Roque Posts Three Points in Victoire Home Opener Against Sirens

The Montreal Victoire had their first home game on November 25 against the New York Sirens. With each team coming off opposite ends of a shutout, all eyes were on goaltending. The Sirens had won their season opener against the Ottawa Charge 4-0 and the Victoire had lost theirs 2-0 against the Boston Fleet. 

Each team relied on their goaltenders from the previous games: Kayle Osborne in net for the Sirens and Ann-Renee Desbiens in for the Victoire. 

A notable moment in the opening moments of the game was seeing Abby Roque face-off against her former team. Roque tallied 30 points with the Sirens over two seasons and could absolutely have been called a star player for the team. Roque would go on to score three points in her first matchup against her former team in the game. 

The Victoire started Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Roque, Kelly Ann Nadeau, and Erin Ambrose. The Sirens started Paetyn Levis, Kristin O’Neill, Kristyna Kaltounkova, Micah Zandee-Hart, and Maja Nylen Persson. 

The Victoire came out of the gate hot, immediately getting shots on Osborne. All of the pressure from Montreal drew a penalty: two-minutes for holding on Kayla Vespa. The Victoire were unable to convert on the advantage. 

After the penalty kill, the Sirens were able to force some shots on Desbiens, but struggled to maintain much pressure. A two-minute cross checking penalty on Hayley Scamurra allowed the Sirens a few more shots, to no avail though. 

The Victoire continued to pressure the Sirens through the first, but could not get the puck past Osborne. 

A late penalty against Levis in the first gave the Victoire a power play to start the second. Just 30 seconds in, a play from Roque to Ambrose found Natalie Mlynkova’s stick for her first career goal and the first goal of the game. 

The Sirens took the momentum back after the goal, though they were unsuccessful in maintaining pressure for long. To make matters worse, at 7:50, Jamie Bourbonnais was sent to the box for kneeing. Just as the penalty expired, Allyson Simpson was sent off for boarding. 

At the end of the second, Poulin scored off a pass from Stacey. Yet another opportunity to remind Marcus that they’re married. 

The Sirens were not content to stay silenced though and started the period by peppering Desbiens with shots. About halfway through the period, Jessica DiGirolamo was sent to the box for an illegal body check, but the Sirens could not convert.

Back at full strength, Roque scored her first of the night, giving the Victoire a three-goal lead. And, with just over four minutes remaining, Osborne skated off the ice, adding an extra attacker for the visiting team. 

The effort was unsuccessful, with Maggie Flaherty scoring an empty netter with ten seconds remaining. 

The Victoire earned their first win of the season in stellar fashion in front of their home crowd.