LAVAL (Interstat) — Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice, including the overtime winner, and the Montreal Victoire beat the Minnesota Frost 3-2 on Jan. 4 in a Professional Women’s Hockey League game at Place Bell. Montreal won in the extra period after Minnesota twice held a one-goal lead and twice saw the Victoire answer. The victory moved Montreal to 5-4, while Minnesota fell to 5-5.

Poulin finished with two goals and an assist, three shots on goal and one hit. Abby Roque had a goal and an assist, five shots on goal and two penalty minutes. Laura Stacey had two assists, seven shots on goal and one hit. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 19 saves on 21 shots for the win. Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield had a goal and an assist and four shots on goal. Natálie Mlýnková added an assist, three shots on goal and one hit for Montreal. Mae Batherson scored for Minnesota on one of her two shots. Taylor Fox had an assist, one shot on goal, two penalty minutes and one hit for the Frost. Kendall Cooper added an assist, two shots on goal and one hit. Montreal’s Kati Tabin had one shot on goal, two penalty minutes and two hits.

Minnesota opened the scoring in the second period. Batherson scored at 1:09, with assists from Coyne Schofield and Cooper. The Frost held the lead through a period that also included a tripping penalty to Minnesota’s Fox at 7:32 and an illegal body checking penalty to Montreal’s Tabin at 12:33. In the first period, Minnesota’s Abby Hustler received a boarding penalty at 12:23, and Montreal’s Shiann Darkangelo was called for hooking at 16:12. The game featured five penalties, three against Montreal and two against Minnesota.

Montreal tied the game at 8:23 of the third period when Poulin scored, assisted by Roque and Stacey. Minnesota regained the lead at 18:10 when Coyne Schofield scored, with assists from Fox and Lee Stecklein. The Victoire answered at 19:31 when Roque scored, assisted by Poulin and Nicole Gosling. Earlier in the third, Roque received a roughing penalty at 5:06. Roque’s late goal forced overtime after Minnesota had taken its second lead of the game.

In overtime, Poulin ended it at 3:22. Stacey and Mlýnková assisted on the winner. Poulin’s second goal capped a three-point game and gave Montreal its first win in four games. Minnesota lost its second straight game after a road loss at Ottawa. Montreal had dropped three straight before the overtime win, falling to New York, Toronto and Seattle. Minnesota had won two of its previous three games before the loss to Montreal. Minnesota entered after a 5-2 loss at Ottawa. Before that, the Frost had beaten Toronto 5-1 and Vancouver 2-1 in overtime. Montreal had lost to New York 4-3, Toronto 2-1 and Seattle 2-1 in its previous three games. The Victoire’s previous win came against Vancouver.

Montreal’s victory was powered by Poulin, whose three points led all skaters. Roque finished with two points, and Stacey had two assists. Desbiens stopped 19 shots in the win. For Minnesota, Coyne Schofield’s two points paced the Frost. Batherson, Fox and Cooper also contributed points. Mlýnková recorded an assist and three shots. Tabin finished with two penalty minutes and two hits. Stacey also had seven shots on goal.

Montreal will next host Vancouver, while Minnesota will host Seattle. Montreal will then host Ottawa and later visit New York. Minnesota will visit New York after hosting Seattle. The teams are scheduled to meet again in Minnesota and Montreal later in the season. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Minnesota with a 52.7 percent probability to win before the game.