LAVAL (Interstat) — Marie-Philip Poulin scored in the third period and Ann-Renée Desbiens made 25 saves as Montreal Victoire defeated Minnesota Frost 2-1 on May 12 at Place Bell to win Game 5 of their Professional Women’s Hockey League playoff series. Montreal took the series 3-2 and ended Minnesota’s season. The Victoire improved to 25-10. The Frost finished 18-17. Montreal was the home team, while Minnesota was the visitor. The Victoire advanced after winning the deciding game of the playoff series. The game was the fifth and final game of the series. Montreal’s series win came on home ice. Montreal’s victory ended Minnesota’s playoff run.

Montreal opened the scoring in the first period when Catherine Dubois scored at 12:18, with Poulin assisting. Minnesota answered in the second when Samantha Cogan scored at 8:15, with Abby Hustler and Britta Curl-Salemme drawing assists. Montreal’s Nicole Gosling was called for tripping at 16:11 of the second, but the Victoire killed the penalty. In the third, Minnesota’s Élizabeth Giguère received a hooking penalty at 2:29. Poulin scored 37 seconds later, with Erin Ambrose and Gosling assisting, to give Montreal the lead for good. Desbiens and the Victoire defense held off the Frost the rest of the way. Montreal’s winning goal came during the power play created by Giguère’s penalty. The Frost could not find an equalizer after Poulin’s strike.

Desbiens was Montreal’s top star after stopping 25 of 26 shots. She earned the win in net for Montreal and helped the Victoire protect the lead. Poulin finished with one goal, one assist and one shot, pacing Montreal’s offense. Dubois had one goal, one shot and one hit after opening the scoring. Cogan led the Frost with one goal, three shots and one hit, providing Minnesota’s only tally. Curl-Salemme contributed one assist and two hits, while Hustler added one assist, one shot and one hit, each helping set up Cogan’s goal.

Kendall Cooper recorded three shots for Minnesota. Laura Stacey had two shots and one hit for Montreal. Gosling finished with one assist, one shot, two penalty minutes and one hit. Kaitlin Willoughby put four shots on goal for the Victoire. Montreal’s Desbiens made several saves as the Victoire protected the one-goal margin. The Frost’s Cogan, Curl-Salemme and Hustler were among the Minnesota players who generated chances.

Montreal’s victory came after Minnesota evened the series with a 3-1 home win in Game 4. The Frost had taken a 5-4 overtime win in Game 1, and the Victoire answered with a 1-0 triple-overtime win in Game 2. Montreal then won Game 3 by a 2-1 score before Minnesota forced Game 5. The deciding game remained tight until Poulin’s third-period goal, and Desbiens made the lead stand. Montreal had also won the most recent regular-season meeting between the teams by a 3-0 score. The teams had split the first four games of the playoff series before Game 5.

Minnesota finished its season with 18 wins and 17 losses. Montreal moved to 25 wins and 10 losses. The Victoire will continue their playoff schedule. Montreal is scheduled to host Ottawa Charge in its next playoff series. The teams are also set to meet again at Montreal. Montreal is then scheduled to visit Ottawa. Those games follow the Victoire’s series win over the Frost. The next round will begin with Ottawa at Montreal.

Interstat’s ELO system had projected Montreal with a 56.3 percent probability to win before the game. The projection preceded Montreal’s one-goal victory and series-clinching performance. The Victoire will move on to the next round of the playoffs.