more penalties. Minnesota was called for too many players 28 seconds into the period. Montreal’s Nicole Gosling was sent off for tripping at 3:43 and again at 6:56. Maggie Flaherty received a delay-of-game penalty at 19:41. Montreal’s penalty kill protected the one-goal lead, and Minnesota could not find an equalizer. Montreal was whistled for eight penalties in the game, while Minnesota was called for three. The Frost finished with one goal on 28 shots, while Montreal scored twice and held on through a late Minnesota push.

The win gives Montreal a 2-1 series lead. The Victoire lead 2-1 and will remain in Saint Paul for Game 4. Minnesota will try to even the series on home ice. Montreal’s record now stands at 24-9, while Minnesota is 17-16. The Victoire have won two of the first three games in the series.

Interstat’s ELO system had projected Montreal with a 51.2 percent probability to win before the game. That projection was part of the pregame data and gave the Victoire a slight edge in the simulation. It was the only projection information available for the game.