Desbiens Records Fifth Shutout as Montréal Defeats Minnesota 3-0
PWHL Montreal Victoire

Desbiens Records Fifth Shutout as Montréal Defeats Minnesota 3-0

Published on March 26, 2026 under Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL)
Montreal Victoire News Release


ST. PAUL, MN - Ann-Renée Desbiens' stellar season continued on Wednesday, making 21 saves for her fifth shutout of the campaign to lead Montréal to a 3-0 win over Minnesota at Grand Casino Arena. Catherine Dubois scored the game-winner late in the second period, while Hayley Scamurra and Lina Ljungblom added third-period goals for the Victoire. After a scoreless first in which the teams combined for just 11 shots, Montréal came out strong in the second, outshooting Minnesota 12-6 in the frame. Dubois finally broke the deadlock with 41 seconds remaining in the period, with a blast from the high slot, capitalizing on a turnover in the Frost zone. Scamurra doubled the lead at 5:03 of the third with a net-front goal, her third of the season. Ljungblom extended the advantage to 3-0 midway through the final frame with her third tally of the season with a top-shelf snapshot over Maddie Rooney's blocker. Desbiens stopped nine shots in the third period to secure her 13th win of the season. Rooney made 25 saves in the loss, her first regulation defeat since Jan. 3.

With the win, Montréal moved into second place, one point ahead of Minnesota, which dropped to third in the PWHL standings.

QUOTES ‚

Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie on the team's success against the Frost: "Minnesota is always a really competitive game for us. They have team speed, and it's something that we certainly focus on in terms of: how do we slow a team down that has that much team speed, and that much team depth. They're a team that wins hockey games, and we seem to rise to the occasion, and especially in this building."

Montréal goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens on the team played in front of her: "It was a really a big team effort from every single player out there. I thought we kept working hard. And when you wear a team down after two, three periods, sometimes it takes a little longer to get rewarded with goals. But obviously Dubois had a nice shot on that goal. Lina [Ljungblom], Hayley Scamurra, all [players] that always work so hard, so it was nice to see them rewarded with goals tonight. And obviously that gave us a lot of confidence. We did such a good job defensively at taking their time and space away, being physical when we needed it, and taking their opportunities."

Frost Head Coach Ken Klee on the result of tonight's game: "I think either team was looking for a break or a bounce, and they got theirs right at the end of the second [period] which I think gave them some momentum. We weren't as sharp as we'd like to be, but they're a good hockey team. We've been on a good role, and we're going to have one of those every now and then. Now we have a couple of good days of practice and reset for Sunday."

Frost Alternate Captain Lee Stecklein on overall thoughts of the game: "I think like [Coach Ken Klee] said, we weren't at our sharpest. I'm proud of us for continuing to stick to it. We really just couldn't find a way to get as much going as we were used to, but always something to learn from the game, and that's what we'll have to do from here."

NOTABLES ‚ ‚

Montréal wins the season series against Minnesota 10-2 in points - winning all four contests - with two regulation victories and two overtime wins. This is the first season series in which the Frost did not win at least one game against an opponent.

The Victoire became just the second team in PWHL history to record a 10-game point streak, boasting a 6-2-2-0 record since defeating the Frost in overtime on Jan. 21. They are one game shy of the league record of 11 straight games with a point set by Toronto in the inaugural season.

Montréal has scored at least three goals in eight of their last nine games and are 9-2-1-1 when scoring three or more goals this season.

Minnesota, with the league's highest scoring offense, was shut out for just the second time this season, both times against Montréal. The only Frost losses since Jan. 4 have come against the Victoire, going 7-2-0-0 against all other teams and scoring at least three goals in all nine games in that stretch.

The Frost lost their first game at Grand Casino Arena since falling to the Victoire on Jan. 21, snapping a four-game streak which was tied for the longest in team history at the primary home venue. This was also the first time in nine games on home ice in which they conceded more than two goals against.

The crowd of 6,803 helped make PWHL history tonight with the league surpassing 2 million fans all-time since launching on Jan. 1, 2024. The milestone was officially surpassed during the Takeover Tour game in Chicago, which started an hour later, bringing the league's total attendance to 2,001,975 in 275 games, including playoffs.

Ann-Renée Desbiens recorded her fifth shutout of the season and second straight against Minnesota following a 4-0 win on March 1. She sits second in shutouts behind Aerin Frankel (6) and is tied with the Boston netminder in save percentage (.952), while leading all goaltenders in goals-against average (1.21).

Maddie Rooney saw her seven-game win streak come to an end with tonight's loss. Her last defeat was on Jan. 4, in overtime against Montréal, which also marked the last time she allowed three or more goals against. Her last regulation loss was on Jan. 3 vs. Ottawa.

Catherine Dubois scored her second goal - and point - of the season, in her 16th game. The tally was her second in her last three games after going goalless in her first fourteen games of the season. The veteran forward also reached the 10-goal mark in her regular-season career with the marker, doing so in 61 games played across three seasons with Montréal.

Hayley Scamurra notched her third goal of the season in her 22nd game, reaching 10 points for the second time in her career, which ties her career high, previously set during the PWHL's inaugural season in 24 games with Ottawa. The U.S. Olympian also matched a career high with seven shots on goal, a mark she has now reached four times (previous three in 2024).

Lina Ljungblom now has three goals in 13 games this season, tying the mark she had in 2024-25 in 29 games, and climbing to 10 career points. The Swedish forward also fired a season-high three shots on goal in the contest.

Nicole Gosling recorded an assist, hitting the scoresheet for the second straight game and fourth time in her last five contests (1G, 4A). The rookie defender, who led all Montréal skaters in the game with 23:14 TOI, sits third in scoring among rookie blueliners with 11 points (2G, 9A) in 22 games played.

Kati Tabin had the lone assist on Ljungblom's tally, reaching double-digit points (2G, 8A) in a season for the first time in her PWHL career. The Victoire rearguard is now just one point shy of reaching 25 career regular-season points, a mark eight defenders have reached so far in league history.

Skylar Irving notched her fourth assist for her sixth point of the season. The Victoire rookie forward also played a season-high 17:05 TOI, surpassing her previous high of 13:39, set just last game (March 22 vs. OTT).

Kelly Pannek and Britta Curl-Salemme each had their five-game point streaks come to an end tonight. Despite being held off the scoresheet, the Frost forwards remain in a three-way tie with teammate Taylor Heise atop the PWHL leaderboard with 22 points apiece.

Nadia Mattivi made her PWHL debut with Montréal after signing a Standard Player Agreement on March 23. The defender, who served as captain for Team Italy at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, played 8:34 with one shot on goal in her debut.

THREE STARS ‚

1. ‚ Ann-Renée Desbiens (21/21 SV, SO)

2. ‚ Hayley Scamurra (1G, 7S)

3. ‚ Cartherine Dubois (1G)

STANDINGS ‚

Montréal: ‚ 43 ‚ PTS (11-4-2-5) - ‚ 2nd ‚ Place

Minnesota: ‚ 42 ‚ PTS (11-3-3-5) - ‚ 3rd ‚ Place ‚

UPCOMING SCHEDULES ‚

Montréal: Saturday, Mar. 28 vs. New York at 1 p.m. ET ‚ - Takeover Tour Detroit

Minnesota: Sunday, Mar. 29 vs. Boston at 3 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. ET

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Professional Women's Hockey League Stories from March 26, 2026


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