Poulin has goal and assist as Victoire beat Sceptres 3-1

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MONTREAL (AP) — Marie-Philip Poulin had a goal and an assist to lead the Montreal Victoire to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Sceptres on Tuesday night.

Jennifer Gardiner and Laura Stacey also scored for Montreal, which snapped a two-game skid. Ann-Renee Desbiens finished with 24 saves.

Jesse Compher scored her eighth of the season for Toronto, and Kristen Campbell had 21 saves. The Sceptres had won six straight.

With 4:54 left in the second period, Cayla Barnes chipped the puck to Poulin, who created space and fired a shot off the post and in to give Montreal a 2-1 lead. It was her league-leading 12th goal and league-leading fifth game-winning goal.

Desbiens made a point-blank save on Natalie Spooner in the final minute. The puck was cleared and Stacey won a foot race to negate the icing and seal the win with an empty-netter.

Toronto opened the scoring 4:10 into the game on its first shot on goal. After a turnover in the offensive zone, Renata Fast started a 3-on-2 going the other way and Compher scored with a wrist shot past Desbiens for her eighth of the season, and fourth against the Victoire in four games.

Montreal tied it early in the second as Poulin won a board battle for the puck and passed it to Stacey, who quickly got the puck to Gardiner at the side of the net for a one-timer past Campbell.

Toronto was without the PWHL’s leading scorer Hannah Miller. The team said she is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Sceptres: Entering a week off and without Miller, Toronto failed to score a power-play goal for the first time in 10 games.

Victoire: Montreal’s top line of Gardiner, Stacey and Poulin combined for three goals on 11 shots.

After Desbiens stopped Spooner in the final minute, the puck was cleared leading to Stacey’s empty-net goal.

Montreal’s game-winning goal was Gardiner’s fourth goal of the season and Stacey and Poulin both recorded their fourth assists on the play at 4:01 of the period.

The Sceptres host Montreal on March 6, and the Victoire host Boston on Saturday.

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AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey